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TILBURY TO LONDON, ENGLAND
I got off the ship earlier than expected but my driver got there a half hour earlier than scheduled, so it worked out fine. This was the first time I’ve tried private transportation from the airport or dock to a hotel and it worked out great. I’ll definitely repeat, but internet searching for a fair price is essential if you're trying to stick to a budget. The more people in a party, the more reasonable it is in general. The company I selected is Blackberry Cars and I'm very pleased with them. My driver was very personable and he gave me several hints on things to do since it was my first time in London in over 30 years. He also made a few diversions on the way to the hotel to point out some of the points of interest to see in the vicinity of my hotel, the Strand Palace Hotel in Covent Garden. I got to the hotel about 9:30 am, but the room wouldn’t be ready until 2:00 pm.
I had made arrangements to meet by table mates and friends, Jack and Susan, from the ship at their hotel in the Knightsbridge
section of the city, so I took a taxi to the Sheraton Park Hotel to await them. When they checked in, we took a walk to one of their favorite pubs, the Grenadier. It wasn’t open until noon, so we walked around the neighborhood, past Harrods and stopped at an underground station to get some maps of the “tube” routes and stations. Then to the Grenadier. A few brews later, I ordered some fish and chips and they split an order. Good judgment because the cod was large. A good choice in an very old and authentic pub. I took a taxi back to my hotel. The tube is faster and cheaper so I’ll be using that in the future.
Back at the hotel, my room was now ready and I unpacked and took a short nap. Later I was deciding whether to go out to eat or use room service. I went with the go out option and I’m glad I did. There were several pubs I passed that were good options, but I kept going until I got to Covent Garden. The place was packed with many people and many pubs and restaurants. It was a Saturday
night and people of all ages were out and enjoying themselves. I saw three different street entertainers who had sufficient talent that I thought could have performed professionally, but they were working for tips. On my walk back to my hotel, I stopped at an Italian restaurant, there are a lot of them here, for a pizza and a beer. Then to bed.
Day two, Sunday. I started with a coffee and scone at a café across the street from the Corpus Christi Church I attended. It is a beautiful, old church undergoing restoration. After Mass I went to see if there was some half price theater tickets available. Some musicals I wanted to see were sold out, but I did get a reasonably priced ticket to “Let It Be”, a musical review featuring songs of The Beatles. The ticket office was close to Trafalgar Square, a short walk from my hotel, but I made a stop at the Lamb and Flag, another old, historic pub. I decided on the traditional Sunday roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy. Very good, but not as good as the White Horse. Back at the hotel, I
secured a ticket for a hop-on - hop-off bus ride. Pick up was only one block from my hotel. The weather was nice and sunny, a little cool, but I chose to sit upstairs. The whole route took more than two hours because of the Sunday traffic and some demonstrations at Trafalgar Square. Some of the sites I passed I’ll be going to tomorrow and I’ve bought tickets for some of them.
I had a nice surprise when I went to Let It Be. I don’t know why but a uniformed young man approached me and asked to see my ticket and announced that I was getting a complimentary upgrade from the balcony to the front row of the dress circle. How about that! I don’t know why, but maybe it was because I was early. The show was fantastic! Almost all the Beatles’ hits are in the two hour show and the four singer/instrumentalists and a background keyboard artist were just great!
After the show I walked back to Covent Garden and what a difference a day makes. At 10:30 there were no street performers and only a few pubs and restaurants had sizable numbers of patrons.
I stopped at The Wellington pub on the way home.
London has so many attractions and so many visitors. The four days I have here will only allow me to scratch the surface.
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Sunday Roast
Lovely reading this made me smile miss you xox