Our last port-London

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We woke up in South Hampton, our port in London. Our cruise has come to an end 😞 We had lattes and breakfast with Bobbie and Annie upstairs and then went back to our room to gather our stuff. Our luggage is already down in the terminal. The staff picked it up last night. We got off the ship at 8:15 and got on a shuttle bus. The city of London is actually 2 hours away. The drive is all freeway driving so there is not a lot to see. We arrive at the Victoria Coach Station in London around 11 am. I have to go to the bathroom. There was a toilet on the bus, but the last time I used a toilet on a bus it was 1975 and it was gross. Annie had to go on the bus. The door was locked and Bobbie had to get the key from the driver. The driver told Bobbie the reason why it is locked is that he needs to explain that there are two doors to the bathroom. One opens out to the street and once someone fell out when they opened the wrong door, so be careful. Of geez! Annie made it back to her seat safely. The bus station is tiny and very crowded. We think our hotel is within walking distance. Ken asks a taxi driver and says it is right around the corner. After a few misses on turns we find it. It's a nice Hilton Garden Inn. I got upgraded because I still have Diamond status from my year in California but not for long. The room is on the top floor, newly remodeled and is very nice. Bobbie and Annie's room is not ready yet so they put their luggage in our room so we can begin exploring London. We got tickets for the "Hop-on-Hop-off bus. With only a day here we want to see as much as possible. We sat on top, the exposed area. The weather is partly cloudy and cool, about 58. We passed Buckingham Palace first-you can't see it from our direction, only the wall and bob wired. We passed Hyde Park and the Marble Arch. We passed Madame Tussauds, Telecom Tower, Trafalgar Square, St Paul's Cathedral and went across the River Thames on the London Bridge, back over the river on the Tower Bridge and we got off at the Tower of London. We are hungry; Annie has a restaurant she wants to go to near here. The weather has turned; it is beginning to rain and is windy and a lot cooler. The restaurant is across the street. We find a table by the window. We can see the the Tower of London it is Sunday and there are a lot of families. Bobbie and Annie ordered fish and chips; Ken ordered the roast beef and I ordered the roast pork. It was just ok; the veggies were overcooked and the meat was tough. The wine was great, the guys loved the beers and we had a lot of fun. We stayed there a long time. Next we walked down to the River Thames and got in line for the river boat. As we were in line, 3 young people (1 guy and 2 girls) cut the line right in front of us. Oh no, that will not happen-my ultimate pet peeve. I didn't have to handle it because Ken said, "excuse me, the line is back there". They ignored him. He said it louder, twice more until they got behind us, cutting in front of the people behind us, rolling their eyes and talking about us I'm sure. Why do people think they are so important? We got on the boat and enjoyed a beautiful trip down the river. The London Eye was huge. I wish we had more time to ride it. We got off at Big Ben & the House of Parliament. Ken had to go to the bathroom-which is always an issue here-you have to pay to pee (and most places have the exact change). We gave him 30 pence because that is what other toilets have cost. We walked on up the street and he said he would catch up. Annie and I found a red telephone booth and Bobbie took a picture of us in it (hurry Bobbie-take the picture-it stinks!). We waited and waited and Ken never came so we started walking back to where we left him. All of a sudden he came running down the street and said keep walking. ok...then he told his story. He said he went to the turnstile and put in his 30 pence and it didn't move, so he jumped over it. A worker starting yelling at him, telling him he had to put money in. He said, "I did and it didn't work". The guy said you need to put more in. He said "I don't have any more and I have to pee" and kept going. He finished and you have to go through the turnstile to get out. He tried and it wouldn't budge. As he was jumping over it to get out, a policeman was coming down the hallway and started yelling at him. Ken yelled "God save the Queen!". That's when he began running and caught up to us!! We walked quickly to the bus stop. Fortunately no one was coming after him. We had to transfer buses on the way back to our hotel and Annie and I almost got hit by a bike and a bus; we got a bit confused on the traffic flow being the opposite of the US. We made it back to the hotel and had some hot tea and the guys had a beer. We were tired and ready for bed. Bobbie and Annie have a flight out tomorrow morning. They have to leave around 9 am. We plan to sleep in since our flight is not until 5pm. So...we hugged and said what a wonderful trip we had and said goodbye. In the morning, Ken and I found a local pub and had a wonderful breakfast: English bangers on a warm soft roll, scrambled eggs on toast, orange juice and coffee. We took our time walking back to the hotel, took showers, packed and waited for our taxi. The traffic was horrible, thankfully we allowed enough time. Our flight was great, we had Business class and I slept around 5 hours. We spent the night in NYC and flew to Atlanta in the morning.....and are you ready for this? I went straight to work. It was a great trip; I feel very blessed. I hope you enjoyed coming along.

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