I had to put some money on my Oyster card (the card to get me on and off of the Tube). The clerk advised me to put some money on it and just work through that (instead of getting a longer time pass), since we were only going to be there for a few days. We got on at Victory Station, made a quick change at Green Station, and rode to Leichester Square. The place was bustling with people. There is a ½ price theatre ticket booth in Leichester Square, and we had learned from our trip with Ginan that this was the best place to get tickets. We bought tickets to see a comedy about Shakespeare. We walked to Covent Gardens. The streets are pedestrian only traffic. There were street performers and several of the “live statues” (see the photo). We found an outdoor café and sat down to enjoy pizza for lunch. 
After a leisurely lunch, we decided that it would be a good time to walk over to watch the Prologue of the Tour de France. We walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace. The crowds were three or four deep so we had to hold the cameras high to try to get photographs. A police escort would pass, then the racer would zip past in a flash, followed by a car with several duplicate bicycles on top. I was amazed at the speed. I was able to get a few blurry photos of the rider, but Kalen had a much better knack and timing to get the photos. We walked along the sidelines and made it to the end of the race, within 150 meters of the finish line. The applause of the crowd would signal the approach of the rider, the motorcycle police would pass, and then we’d start snapping photos to try to get a rider. 
(You can see the rider in the photo. He is in pink on the right side of the photo, left of the Nestle sign.) It was fun to be there although the views of the race were much better on the jumbo screens. French and English commentary was broadcast along the area, so you could get the stats of the approaching racers and then their finishing times. Fun event.
After a leisurely lunch, we decided that it would be a good time to walk over to watch the Prologue of the Tour de France. We walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace. The crowds were three or four deep so we had to hold the cameras high to try to get photographs. A police escort would pass, then the racer would zip past in a flash, followed by a car with several duplicate bicycles on top. I was amazed at the speed. I was able to get a few blurry photos of the rider, but Kalen had a much better knack and timing to get the photos. We walked along the sidelines and made it to the end of the race, within 150 meters of the finish line. The applause of the crowd would signal the approach of the rider, the motorcycle police would pass, and then we’d start snapping photos to try to get a rider. 
(You can see the rider in the photo. He is in pink on the right side of the photo, left of the Nestle sign.) It was fun to be there although the views of the race were much better on the jumbo screens. French and English commentary was broadcast along the area, so you could get the stats of the approaching racers and then their finishing times. Fun event.
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