After getting off the shuttle to the south terminal again this morning….. holy crap, big police presence, probably 10+ police with automatic weapons and a sniffer dog. The dog found something on a passenger but it probably was a mistake on the dog’s part, cuz they let the man go. I think it freaked out him though.

Big Bus tour 

The first area we drive through was Belgravia, a very well-to-do area…average of 6,000,000 pounds (over $11,000,000 CAD) for residences. 

Next drove by 40 acre park at Piccadilly 

Elizabeth was 70 years as Queen….. longest reigning. King Charles became heir at 3 years old but didn’t assent til he was 74 years old, in 2023. He is involved with 17 charities, is an environmentalist and a pilot amongst other things. 

Hyde Park was originally a hunting ground.  

Great Fire of London in 1666, consumed 13,000 homes in 5 days…. Fire started in a bakery.  Only 5 died. 

The “Underground”, originally thought was to use barges…but that idea was scrapped.  In 1863, first tunnel was with trains being pulled through.  Today there tunnels with trains all over (actually under) London.

In 1665 over 100,000 Londoners died from the plague. 

Shard building… highest building in London is 809 metres high

One church we passed by, originally was Christian. It then became a Jewish synagogue then a Moslem mosque. 

In 43 AD Romans came and stayed for a couple hundred years

In 1984 a retractable dam was built to protect London from tidal surges and flooding. 

105 ft oblesk Cleopatra Needle built around1450 AD but gifted by Egypt, arrived in 1877. 

London Eye … 32 capsules (London has 32 boroughs)that can hold 25 people each  … is 135 metres high

House of Commons are elected by people but House of Lords is elected by the “elite”. 

Westminster Abbey was first opened to public with the use of TV cameras in 1953 with Elizabeth’s coronation

Buckingham Palace was built in 1669 but it wasn’t until 1837 that the first royal resided… by Queen Victoria. It was bombed 9 times during WW2