London Second time Around

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London

After our own cooked breakfast we headed off to the station and took tube to Westminster where we went and caught our river Thames cruise (we had a London Pass for 3 days that meant everything in the book was prepaid -no queues again) we had to wait about 15-20mins for next boat as we just missed the first one and then had half hour cruise to the Tower of London. Straight in there with our pass again and did a beefeaters tour for an hour and learnt about the history of the gory beheadings etc. We then wandered around and looked at the crown jewels and the torture chambers and armory etc. We had scones and tea in their café, worst dry scones we have ever had! We left tower at about 1.30pm and went to a restaurant nearby for 2 for 1 meal again with our pass and had a really nice lunch over looking Katherines warf- amazing what you come across in such a busy city, nice little water front area with some really old sailing boats bobbing around.
After lunch we headed to the Tower Bridge and did the Tower bridge experience. We looked at the history of the bridge and the engine room on how it all worked in the old days. We were hoping to go to St Paul’s cathedral or the London Bridge experience but it was now 4.30pm and they both closed at 5pm so by the time we walked to St Pauls, we wouldn’t have made it. We hopped back on the river cruise and continued onto Greenwich, and as we were boarding the boat the Tower Bridge was opening for a yacht coming through so that was a bonus also as it very rarely opens any more. Had about 20 min stop over at Greenwich as was last boat so Greg went for a bit of a walk into the tunnel under the Thames. We decided to head for Mayfair area and watch a movie (another freebie with our pass) I was going to watch Sex in the city 2 and Greg was going to watch the new Nicholas Cage movie. Sex in the city started 1/2hr after Greg’s movie but went for an extra hour so I had to sit through Greg’s movie. It didn’t start until 8.30 so we had an hour to kill and thought we better get some dinner (not that hungry after big lunch). We went for a wander down some side streets that were full of pubs/bars and restaurants and decided on the pub back near the cinema. I just had a sandwich and Greg fish & chips, we just got finished in time to go into the movie. We caught Metro back and walked back to hotel.
Next morning we walked through the Kensington Gardens (right on corner of our hotel) which also joins onto Hyde Park. We walked the Lady Diana Memorial walk and came across a pond (in which Greg discovered later on is the oldest model boat lake in London- not used this summer because of weed etc) We went to Kensington Palace with our passes- oh my god, I wonder if the Queen has seen what they have done there. They have turned one end (which has been open to the public for over 100 years) into a fairytale castle and has no furniture or regal stuff in it anymore just make believe stuff and dead twigs and stories of fairies etc so not what we were expecting. The other end of course is still lived in so no visitors there.
We then continued our walk through the park to the Royal Albert Hall to do a tour, but they can’t do a tour that day because a setup was happening for the England Ballet and they don’t do their tours on those days, so off we go again and head for Harrods. We had a wonder around their souvenir section which I thought was quite reasonably priced considering where we were but didn’t need Harrods cloth bags or teddy bears or tins of tea etc. We went to the food halls and even they were normally priced you could either by prepared meals or buy your fresh fruit/veg., meats fish etc a bit like the Victoria markets in Melbourne but a bit posher. We had a beautiful lunch in the food hall of bouillabaisse- seafood soup entrée size, thankfully because we were both very satisfied after it, it had pipi’s, huge scallops, King prawn the size of the plate, fish and mussels and it was (remembering where we are) only 18 pounds which is what you pay in Australia for something similar. We wandered around the furniture sections and some of the clothes sections and saw some big price tags there but we were only there to look anyway. Back onto Metro and headed for the London Bridge Experience-supposedly the scariest tour in London. We had to change trains at Westminster so while in the vicinity we decided to look at the Abbey (I thought the big building as we got off the train was the Abbey -didn’t help that Greg also said that is a massive Abbey, it was actually the Parliament buildings and the Abbey was on the other side of the road). This was not on our London Pass and cost 15 pounds to enter so we decided not to venture in as we were running out of time also. We then headed for 10 Downing St because it is nearby, again not what we expected all big security gates at end of street and no access. I don’t even think we saw the house. (I took a photo of it. G) Greg was really keen to see that attraction and nothing really to see. We saw the horse cavalry area which I think is where the horses are trained and kept for the changing of the guards. Across the road is the banqueting house, on our pass so thought we would have a quick look? Now that we are up this far we decide to head for the metro closer which just happens to be in Trafalgar Square so look around there and Greg walked up to Leicester Square for a look. Finally back on Metro to London Bridge. All the staff are dressed up as characters and they play roles as they explain the history of the London Bridge, very well done, nice change to having an audio guide plastered to your ear as we have had the whole trip. Then for the not too faint we headed down to the dungeons in single line hands on person in front of you shoulders and enter complete darkness, I am very grateful that we were at the end of the line as people were jumping out of all sorts of corners and scaring the living daylights out of everyone but mainly in the middle of the line, mind you Greg had a zombie following him most of the way and I could tell he was a bit uncomfortable because he was pushing me into the ground with the pressure on my shoulders, I also felt him jump a few times. We walked through hanging heads, body parts, we had to squeeze through some padded wall thing that we just fitted in and the bit that had me screaming (and the guy in front telling me to calm down) was when the chain saw started up and he started coming at us with it. Let me tell you I was glad to see the light at the end of this tunnel. (for those of you that know me, you know how much I like scary stuff! not). Again the day was over for sightseeing 5pm and everything finished so we missed St Paul’s again but went for a walk there anyway to say that at least we had seen it from the outside. While in the area we enjoyed another delicious 2 for 1 meal in an old pub compliments of the London pass, and then headed back home.
Day 3 last day in London ready for our trip to KL.
After me waiting very patiently until 10.45am for Greg to get off computer (uploading blogs) and finish packing etc I mentioned that if he wanted to see anything that day then we should be leaving (also check out is 11am). So by the time Greg got dressed and we dropped bags off etc we had to cut three attractions of the list, Kew Botanical Gardens, Hampton Palace and Abbey Road. We went on a nice relaxing canal cruise for 45 minutes and learnt the history of the canals. We were on one of the oldest working boats, which was like a long skinny barge. We ended up at Camden markets- oh my god. Usually when you go to a market they are very similar, this is the most different, unusual multicultural market I have ever been to. There were food stalls everywhere cooking different nationally foods - we went Moroccan. There are carvings and statues of horses at every corner you turn. Nothing to say why or what it is all about but I have a feeling that in the days when the canals were the only method of transport the canal boats had to be pulled by horses they walked along the left side of the canal pulling the cargo on the boats etc, when they got to a tunnel the horse would get untied and walk up over the top of the tunnel and wait at the end of the tunnel for the boat to come through. The crew on the boat had to then use their legs to crawl along the walls to get the boat through to other side. So as there were so many horses needed and no one owned one. They hired them I am thinking that this area may have been the stables etc that kept the horses for the hirers. (Amazing… Kath. You said you didn’t know then you answered the question correctly! G)
The markets were about 3 levels and went off in lots of different directions, a very big variety of goods sold at these markets and I believe they are open every day. Defiantly worth a visit just to be amazed. We then went to the main street to find the tube station to go home. That was just as different - the punks hang out here, interesting hair styles, jewelery in all sorts of places on the body and creative art work all over the body. We decided that as we missed the Great Albert Hall yesterday and couldn’t make it to the other attractions before they closed that we would try and get to hall in time for a tour. They had a 4pm tour available which went for an hour. We visited the Queens box and the Queens room, all levels of the hall and learnt the history of the building. There were some ballet dancers rehearsing while we were there, Swan Lake was being showed that week and if we had have known how cheap it was we would have gone the night before.
When we left the Great Albert Hall, we walked across the road to the other end of Hyde park and strolled through around the lake and then went and hired a row boat and Greg rowed me around for ½ hr. We then walked through the middle of the park and headed back to the hotel. We collected our bags and headed to the station to get train to the airport.
We had a 12.20am flight and thought we could get something there for dinner while we waited. Everything was closing up when we arrived so Greg got something from Starbucks. I knew when we got on the plane we would get a meal and I wasn’t hungry. We boarded and I had a big man next me. Luckily just before take-off they moved him so he could sit next to his wife. This meant I had spare seat next to me to spread out. We starting taxiing off a little delayed and then an announcement came over from captain that due to someone having an anxiety attack we had to take them back to terminal and would be delayed ½ hr. As we were last flight out that night all the engineers etc had gone home, planes can’t leave until an engineer has signed the plane off and we had to re fuel etc, by the time they got called back to work it was about 1 ½ hr delay which meant instead of sitting on plane for 13 hours it went up to 14 ½ hrs. Turns out the guy got out of his seat while the plane was taxiing, and tried to open the rear door of the plane!!!
Goodbye Europe!!!
Kath

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Photos

The London Tower Bridge
No this is NOT london Bridge!!!

Old Entrance to the Tower of London. One way
Henry the 8th's wives went in here!!

Little Venice - Near Paddington
This is where the Jason Barge leaves from

The Serpintine
Thats the name of the lake.... not the subject. It's in Hyde Park

Comments

[Lockie]

lol hmmm non-possum weird name, nice armour and mum looks fat in the pic witht the other dude.....na joking sheis fat ;)