London, Normandy and Paris Tour. First Stop, London!

It was early morning on Monday September 16th, when 17 very excited Mainer’s began our trip to London, Normandy and Paris. After a bus ride to Boston and an overnight flight to London, we hit the ground running by visiting Windsor Castle. When we arrived, we were able to witness the changing of the guard. Armed police lined the street while a band marched past with the new guard following close behind. Once that was completed we were then free to explore the castle.

Todd Lavway was a traveler on the trip. He enjoyed Windsor Castle. “They gave us a nice tour of that, they took us around the grounds of the castle. And we even had time to go into the shops around town. It was a very pleasant day.”

After a welcome dinner and a good and much needed, nights sleep! We then headed out to see the sights again! This time with a tour of London. Coyle, known as Peter, Huntress said “touring of the city was great! We looked around and saw quite a few things. It was interesting!”

Following that tour, we paid a visit to the Tower of London, learning about it’s history and of course, seeing the crown jewels! Something Sue Moreau says was one of her favorite stops. “I loved going to the Tower of London and I especially loved seeing all the jewels, the kings and queens big jewelry, the big diamonds, the gold that they had.”

A cruise down the Thames River followed where we had the opportunity to see London from the water. The weather held out and provided a beautiful day. We then d in a well known English traditionafternoon tea! Delicious sandwiches and desserts, plus expertly steeped tea were included. Following that, many decided to stay in that area of London to take a ride on the London Eye, which gave an amazing view of the city from the air.

“That was probably the most interesting. It was perfect weather, September was the perfect time to go as it wasn’t that crowded. And it was probably the best view of the city and it wasn’t that expensive either. So, that was pretty good,” said Todd Lavway.

Our third and final day in London turned our thoughts toward World War 2 with a visit to the Imperial War Museum and Winston Churchill’s war rooms. The underground bunker was part of the underground nerve center of Britain’s war effort.

Kippy Brache was our guide from Holiday Vacations She said this was part of “tracing our history with World War Two, starting in London, they were a great partner with us in that endeavor.”

That night a small group of us attended the musical Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. The next morning, we left London, spending the day in Portsmouth at the D-Day Museum, before boarding a ferry to Normandy, France.