We stayed for two nights at our hotel near Heathrow Airport so that we could have a day to explore central London. I had already purchased tickets online to take the Heathrow Express from the airport to the city. The train is the quickest way to get there, but it is more expensive. However, by buying tickets well ahead of time there was a considerable discount.
We took the six minute bus ride to Terminal 5, and went down to the terminal's train station. The train was boarding as we arrived. It is a comfortable 20 minute ride into London's Paddington Station.
We didn't see any bears at Paddington Station...
...however we did see this humorous sculpture of a bubblegum chewing policeman called "Bubbly Bobby".
We walked a few blocks through an attractive neighborhood...
...until we reached Hyde Park, one of the largest royal parks in London.
The park features a long lake known as The Serpentine.
The lake is home to a large population of waterfowl, especially ducks and swans.
At the end of the park is the Wellington Arch, commemorating the Duke of Wellington, the general who won the Battle of Waterloo against the forces of Napoleon.
Nearby is a more recent monument honoring the more than 55,000 airmen with the RAF Bomber Command who lost their lives during World War II.
From there it is a short walk to Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the monarch of the United Kingdom.
In front of the palace is the Queen Victoria Memorial, honoring the queen who reigned for 63 years when the British Empire was at its peak.
From there we walked down The Mall (which was closed to automobile traffic, perhaps because it was Sunday) toward Trafalgar Square.
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