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Day 3 July 3rd - Playing Tourist
The first of our two full days in London was doing what any tourist does in London - seeing the sites. We were up early, and in Jeff's case, very early (about 4:30am!!!!). While not welcomed, the early start meant we were on our way by 9am. Our train ride into London was spent reading the local papers whinge about how bad sports the Australian cricket team was after the Bairstow dismissal in the 2nd Ashes Test. It was a great win by the Aussies to go 2 up in the series and hearing the Poms whine about it made it all the sweeter!
The first stop today was the London Science Museum. We spent about 2 and a half hours there and we barely scratched the surface of the amazing content that was on offer. You could spend a whole week there and still not get through it all. By coincidence, the Royal Albert Hall was just around the corner and made for an easy detour. What a fabulous building. Unfortunately there were no tours today and no performances this week as it is booked out for private dinners in the evenings.
A morse code station
A tribute to my father who was a morse code operator at the Railways for many years. Jeff suggested we have a peak at Harrods, which was only a short walk away so off we went to see how the other half shopped. Most items had no price tags and we all know if you have to ask the price it probably means you can't afford it. We made our way to the various Mens' departments. Of particular interest was the pair of sandals which had been heavily discounted from 660 pounds to 419. Or converted, that's roughly $1,250 to $800 - for a pair of very basic sandals!!!
We did find the bargain bin which was full of socks marked down by 50% so I did buy a pair of bike socks for an acceptable price of $19. It was about this time that Jeff spotted the cycling section. Not surprisingly the brand of choice for cycling clothes was Rapha. There was a very nice splash jacket and cap both reduced by 50% which made them very good buys that I just couldn't pass up so I guess I have to find a bit of extra room in my luggage.
After our brush with "the other half, and how they shop" we decided
to catch a tube to Buckingham Palace. This is my third trip to London and the crowds have been much smaller than previous times. It makes it much easier to get around and see the sites. Unfortunately Chucky wasn't about as we were hoping to be invited in for some afternoon tea with scones - maybe next time?
We were on a roll at this stage and continued on to The Tower of London. A very impressive fort built about 1000 years ago that now houses the crown jewels. And after that, the mightily impressive Tower Bridge, the famous draw bridge which spans the Thames.
By now it was after 5pm and we had made plans to meet Felice, a friend from Melbourne who happens to be in London as well, for dinner. Felice is on his own grand adventure in Europe travelling for 8 weeks. We had a great timing catching up and swapping stories before heading home at about 9pm.
Tomorrow's plans are still fluid. There may be a small local ride to warm up for the cycling part of the trip which is about to begin in earnest (weather permitting), but there will definitely
Harrods Perfume Department
The cacophony of smells from the various perfumes almost made my eyes water. be some washing and a bit of tuning up of the bikes to be done before we leave on Wednesday.
I can't say it actually feels like summer over here. It's been cool to cold both days so far with a few warmer patches thrown in and there is a high chance of showers for most of the day tomorrow. I might get to use that Rapha jacket sooner than I expected!
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