London

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The London Eye with the Colorado Traveling Ducks

There it is.   We see the London Eye.

The London Eye

Our moms bought tickets and we are on the London Eye.   The cars are big.   We have other people in our car.   A few young children, so our moms won’t let us out of our traveling bags for very long.   Children always want to play with us and take us home with them.   We are moving.

Car in front of us

This is the River Thames and we see the car in front of us.   Big, isn’t it?  This is London.

London and the River Thames

We love those red buses on the bridge.   We see the House of Parliament, Big Ben and a boat on the river.

House of Parliament

And another view of the House of Parliament.

Soapy’s mom on the London Eye

Here is Soapy’s mom.  And here is Big Ben.

Big Ben

We like this vies of Big Ben.  The construction scaffolding isn’t as prominent.   This blog is about the Colorado Traveling Ducks, so here we are.

Colorado Traveling Ducks with English cousins

Zeb, Soapy and our three new English duck cousins.   In the photo zone of the London Eye.  And again.

Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck

Zeb and Soapy and a view of the car before us.   And, of course, the River Thames.  You can see we are close to the river.

Boats on the river

The London Eye moves slow and it is our turn to get off.   This was our car.

Our car is now empty

Everybody is off and the security people check each car before new passengers get on.   That was a great ride.   The rain has stopped and the lights are on now.

Lights come on at dusk

The London Eye is great.  Rain?  Did we say rain.

A rainy day in London from the London Eye

It really did rain for awhile during our ride.    When you are in London, ride the Eye.   We think you will love it also.

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Buckingham Palace and more. Colorado Traveling Ducks stroll around London

We lost our guide.   Today was a free day and our guide was nice to take some of us on the tube and to the river boat.   We got delayed getting off the boat and now we are on our own.   But we will have fun exploring.  This is the famous London Eye.

London Eye

It really looks like fun.   Maybe we will get there today.   But first we wander near the river, then decide to see Buckingham Palace.   Here we are.

Buckingham Palace

This place is really huge.   And Queen Elizabeth calls this home.

Front door

The front door is impressive.   We are not going inside.   We read that tourists can visit during summer months.   This is late October, so everyone is looking from the outside.  Like everyone we have seen pictures of the guards wearing bear skin hats and red jackets.   But they were not here.   We were told different groups of guards are rotated through.   The guards were great, but we wanted those from our memory.   We wandered through a park and admired the pelicans.

Pelicans in the park

The park had a lake, many paths with snack shops and a restaurant.   We enjoyed lunch in the restaurant admiring the beautiful park.   Continuing on our way, we saw this peaceful lawn with chairs available to rent.

Lawn with chairs for rent in park

Here we are.

Household Cavalry Museum

This is the Household Cavalry Museum.   It is beautiful and interesting, but our guards were not here either.    We were not given any other ideas, so we wandered.

Red London double decker bus

This red double decker bus is also in so many pictures of London.   Let’s walk on this bridge and cross the River Thames.

Walking on the bridge over the Thames

This is a pretty bridge.   What is this?   Oh moms, here is the London Eye.

London Eye

Can we ride on it?   Of course, ducks.   Let’s get tickets.   Next time we will take you on the London Eye.

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Cruising on London’s River Thames with the Colorado Traveling Ducks

We took the tube to the Tower of London stop.  A short walk brought us to Tower Millennium Pier.

Tower Millennium Pier

This is the Tower Bridge from the pier.

Tower Bridge

This is our first time in London, so everything is new and exciting for us.   On the river boat, we watch the River Thames.

River Thames

And the sights of London.

Government building

An unusual government building.   And another bridge.

We will pass under this bridge

We were told we would pass under 8 bridges.  We like the modern buildings.

Modern buildings

They are mixed in with so many old historic buildings.   Here is the Shard.

The Shard

This tallest building in the Western Europe is visible from most of London.   We appreciate the wall to protect buildings from the River Thames.   

Even the wall looks old.     This obelisk is Cleopatra’s Needle, a gift from Egypt.   

At the base you can see two sphinxes that guard Cleopatra’s Needle.  Egypt also gave obelisks, also called Cleopatra’s Needle to the United States and to France in the 1800’s

We love seeing cities from the water.   Here is Big Ben.

Big Ben

The scaffolding is needed for repairs to the building.   This is our exit stop.  We enjoyed our time on the river.   Next time we will take you on our walk to explore part of London.

 

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London. The Colorado Traveling Ducks are Here

Good morning London.   We, the Colorado Traveling Ducks, left Denver, flew to New York, and then flew on British Airways all night to start our day in London, England.   We are taking a tour, so we were met at Heathrow Airport and are now taking an orientation tour of London.  This is the Albert Memorial.

Albert Memorial

Located in Kensington Gardens, the memorial was commissioned by Queen Victoria, in memory of her beloved husband who died in 1861.   Across the street is the Royal Albert Hall, a concert hall.

Royal Albert Hall

This concert hall was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, and also dedicated to the memory of her deceased husband, Prince Albert.   What is this?   Near the southern entrance to Hyde Park you can’t miss this sculpture of a rhino.

Rhino at Samer Halimeh boutique

The Knightsbridge Flagship Boutique of jeweler, Samer Halimeh, has an extraordinary rhino sculpture by Stefano Bombadieri.  Samer Halimeh, the jeweler, made trips to Africa for a rare pink diamond.   He produced a documentary about the experiences and this sculpture is for support of the Save the Rhino cause.  Samer is the jeweler to the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Brunei.  We were driven to Jubilee Market in Covent Garden.   The present market building was finished in 1904.  Here we had lunch, changed money, and found some new cousins.

Zeb and Soapy with our new English cousins

Aren’t they a great additional to our family?  Back to the bus and our next stop.   A great view from a sixth floor to see St. Paul’s.

St. Paul’s

And we didn’t even have to climb the stairs.   Look at this.

The Shard

This is the Shard.   The tallest building in the European Union.   The Shard is 1,016 feet (309.6 meters) tall.   The Shard has offices, restaurants, retail outlets, and a viewing platform   As you can guess, this is often referred to as the Shard of Glass.  After resting at our hotel, Double Tree Islington, we took the London tube.  After a couple tube changes, and grateful for our guide for getting us here, we walked near the Tower of London.

Tower of London

This is a Roman wall from the 2nd century.

Old Roman Wall

This wall is from the 2nd century.   We are now in the 21st century.   That’s old.   And now Trinity Square Gardens.

Trinity Square Gardens

It has been confirmed that at least 125 people died here, including St. Thomas More, St. John Fisher and Thomas Cromwell.  These gardens are also in memory of 24,000 merchant sailors who died in both world wars and have no known grave.   Next time we will take a boat ride on the River Thames.  We hope you join us.

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The Shard in London with Channel the Bear

I, Zeb the Duck, just received great photos from my friend, Channel the Bear.   Channel is in England.   She visited The Shard in London.

The Shard. London

The Shard. London

The Shard was opened to the public in 2013.   There are restaurants and a hotel in The Shard.   There are two floors of observation decks.

London

London

Observations decks begin on the 68th floor. The Shard is 1016 feet tall.

London

London

What great views, Channel.   Channel sent me another photo that is a little personal for me to discuss.   Channel said it is the Loo with a View.

Loo with a View

Loo with a View

Channel said she felt comfortable using it because there were no helicopters around then.  In the last photo of Channel, sitting in a chair in the home of her British friend in Brenchley.

Channel resting in England

Channel resting in England

Thanks for these photos Channel.   The Shard in London looks fantastic and I love to see you relaxing.   You look great!

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Ms. Ducky Goes to Europe

I, Zeb the Duck, want you to meet my friend, Ms. Ducky.

Ms. Ducky, our friend

Ms. Ducky, our friend

Her mom and my mom are friends, so Ms. Ducky and I, Zeb the Duck, are also friends.   Ms. Ducky and her humans flew to London, England and began sightseeing immediately.

Ms. Ducky taking in London

Ms. Ducky taking in London

She is seeing so many new and interesting things.   She visits the American Embassy and admires this statue.   She is sitting at the feet of General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Statue of Pres. and Gen. Eisenhower in London

Statue of Pres. and Gen. Eisenhower in London

He was a very important American Army General during World War II, and later General Eisenhower was elected President of the United States, twice.   This is an exciting place at the London train station.  This is Platform 9  3/4.

Platform 9 3/4 for Harry Potter in London

Platform 9 3/4 for Harry Potter in London

Platform 9  3/4 is very important to Harry Potter.   While in London, Ms. Ducky and her humans visit many of the famous places.   They even saw the Royal Jewels.   Many places she loved but she told me it was difficult to get photos of places and Ms. Ducky.   So this is about Ms. Ducky, not just Europe.   Next she and her humans boarded the Eurostar Train heading for Brussels, Belgium.

Eurostar Train heading for Brussels

Eurostar Train heading for Brussels

The train ride was fun, but shortly after their arrival, Ms. Ducky’s mom fell.   And she fell hard.   They they rode in the ambulance, sirens blaring and paramedics helping her mom.

In Belgium's ambulance

In Belgium’s ambulance

It was very scary and also very exciting.   She sat on the stretcher after her mom was allowed to sit up.

Ms. Ducky in ambulance

Ms. Ducky in ambulance

This paramedic is her friend.

Ms. Ducky with paramedic

Ms. Ducky with paramedic

He helped her mom.   When they arrived at the hospital and after they said her mom could leave the hospital, Ms. Ducky relaxed for a moment on a bed in the emergency room.

Ms. Ducky in emergency room

Ms. Ducky in emergency room

They then went to Holland.   You know Holland–they are famous for tulips.

Ms. Ducky and Holland tulips

Ms. Ducky and Holland tulips

Beautiful tulips!   Here is Ms. Ducky touring the canals of Amsterdam.

Ms. Ducky touring canal

Ms. Ducky touring canal

Ms. Ducky is a very friendly duck.   Here she is with new friends, enjoying the canals in the evening.

Ms. Ducky and friends. Evening on canal in Amsterdam. Be careful there!

Ms. Ducky and friends. Evening on canal in Amsterdam. Be careful there!

Now Ms. Ducky and her friend from Holland are visiting Rhine Falls.

Ms. Ducky and friend at Rhine Falls

Ms. Ducky and friend at Rhine Falls

Wow!   Really beautiful.   Thanks for sharing with us, Ms. Ducky.   We look forward to more about your trip to Europe.