Since we moved to England it took a while to meet new people and make new friends. However, it was an easy process once we met with some of Tom's co-workers. Aided by the facts that we are similar in age and we've started a weekly poker night where we change who hosts and get to see how everyone lives (all the while honing our card shark skills). Well, one such person is Anne, who's husband Ray works with Tom, and also happens to come from the Buffalo, NY area. We've become quite close since we've met one another, and it was Anne's idea to take a field trip, so to speak, up to London during a work day. It was during her children's February break and wanted to see the city, and wanted someone who had actually been there to accompany her on her first jaunt to the metropolis. Here we are barely out of London Victoria train station when we walked down the street and ran into Buckingham Palace. This is the side entrance facing south. We were lucky enough as we walked by to see a carriage exiting the gates transporting some foreign dignitaries.
Here is another shot of the carriage as it came onto the street.
Here is the Victoria Memorial which stands in front of Buckingham Palace on the East Facade.
Here is a cute shot of Anne with her two boys standing in front of the Palace, yes there was a slight chill in the air that day. 
After we left the Palace we headed for Green Park and came across the Wellington Arch. I had walked through the arch several times on separate visits to London, but I hadn't realized that you were capable of climbing the structure to the top until Anne suggested it. She even has a membership to "English Heritage" which gets you into a predetermined number of tourist attractions across the country. With her membership I was able to accompany her and her children up to the top without having to pay an additional entrance fee. Here is a shot of the horses that are perched atop the arch.
After we left the arch, we continued on to Hyde Park. I mentioned to Anne that I had been there several times but I had never seen the Peter Pan statue that I heard was hidden somewhere on the grounds. So we took some time to find the statue which was quite a snap once we found a map of the park grounds (with the statue's location marked).
Once we left the statue we headed for the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial. The fountain was added to the grounds in 2004 and is noticeably more modern. Below is a shot of Anne and her two kids.
And here's a shot of me acting my age with one of her kids.
Once we left the memorial we were getting a little hungry and decided to head to Wagamama's. I really love this restaurant, and talked it up so much that Anne and her kids were getting excited about it as well. However, I wasn't feeling the greatest that day as I was wrestling with some sort of stomach bug, so I decided to go without and just have some hot tea. But I get ahead of myself. While we were approaching said restaurant, we passed the Albert Memorial at the southeast corner of Kensington Gardens which is west of Hyde Park.
After we left Wagamama's, we decided that it was getting a little late and that we should start heading back to London Victoria station. On the way, we decided to make a quick stop to Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, Kensington Palace did not have any type of handicapped accessible equipment set up for Anne's handicapped son, and it was getting a little late, so we just walked up to the Palace. We did speak with an employee of the estate for a while who was friendly and knowledgeable of the different things Kensington Palace had to offer. Below you can see me in front of the palace. You can see that I'm both cold and getting over a bout with the stomach flu, well maybe the latter part's a little tougher to spot.
Here is another shot of the carriage as it came onto the street.
Here is the Victoria Memorial which stands in front of Buckingham Palace on the East Facade.
Here is a cute shot of Anne with her two boys standing in front of the Palace, yes there was a slight chill in the air that day. 
After we left the Palace we headed for Green Park and came across the Wellington Arch. I had walked through the arch several times on separate visits to London, but I hadn't realized that you were capable of climbing the structure to the top until Anne suggested it. She even has a membership to "English Heritage" which gets you into a predetermined number of tourist attractions across the country. With her membership I was able to accompany her and her children up to the top without having to pay an additional entrance fee. Here is a shot of the horses that are perched atop the arch.
After we left the arch, we continued on to Hyde Park. I mentioned to Anne that I had been there several times but I had never seen the Peter Pan statue that I heard was hidden somewhere on the grounds. So we took some time to find the statue which was quite a snap once we found a map of the park grounds (with the statue's location marked).
Once we left the statue we headed for the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial. The fountain was added to the grounds in 2004 and is noticeably more modern. Below is a shot of Anne and her two kids.
And here's a shot of me acting my age with one of her kids.
Once we left the memorial we were getting a little hungry and decided to head to Wagamama's. I really love this restaurant, and talked it up so much that Anne and her kids were getting excited about it as well. However, I wasn't feeling the greatest that day as I was wrestling with some sort of stomach bug, so I decided to go without and just have some hot tea. But I get ahead of myself. While we were approaching said restaurant, we passed the Albert Memorial at the southeast corner of Kensington Gardens which is west of Hyde Park.
After we left Wagamama's, we decided that it was getting a little late and that we should start heading back to London Victoria station. On the way, we decided to make a quick stop to Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, Kensington Palace did not have any type of handicapped accessible equipment set up for Anne's handicapped son, and it was getting a little late, so we just walked up to the Palace. We did speak with an employee of the estate for a while who was friendly and knowledgeable of the different things Kensington Palace had to offer. Below you can see me in front of the palace. You can see that I'm both cold and getting over a bout with the stomach flu, well maybe the latter part's a little tougher to spot.
