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Day 3: June 3, 2024
We set off early to head to Parliament Square in central London to pick up our local guide. The square is surrounded by the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Whitehall and contains statues to famous luminaries such as Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill! We drove past Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives and through Trafalgar Square, home to the National Gallery and a statue to Admiral Nelson who defeated Napoleon’s naval forces at Trafalgar in 1805.Along The Strand and Fleet Street and onto St Paul’s Cathedral, which was built in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London in 1666. After a quick view of the Thames river from the Millennium Bridge, the majority of the group jumped back on the coach and headed to Windsor. Windsor Castle lies around an hour to the west of central London and has been a royal residence for almost a thousand years. After visiting the historic castle the coach drove back towards London and the group were able to hop on the underground and travel on the Piccadilly line to Hyde Park Corner for dinner at the original Hard Rock Cafe. There was just enough time after dinner to walk past Buckingham Palace, home of the monarchs of Great Britain since Queen Victoria first resided there in the 19th century. Then it was on to Victoria railway station and a train to East Croydon and the group hotel!