We were literally two blocks away from Westminster Abby.

And of course Big Ben was right around the corner.

London's famous Ferris wheel

On our first full day in London, we got up early to catch the underground to Waterloo station (above). a train to Portsmouth, a Bus to the hovercraft terminal and then a half mile walk to St. Cecilia's Abby, where my niece is

When the tide is out, you can really see how shallow the water is and why a hovercraft is ideal in this situation.

Hovercraft arriving to and departing from the Isle of Wight.

You need to be mindful of the tides if you own a boat!

Time to catch a short nap while we wait for Mickey to be free.

Tamara and Mickey (aka Sr Mary-David)

Mickey and me.  Can't believe she's 58

The next day in London, we decided to visit the War Rooms which are part of the Imperial War Museum.  The War Room are located under this building.

The ceiling is cut away here to show you the steel reinforcement that was used along with concrete to construct the facility.

Here you can see where they bored through 15 or so feet of concrete and brick.

The Cabinet Room

Since they were underground form weeks at a time, the weather on the surface would be posted daily.

The Transatlantic Telephone Room

A typical bedroom which would be shared.

Space was at a premium down here.

Maj Desmond Morton's room.  He was Churchill's military advisor.

Mrs. Churchill's Room

Churchill's room

Churchill's dining room

Churchill's Kitchen

Chief's of Staff Conference Room

BBC Broadcasting Equipment Room

Switchboard Room

Map on the wall of the Map Room

The Map Room

After viewing the bunker, we decided to check out the British Museum.  We didn't have time to do the place justice but we just wanted to see the Rosetta Stone.

The Rosetta Stone

It was behiind glass with throngs of people clamoring to get a view of it. This was the best I could do.

Behind the Rosetta Stone was an exhibition of wall sculptures from the palace of King Tiglath-Pileser III an Assyrian king who rueigned from 744-727 BC.

This wall sculpture was located behind the royal throne.

Servants carrying in a dead lion.   I have no idea what they would do with it.

I was surprised to see a small Easter Island statue in an exhibit behind that of the Assyrian king.

On the way back from the museum we saw a neat shop specializing in umbrellas, walking sticks and whips. Looked like something right out of Harry Potter.

St. James Park and the Cavalry Museum in the distance.

The stature on top of the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace

Chocolates and champagne awaited us in our stateroom.