To tour or not to tour? That is the question.

Invoking possibly the most famous Brit of all time, non other than the great Bard himself, I have yet another question to pose to the void—is it worth the money to pay for an organized tour when traveling, or is it better to rough it yourself?

When I travel with my friends, there is no question—no tour. Budget wins, any potential tour benefits lose.

But, when traveling with my mom and Lindell, I find myself pondering this question again and again after two tours, one of Paris, and one of London.

My mind was made up several months ago when my mom said she was booking the trip through a travel agent, and our agent had set up a 9-hour, all day tour of London for us.

“MOM. We are going to be on a bus with fifty other people. They will all have their maps out and accents on—screaming that we are tourists. Don’t you want to get a real feel for the places we see? Not the version a tired, poorly educated guide will give us over a microphone as we drive by the major sites?”

I maintained this attitude until we toured Paris with Lido. He did not have a microphone. He drove a van. He let me practice my ever so slightly improved French.

Thursday in London was the dreaded, full day tour. Although my tour stereotypes were eased after Paris, I was still reluctant to believe this was a good idea compared with doing London on our own, especially when I saw the bus.

It was big, with the tour company’s logo prominently displayed in fat letters on both sides.

And then I saw Sheila, our 60-year-old Scottish tour guide, herding those on the tour onto the bus. I felt like a cow already, and I hadn’t even seen the microphone yet.

But, once we were off, Sheila started talking, and what she had to say wasn’t half bad. She cracked jokes. She answered all of our questions. And most importantly, she provided non-stop history of everything we were seeing.

The first stop, after a quick drive by Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament (where Big Ben rings), was St. Paul’s Cathedral. Built by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren, the church was constructed after the great fire of London in 1666. It is a beautiful cathedral, flooded with light, and has only the best paintings, carvings, and mosaics as ordered by Wren. This is the church where Charles and Diana were married, and is the resting place of the Duke of Wellington and non other than Wren himself.

Sheila told a touching story about the Cathedral, one which I will never forget.

London was hit hard during WWII. Bombed for nights and nights without end, the city had the most civilian deaths in the war. St. Paul’s was of course in danger, being a dominating member of the London skyline. But, the people adored their beautiful Cathedral and couldn’t stand the idea of loosing such a monument. It was so beloved, Churchill issued a decree of sorts, charging those living around St. Paul’s to forget all else and protect the structure. The people took up Churchill’s charge, and every night as the bombs were falling, they would stand on the roof of the dome, prepared to fight. The bombs dropped were delay explosives, and therefore, could be smothered with sand to prevent damage, or quickly thrown and left to explode somewhere less majestic. So, smother and throw the people did. There are craters all around St. Paul’s where bombs were thrown off the roof and left to explode in the street. The people won the battle, risking their lives every night, as the cathedral was slightly damaged, but never destroyed due to their efforts.

Our next stop was the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Very ceremonial. Very traditional. Sheila had us following the old guards and new guards all over the place, across St. James Park and back, so we could see every aspect of the ceremony.

Next was Trafalgar Square. The equivalent of New York’s Times Square according to Sheila, it isn’t a London must-see just as Times Square is New York’s one hell hole.

After lunch, we went on a Thames River cruise from the London Eye to the Tower of London. It was chilly on the top deck, but completely worth it. Their was a separate guide for the 45-minute cruise, and he was a jokester as well (“I’m going to speak slowly because I know we have a lot of people from all over the world on this tour today. Raise your hand if you are from America? About 1/3 of the boat raises their hands. In that case, I’ll speak reeeeaaaalllllly slowly.”)

Tower of London was next. We hit the big sights like the Crown Jewels, the Bloody Tower (so named because two princes were supposedly murdered there before either had the chance to claim the thrown), and the lawn where 7 big executions (like Anne Boleyn) took place.

Then, we had a sights tour throughout the City. London is divided into boroughs, and the City of London is technically only one square mile north of the Thames. It contains St. Paul’s, the financial district, and the Tower of London. Sheila just blabbed on and on about this quaint pub and that bombed building, and the information began to blur for the first time that day as my eyes began to sag. We arrived back at the hotel, grabbed a quick bite, and literally hit the sack.

So, the big question-- was the tour worth it?

I have to say yes. Mom—you were right (I’ve told her this to her face already). I can admit it.

We saw practically ever major London sight with accompanying history and admission. There were only 25 people on our 50-seater bus, so we had plenty of room. Sheila was excellent. At times, I did feel herded and I know I screamed TOURIST as I obediently followed Sheila’s raised red umbrella through St. James Park, but who cares, I am a tourist.

So, lesson learned. If you have the money, take the tour.