Okay so today was always going to be one of our busiest, and in the end we didn't quite get through everything, mainly because we took quite a well earned break for lunch at a "Half price Mondays" restaurant, which made even hot meals quite reasonable.

We started by rugging up to beat the rain and mist that hung around, and caught the 88 double decked bus (Oscar loved this) from outside our front door, all the way to Westminster. From a drop off point just outside the houses of parliament, it was only a short walk to Westminster pier. We then used day two of our three day London Pass to take a river cruise along the Thames, towards Greenwich.

Taking a cruise is a most relaxing way to take in so many of the key sights. The boat moves slowly, the views from the roof (and even downstairs) are really good, and the captain with the thick Cockney accent gave us an excellent running commentary of all the key sights along the Thames. He provided us with an endless steam of interesting facts such as:
* you can't see Big Ben (the bell) - the tower is "Elizabeth Tower"
* London Bridge has been rebuilt five times
* the massive Russian yacht moored to HMS Belfast is worth £300M
* the Thames tide rises and falls 7 meters in a day
* the worst prisoners were taken to the Tower via Traitor's Gate
* for centuries, there was only a choice of London Bridge or ferrries
to get across the Thames.

We hopped off at Tower Bridge and took in the amazing fort founded in 1066 and built primarily by William the Conqueror. We walked along the external walls and series of towers, took in the history, wondered at the amazing armoury display, marvelled at the Crown Jewels, swords and maces, and carefully examined the Scavenger's Daughter torture implement (think reverse "rack").

After stopping for our long lunch, we checked out Tower Bridge. This attraction was a real hit with the kids (and me!). You get to walk out across the top section of the bridge, which includes a glass floor so you can feel suspended in mid-air and see right down to the traffic and river below! We stayed here until 3.30pm when the bridge opened up to let a military vessel through. It was a great way to finish the attraction.

Due to time constraints we skipped the visit to the Bridge's engine room, and moved next door to HMS Belfast. If the Tower of London was 8/10, the Bridge would have been a 9/10 and HMS Belfast scored the perfect 10. This ship is one of only three ships remaining from the Allied invasion at Normandy, and HMS Belfast was one of the largest ones, treating it's own wounded in hospital onboard. We literally got to explore every single part of the ship, up and down her many decks. All was fascinating, including the kitchen, mess rooms, boiler room, navigation equipment, bridge, guns and the lookout. Zach and I both wished that we could have spent all day there.

We had planned to squeeze in one more excursion for the day, but in the end just ran out of time and hopped back on the boat for another thoroughly enjoyable meander back to Westminster wharf, exhausted but satisfied.