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After what felt like six weeks of constant rain and inclement weather the sun emerged and the weight of the world lifted from the shoulders of Londoners and tourists alike. I decided that this was the day for my Big Bus Tour of London.

The Big Bus Co. has three central London tours, red, blue and green. Because of the convenience of the hop on/hop off service, the tour is excellent for choosing places of interest along the route, which you might like to visit, during the course of the day. You can switch from one line to another but I chose to focus my day on the blue line. I started my tour at Marble Arch where the employee there was very helpful and informative. He gave me directions and asked if I wanted to visit Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. If you purchase your ticket through Big Bus, you don’t have to wait in the long queue outside the museum and get whisked in through the group entrance. I decided to save Tussaud’s for a typical gloomy London day.

I climbed the steps to the top of a world famous red double-decker bus and sat right at the front. As the bus started, our tour guide introduced himself and then proceeded to comment on the different streets, sights and landmarks along the route to the first stop. After a brief pause at Baker Street, we continued south in the direction of Trafalgar Square. The guide pointed out Hamleys, the most famous toy store in the world and other points of interest along Regent Street and across Oxford Circus. The commentary was informative and often lit up the eyes of both the children and grown ups on the bus. At Trafalgar Square, I said goodbye to the guide and hopped off to visit The National Gallery. I took an hour or so wandering through the exhibits seeing Van Gough’s Sunflowers and a wonderful temporary exhibition called Tell Me A Story.

As I stepped back out into the sunlight, I realised I was extremely hungry. Luckily for me the tour guide had pointed out a great place to eat across the street from the National Gallery called The Texas Embassy. If you’re craving Tex-Mex food, this is the place to go to in London. The environment was lively, the service was fast and friendly and the food was great! I left an hour later, totally refreshed.

I easily found the Big Bus pick-up point and waited with a few other tourists for the next blue line bus to arrive. Everyone seemed happy to have the freedom to go about as they pleased and the bus came along in about 15 minutes.

Once back on, I asked my new tour guide if New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, does tours but he informed me that they do not, I was disappointed as I was sure that they had a tale to tell. However as the bus passed by, he did point it out and gave us a bit of the history as well.

Continuing the tour past Harrods - I could get lost there for a week, Buckingham Palace, the Queen wasn’t in residence as the Royal Standard wasn’t flying and Notting Hill (I saw the film but didn’t spot Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts). We ended back at Marble Arch opposite our starting point.

My tour guide pointed me in the direction of Oxford Street where I chose to conclude my day happily spending money in the wide range of shops.