London Day Two - Morning Tour and Tate Modern

Monday September 2nd was our second day in London and our seventh day of our trip. We had a wonderful traditional English breakfast at our hotel. I sure add that getting the breakfast included in our hotels on this trip and the one last year was a great choice. It makes a difference. After breakfast we went to the lobby and checked in with our Monograms host and then boarded our bus for a our morning tour of London. 

Now this was basically the same tour we took as part of our trip to London last year but with a different tour guide. This time our guide Doug had a totally different and unique perspective on everything. He was very good even though we were seeing many of the same major sights but he showed us a lot of different sights too with a native Londoner perspective. He was very funny too. Urged us to root for Crystal Palace in the Premier League rather than the other London teams usually followed by Americans. 

We stopped at Buckingham Palace and it was a very beautiful day with wonderful visibility. Then we stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral and spent some considerable time there. It was also the first time visitors were allowed to take photos inside the church. Last year we didn't have any pictures inside the church. This time we got a lot. We walked around the many side chapels and one we saw for

the first time that made a huge impression was one dedicated to American troops who lost their lives defending Great Britain in World War ll. It was beautiful and there was a fascinating book with all the names. Once again St. Paul's was an awesome experience.

And once again we left the tour at St. Paul's and rather than take the tour bus

back to the hotel we walked across the Millennium Bridge and this time we spent the afternoon at the Tate Modern Art Museum.  We got a quick lunch at the sandwich shop. It was OK but not great but then again we were not expecting much and wanted to get back to the galleries. Becky loved the Tate and she was very impressed with their wonderfully diverse collection. I enjoyed

it too. At one point we went up to the 10th floor observation deck where we took lots of pictures of the skyline where there was a 360 degree view. It was an awesome view of London. 

Afterward we walked up to the subway and minding the gap we took that tube back to the hotel where we had a very deserved rest before going out for the evening.