London

Breakfast seemed especially civilized.  Boys know what they like and carry it carefully (with one exception) to their table.  Tiny pots of coffee appear and reappear on adult tables.  We head back to the room to fill water bottles, bring an umbrella in case, and maybe a camera.  We're having a panoramic tour of London with professional London tour guide Sue.  There are about five choirmen that join us on the bus.  Boys spread into seats previously occupied by the men. Our driver Peter checks in with Sue about routes and the amount of time we will remain at any of the stops we take.  Sue has been leading tours since 2007.  She has asked us to hold questions until the end because it would other "break the flow".  And she is a swiftly moving river of information and detail about London, English history, monarchy, wars, battles, monuments, layout of the city over the past thousand years or so, architecture and so much more.  We hear about Queen Victoria's log rein and how the current queen has surpassed her record.  Boys hear about Prince Albert just before we see what appears to be a gold leaf statue of him with four statues representing four continents.  We also stop outside St. Paul's, by Buckingham Palace to watch the royal army march.  Since we didn't get in line by 9, there was no way we were going to see over the crowds. Which was fine because there was a railing we could sit on and bearskin hats with different colors (all explained).  So glad the boys had those bright gold shirts to wear-so easily seen in a crowd.  We stopped for lunch near St. Paul's Cathedral then played on the c=grass until chaperone groups met again.  Sue took us on a small outside tour of St. Paul's then we were off on the bus to The Tower of London.  I was dragging and the boys were not far behind.  We heard about different kings, especially Henry and 8th and his propensity for killing wives.  Sue heard boys liked the bloody tales and there were plenty to be heard.  Just after seeing the Crown Jewels, and before hearing all about medieval torture, we had  ice cream cones (or sorbet depending on need), a rare sugary treat. It did the trick and we had enough energy to visit the Traitor's Gate before heading back to the bus which took us to The London Eye.  Men met us and we ended up going in two different pods. Ben asked the men and three choirboys to sing and the sound of their voices resonating off the glass was a delight.  The views were amazing and we were so happy to be taking pictures of each other and the world of London.  There was a mounted ipad you could tap which would give info and Ethan D. was busy learning, learning then telling, telling.  There were two boys who wanted to go to the gift shop while the rest frolicked in a nearby green area.  Two couples were busy kissing which was fascinating to some and repugnant to others.  People watching in London is always fascinating.  Boys played with a collapsible ball while others played piggyback racing games.  There was some moth observing, cloud observing and  joking about until we boarded the bus for our farewell dinner.

At dinner Ben gave a series of speeches acknowledging the choir for a job well done, Calum for his service and dedication, the chaperones for their boundless ability to  serve the boys, Carter for his leadership and me for being "the Mother of the tour." It was sweet and kind and thoughtful.  We headed back to the hotel  where exhausted boys readied and quickly went to sleep. We leave for home tomorrow afternoon!

Ms. Banks tries out the window seat outside our hotel room.

Prince Albert