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With this tour we will see all of London's most famous sights as well as places with an American connection - places you never knew existed.
There are more than five centuries of American history hidden in the streets and sights of London. Our voyage of discovery includes the spot where the first settlers’ adventure began - at Virginia Quay, the point of departure for the ships Godspeed, Susan Constant and Discovery. They sailed in December 1606 and they reached the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in what is now Virginia and established their permanent settlement at Jamestown Island on 13th May 1607.
I will show you where Benjamin Franklin worked as a printer in a church over eight centuries old, where Whistler painted that portrait of his mother, where Teddy Roosevelt got married and where FDR spent his honeymoon.
We will also take in where Fred Astaire had his dancing shoes made, where T. S. Eliot worked and stop by the previous homes of Mark Twain, JFK, John Singer Sargent, Jimi Hendrix and John Adams, the second President of the United States. Our tour will include a drive through ‘Little America’, where we can see the American Embassy, the 9/11 Memorial Garden and General Eisenhower’s wartime HQ. We’ll follow in the footsteps of Captain John Smith and William Penn, the first great hero of American liberty and visit the locations that they knew well. We will also pass by the Cathedral where John Harvard was baptised and where Shakespeare's brother is buried.
The air to which 'The Star-Spangled Banner' is sung had its origin in London. I'll explain how an English tavern song became America's national anthem. Talking of taverns......
For lunch you may want to consider an historic riverside pub. I know an exceptionally cosy and attractive pub with black wood panelling, large oak beams, brick fireplace and displays of nautical items. The Mayflower set sail in 1620 from near this pub. Its Captain, Christopher Jones, died a few months after returning from the New World, and is now buried at Mary’s Churchyard, a stones’ throw from the pub.
After lunch we’ll see the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, Britain's oldest manufacturing company, having been established in 1570. Whitechapel's famous bells include the original Liberty Bell and Big Ben. Incidentally a Whitechapel man, Abe Saperstein, founded the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.
To round off the day take a trip to the Tower of London. Founded by William the Conqueror and enlarged and modified by successive sovereigns, today the Tower of London is one of the world’s most famous and spectacular fortresses. Discover its 900 year history as a royal palace and fortress, prison and place of execution, mint, arsenal, menagerie and jewel house. I’ll tell you about the American diplomat who was imprisoned in the Tower!
Don’t forget on this tour we also see the main attractions of London, such as Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square etc.
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