A visit from Stanley!

About a month ago...oh geeze...it may have been longer...I received a fun little friend in the mail.  His name is Flat Stanley and he traveled across "the pond" from my second cousin Jack in Illinois.  Stanley doesn't say much and he doesn't take up too much space...the perfect guest!  I took Stanley around London to check out all the wonderful sights there are to see.  He loved it, but wished he had a coat because London is cold and rainy!  Here are some pictures of our adventures in London...

Stanley loved visiting the Southbank!  He thought the Parliament Building was amazing!

A terrible picture, but this is Stanley with an iconic red bus in the background and the London Eye.

Another picture of Stanley on the Southbank.  The river there is the river Thames and the bridge is the
 Westminster bridge.

Stanley thought that Big Ben was amazing!  And so huge to see in person!

Big Ben is beautiful!

Apparently, we spent a lot of time on Westminster bridge taking pictures of Big Ben!

Another shot of Big Ben.

This is Stanley in front of Westminster Abbey, he loved the beautiful carvings on the building and the stained glass windows.  

This is Stanley on the other side of Westminster Abbey.  I can't believe he got to see the blue sky that day!  It has been pretty cloudy most of his visit.  

This is Stanley in front of Buckingham Palace.  Rachel took a really bad picture :(  

This one is a little better!  The Queen was not in residence the day that we visited.  

Stanley in front of Buckingham palace.  This was Stanley's favorite place to visit.  

One weekend, Josh and I took Stanley to Greenwich, a borough of London.  From the top of the hill you can see a nice view of some of the London skyline.   

Here is Josh holding Stanley on the Prime Meridian.  This  point is 0 degrees longitude, so Josh is in the Western Hemisphere and Stanley is in the Eastern Hemisphere.  

This is Stanley with the Cutty Sark, an old trading ship that is now a museum.

This is Stanley at the gates in front of Buckingham Palace.  Aren't they pretty!

Here, Stanley is visiting the Tower of London.  Infamous place of hangings and torture!  

Stanley learned that the Tower of London is where the Queen keeps her Crown Jewels.  

Behind Stanley is the White Tower, the oldest part of the Tower of London.  Kings and Queens used to live here!

Here is Stanley next to the Tower Bridge.  He loved how big and ornate it is.  The Tower Bridge is often confused with the London Bridge, which isn't very pretty.  

The Tower Bridge is also a draw bridge.  The middle part raises up when big boats need to get though.  

Here is another view of the White Tower within the Tower of London.

Stanley loves London!  

I think that Stanley really enjoyed his visit.  He was a fantastic guest and I hope that he enjoyed his time with us!  Stanley is currently on his way back to the States to be reunited with Jack.  Thanks for sending him to us!

Rachel and Josh