Londres/London

Le jour 1/Day 1

We arrived in London on time and found our way to the Central Bus Station at Heathrow to get our bus to Premier Inn.  Tired and not able to remember which bus it was the information services woman redirected us to a hotel shuttle which cost more than three times the public transport. We took it and checked in, showered and then headed off to London.  It was wet and very cold by the time we got out of the train at Picadilly Circus. 

Picadilly Circus

We took a wrong turn and ended up at Pall Mall. Renavigating we found our way to Regent Street where we stopped at a very expensive tea shop. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring Regent and Oxford Street.  We had a dinner at pub off Oxford Street, Bev had a Steak and Ale pie which she pronounced to be very good.  The pastry used in the pies seem to be short crust as opposed to flaky which does make a less messy pie. 

We were extremely tired when we boarded the train back to the hotel.  Both of us kept nodding off during the journey.  This led inevitably to an item being lost.  I had put down my lovely Blunt umbrella next to me as it was wet and when I got up to leave the train I left it.  I realised too late as the train by then had departed.   It was an expensive mistake!!  As you can imagine I have been much more careful with my other things since then.

Le jour 2/Day 2

Our first destination for the day was Borough Markets.  I had visited them for the first time about 6 years ago and they are not as I remembered them although a look at photos I had taken at the time revealed them to be much the same.  When I last came they were still building the Shard, now it towers over the Borough. Along the way we encountered a shared bikes stand ,which are a new feature of the London landscape compared to  the 2011 visit. 

Bikes to rent

We spent about an hour wandering around and tasting some of the offerings.  The fruit and vegetables looked very tasty as did the range of cheeses.  We had a reasonable coffee while we were there before walking toward Tower Bridge.  It was cold when we had exited the train station but was even more so as we walked along the embankment. We encountered screens which were showing excerpts of Shakespeares plays.

Borough Piazza

We crossed the Thames and then wandered past the Tower of London.  It seems to have changed since I went there 20 or so years ago.  Not the Tower itself but the surrounds.  It seems much more commercial than 20 years ago yet I thought at the time it was very commercial.  We continued back along the north bank before crossing back over London bridge to the embankment.  It was very crowded and we made slow progress towards Westminster Bridge and the London Eye, the huge Ferris wheel.  The crowds were there because it was Shakespeare’s 400^th birthday and it was also St Georges Day along with the Queen’s birthday.  There was lots of entertainment along the embankment along with the 37 plays of Shakespeare. 

We called into the Tate Modern for a look at some of the modern art there.  It is an interesting place but it was free and warm.  Not only that it had toilets which were free.  For those don’t know Tate Modern is in an old power station that has been repurposed.   Much of the art I did not get but there were some which were very interesting.

Bev had wanted to ride the London Eye but the queues were horrendous and we were rather tired by then so we continued on and caught the tube back to Heathrow where we found a pub which was recommended to us. 

Morris dancers outside The Tower of London

He was entertaining while dancing to the singer

It was a very popular place and people were queuing to have their order taken.  The prices were not too bad for London and it was regarded as a good and cheap place to eat by the locals.  The meals were huge.  I had lamb shoulder and remarkably it was cooked to perfection. From the time of ordering to the time of serving was quite a long time however the wait was worth it.  We got there quite early and that was good as by the time we left nearly three hours later there was still a queue and it seemed to have got longer. We were told that the restaurant and food side of the pub is the money spinner not the booze. 

Despite moving 12 hours in a very short time I did not feel too bad although a couple of times both Bev and I  started yawning.  Having a bit of space on the plane and being able to lie down makes all the difference it seems.  I think that moving about helps as well and on Saturday we walked a long way, about 15 kilometres I think.

Pheasant Inn   where we ate