We woke up bright and early, and after a very nice continental breakfast, which the hotel had provided, we headed for Earl’s Court underground station.

We purchased the ticket without fuss and even managed to find the right train to Piccadilly Circus to collect our London Passes for Tuesday and Wednesday.

It was very straightforward. With London Passes and travel cards in hand, we headed for a coffee shop to plan the rest of the day.

Great coffee. We all resisted the yummy doughnuts and baguettes (still not hungry after breakfast).

We boarded our First Hop on and Hop Off tour. This is a must in London as you can get your bearings quickly. When one of the tours stopped at the Westminster stop, we alighted and hopped on a ferry that cruised from Westminster to Woolwich and back again.

We had booked a Hop on Hop off day pass, and this was one of the stops included in it. The experience was fantastic, and the Captain who was giving the commentary was not just a comedian but also very knowledgeable. He shared interesting facts and figures throughout the tour. We arrived back at Westminster in the mid-afternoon and reconnected with the bus tours. We spent the next couple of hours exploring all the main sights.

Picked a fine time to point out – not fussed about heights – at the top of the London Eye. “I’ll sit here in the middle Don’t rock it!!!

We had dinner in the back of the Piccadilly Circus area (Sharpie spotted a place to eat earlier in the day and mentioned it at least 30 times during the day). It was excellent food, and since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, it hit the spot.

After finishing our 4.30pm early bird particular (Seinfeld reference), we caught another Hop-on-Hop bus back within half a km of the hotel. Of course, staying on the bus until the next stop would have set us down 50 yards from the hotel, but we needed the walk.

All in all a full day and not too tiring we saw so much.

The Prospect of Whitby is a historic public house on the banks of the Thames at Wapping in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is claimed to be the site of the oldest riverside tavern, dating from around 1520.