After getting settled into our comfortable and cozy hotel – the Luna Simone in Pimlico in central London, neither of us had jet lag. So we set off to explore the major tourists sites with our own walking tour of London.

After a short tube ride, we exited at St. James’s Park and walked to Buckingham Palace.Then we walked through St. James’s Park to Trafalgar Square.

Buckingham Palace, London

After that, we walked down Whitehall, past Downing Street, to the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.

Houses of Parliament, London

Toured around the streets before walking down Millbank to the Tate Britain gallery. We popped in here for a bit (it’s free!) to see the artwork–I had taken an art history there when I was in college–so I showed my mom some of my favorite pieces.

Then we walked from the Tate Britain to our hotel, Luna Simone, on Belgrave Road. For dinner, we walked nearby to Chimes (Tripadvisor review) on Churton Street for traditional English food.

Below are a few photos from day 1. For the full set of photos, check out my Flickr album.

Big Ben, London

Buckingham Palace, London

Westminster, London

Trafalgar Square, London

Buckingham Palace, London

Buckingham Palace, London

Buckingham Palace, London

London

Buckingham Palace, London

Houses of Parliament, London

Houses of Parliament, London

Houses of Parliament, London

Houses of Parliament, London

Westminster Abbey, London

Westminster, London

Downing Street, London

Trafalgar Square, London

Admiralty Arch, London

Trafalgar Square, London

Big Ben, London

Westminster Abbey, London

Westminster Abbey, London

Cenotaph, Whitehall, London