3 days on a London Pass

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Panorama - View of Trafalgar Square and Nelson's Column from the steps of the National Art Gallery

Day 6 It's now Friday and I am struggling to remember what I did on Monday. I had decided to purchase a London Pass for 3 days for 65 quid. This card would allow me prepaid access to many of the sites that I wanted to see, sometimes to be able to jump the queue too. I order it online and collect it in Regent Street (I'm sure I owned that street once in Monopoly). It's quite surreal to be wandering the streets of a game board. With card in hand I make my way to Westminster Bridge and hop on the boat (use London Pass) to take me down river to the Tower of London. Everything is so easy to access and all very civilised, you know. While I wait in line I saw 4 ladies with matching pink jackets. And of course I couldn't resist asking what's it all about (I'm not backward in coming forward). They are 4 sisters from South Africa who've come to England for two weeks together. One has a son who lives here and it (the trip) just organised itself really. We enjoyed coffee on the boat and a great chat and laugh.

I say my goodbyes to the 4 pink ladies at the Tower and move straight through the gates (courtesy of London pass again). My timing is perfect and I latch on to a tour given by an official Beafeater. To become a Beafeater at the Tower of London you must serve 22 years in her Majesty's service. He is funny and makes the tour very interesting and memorable.

The Tower Bridge is close by and I make my way over to that. I breeze through the gates again (London Pass) and climb the stairs to the top. It's a magnificent structure and again I meet an unusual lady. She's Japanese and in traditional dress. I learn that she wears her native costume about once a week so it wasn't a special occasion. The bridge and it's operations are impressive.

I stroll back towards the Millenium Bridge on the south side of Thames and stop for lunch at a pub. Fish n Chips with a 'alf' pint of ale.

Day 7 St Paul's is my first stop today. I breeze through entry again (London Pass benefits) and collect an audio guide. Much better to wander around and key in numbers at my leisure. A few weeks ago I saw a TV special on the building of the cathedral by Christopher Wren. I was taken by the sheer magnitude of the project but I have to say that although the narrator of the show said all the words with awe and wonder, you don't appreciate the size, detail and feat of engineering unless you see it in person. Photos were forbidden but I did snap a quickie of the mosaic ceiling. The views of London from the top of the dome were amazing. I decided to just walk the streets afterwards so I headed along Fleet Street and kept going and found myself in West End.

I continued on and found Trafalgar Square and The National Art Gallery. I did go in to the gallery (London Pass) and explored the many rooms of paintings. Van Gogh, Rodin, Rembrandt, Renoir and many others were there. It is a popular place for school excursions too so nearly every room had a class sitting on the floor in front of a piece and they discussed it for awhile and then moved on to the next. My neck and shoulder weren't feeling too good and I could feel a sore throat coming on so I left earlier than I really wanted and started walking back to the hostel. I rounded a corner and found a Chinese reflexology massage. Yay! I walked in and organised half hour foot and half hour neck and shoulder. Brilliant! I did fall asleep during the foot massage which was performed by Ping, the Chinese doctor. Then he tells me to take of clothes on top half for the neck/shoulder. I thought this is strange because the chinese usually work over the clothing. Next thing I know a woman comes in and in thick Russian accent she says to me she's Katarina and where do you hurt. She scared me. BUT, in all the pain I felt over the next half hour, it certainly did the trick afterwards. She would say things like (imagine in heavy accent) 'you have many calcification...i vill vork on dis much hard' or 'does dis hurtingk?' while pushing her fingers from one side of my neck to the other. And at the end, 'you ok, time to go'.

Day 8 Today is my roommate's birthday. I had planned to go to Greenwich and to the Globe Theatre and she wanted to see them too. So we set off together. A great little driverless train trip directly into the town of Greenwich, a quaint village with little pubs and shops along the main street. It's coming into Spring now, so daffodils are blooming everywhere around England. We walk to the top of the hill to the Observatory and find the clock and meridian line. With pictures taken, there wasn't much else to see except for the special clock that was invented to be accurate at sea. We walk back down the hill and find one of the pubs for lunch, the Shepherd Neame. We enjoy Steak and Ale pies and a glass of local brew. Very nice!

Back on the train to Monument and over the Millenium Bridge (Wibbly Wobbly Bridge) to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. (London Pass again). There are some really interesting stories about this place. The theatre is put together like an IKEA piece of furniture...all timber pieces held together with dowel. The original theatre was no different but it was actually owned by another man and it was in an entirely different location. Now, this man went away on holidays for a few weeks. While he was away, Shakespeare and his friends dismantled the theatre in it's original position and shipped it upriver to store in a warehouse. When a suitable block of land was decided upon they took the pieces out and reassembled the theatre in it's new location. The owner of the theatre came back and found, much to his surprise, that his theatre had been stolen! He reported it to the police but seeing as there was no law about stealing a building, Shakespeare got away with it. What a scoundrel!

Around mid afternoon I get a call from Rob, my host to be in Brighton/Shoreham. He says there's a party on at the flat and would I like to kick off my visit at the party. He offers to collect me from London and drive me back. I was due to take the train in the morning (Thursday) but it was worth it to go the night before. The party was a Hawaiian theme and I find some lae in a party shop nearby. How very handy!

We finally get back to Shoreham and arrive at the party around 10pm. It's in full swing with everyone in some kind of costume. There's plenty of karaoke and punch and little sweet shot drinks that I think hit me harder than the punch. It was a great night and we didn't leave until after 2am. Excuse the pics as they are taken at night with my iphone. I forgot my real camera. With all the singing going on I finally lose my voice. Yeah, I tell you are all sorry about that. ha ha

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Photos

Inside the chapel at Tower of London
another secret photo. The black crypt middle right holds the remains of Ann Boleyn

standing guards outside the royal jewels
mostly old crowns in this one

The White Tower
Royalty on the top floor
Staff under them
Kitchen on lower floor

The last chopping block
The last beheading was performed on this block. Block were made to fit each person who was to use it.

The last execution.
On this chair was sat the German spy in 1941. The firing squad hit him in the chest and he slumped forward. The remaining bullets hit the back of the chair. You can see the damage

On this spot of the Tower Green is where the beheadings took place.
Henry VIII was a tyrant