Advertisement
Published: August 6th 2007
Look at that ring
Mike chose it all on his own and it's just perfect :)We flew from Glasgow down to London Stansted on February 13th. At Stansted we have directions on how to get to Tottenham Hale train station. We are on our way to meet up with our friends John and Simon who we met in Vietnam and then rather unfortunately for all concerned, travelled with them for near enough six weeks. Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand will probably never be the same again!!! I know our livers certainly won't be.
Stansted Airport has a train link down below the passenger concourses, which is where we headed to. We gasped out loud when we found out the cost of the train ticket - double what it cost for our nice, cheap Easyjet flight from Glasgow. Mike vowed there and then that the lads would pay!!! Preferably in the form of beer. We gulped down our dismay and dutifully bought our tickets and clambered on board the train. Soon we were on our way, winding down the tracks to Tottenham Hale. Here, we gazed around looking for Simon. We found him lurking in the car park and managed to persuade him that he really did want to spend some time with us. Simon let us
into his van and then proceeded to drive us to his house, describing on the way how had only just recently passed his driving test. Eeekkkkkk. Thankfully we made it in one piece and were thankful for the glass of wine that waited for us.
After a wee snifter it was time to head to "The Goat". Simon's parents used to own The Goat and Simon still has a spot of bother remembering that he doesn't actually live there anymore. This is especially tricky when he's had a few bevvies and his body automatically starts to climb the stairs to what should be, but no longer is - bed... At the pub we were joined by John - our other layabout lad. Later, Sarah - Simon's girlfriend came by and we all enjoyed ranting and raving - Mike's favorite pastime - all washed down by pints of Magners cider. This all meant that we really had to get a kebab from the shop next door before making our way back to the house. My jetlag proceeded to kick in whilst I was in mid munch and it wasn't too long until I retired to bed for the night.
Simon was up and out the house early the next day so poor John had to entertain us. We went to a little local cafe for a greasy fry up. John had to intervene a punch up! After eating, Mike went to pay and handed the owner a Scottish ten pound note. The owner was aghast by the monopoly money that Mike was trying to give him and refused point blank to take it. He said that it wasn't legal tender. Mike was outraged by this (well his girlfriend is Scottish) and when the owner said that there was a bank nearby, John difused the situation by gently paying with some English money. I don't know!!!
After that excitement we were fueled and ready for any battle. We walked to the nearest train station, luggage in hand and caught a train into London. John jumped off a stop before us as he was heading home. Mike and I caught the underground out to our hotel - the Grange Fitzrovia, which was in a great location right in the West End. We then went for a walk in the surrounding area, along Tottenham Court Road and stopped for a coffee.
London Subway
On the way down. Whilst sipping, we came up with the great idea to head to Leicster Square and try to get some cheap show tickets for that night. Little did we think that we may be challenged - it was February 14th after all!!! We did managed to get tickets and were soon the proud owners of two passes to the show 'We Will Rock You'.
After purchasing our tickets we went back to the hotel. We checked in and freshened up in our room. We then took the underground out to Tower Hill tube station - the stop for Tower of London and Tower Bridge. The Tower of London began formation in the early 1080s when William the Conqueror built a stone tower in the middle of his London fortress. Over the centuries various monarchs have added to the buildings which, over time, have been a fortress, prison, palace and also home to a polar bear (in 1251). Famous exectuions include that of Anne Boleyn who was the second wife of King Henry VIII, she was beheaded on the 19 May, 1536. Lady Jane Jane Grey "the nine days queen" was also executed at the Tower. Over 900 years, the Tower
has been the holding point of many prisoners. One well known soul is Sir Walter Ralegh - a well known explorer and poet. He was imprisoned for many years before being beheaded. The Kray brothers, Ronnie and Reggie were held in the Tower in 1952. The well known twins were notorious crime leaders from London's East End during the 50s and 60s and were involved in various murders. The Crown Jewels are held in the tower, the Cullinan I and the infamous Koh-i-Noor are few of the famous jewels to be found.
Tower Bridge has spanned the River Thames since 1894. It is a combined bascule and suspension bridge - which basically means that it is movable. Which, indeed it is - the bridge opens to let ships through on occasion. The original raising mechanism was powered by pressurised water - the water was pumped by steam engines.
We emerged from underground to beautiful sunshine. The Tower of London was basking in the rays and I enjoyed myself immensely, taking a picture of this and a picture of that! Mike suggested that we walk along Tower Bridge. Oh, great idea - but wait, I just need to take
Great brekkie spot
Little cafe near our hotel a photo of this. Oh and a photo of that. I soon noticed that Mike was tapping his foot . A common sight as the poor boy often has to wait for me as I become engrossed in taking pictures of the most ridiculous of sights. He was walking along, standing and waiting for me - then tapping his foot again. I would get a few paces along and then stop for another shot. Eventually he managed to lead me to Tower Bridge but as I stopped for another picture I soon lost him in the throng of people. I wandered along and found him leaning against the side of the bridge. I walked over to him and he looked at me. The next thing I knew he was saying that rather than getting rid of him would I keep him forever and marry him. It was very out the blue and took me by surprise. I looked at him and then the murky waters below and thought that I'd better say yes. NO!!! of course I didn't do that... Well, I did say yes - but it was with tears in my eyes and elation at the thought of
spending the rest of my life with the man I love.
So, there you have it - engaged - hurrah😊
After that, we were a bit giddy and strolled aimlessly around for half an hour or so. I was so 'in the clouds' that I didn't even think to take a photo of the London skyline from the Bridge itself - now that's an occurence that very rarely happens! We managed to pull ourselves together and got ourselves onto the underground and made our way to Tottenham Court Road. The DominionTheatre was very close to the tube and we found a pub to have a celebratory pint of beer and a bowl of chips - we sure do it in style!!! After that it was on to the show, which we enjoyed immensely. We realised that we were hungry after sitting dancing in our seats. We made our way to Leicster Square and found an Indian Restaurant that was still open and managed to have some dinner. Then it was back to the hotel for some beauty sleep - well, I am going to be a bride you know.
The next morning we walked around the corner
Mike
With Tower Bridge in the background from the hotel to a small cafe/bakery that we'd noticed the day before. We had brunch here and enjoyed egg and sausage baguettes that were warm, fresh and yummy. After that we went to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The 316 ft clock tower was built in 1858 and is a very well known sight in London. It is the world's largest four-faced, chiming turret clock. Although known as Big Ben, it is in fact the large bell in the tower that is affecionately known as "Big Ben". The clock tower sits at one end of the Houses of Parliament. The Parliament Buildings are home to the 'House of Lords' and the 'House of Commons'. Also known as the Palace of Westminister, the buildings contain close to 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases and over 2 miles of corridors.
After staring up at Big Ben we walked over a bridge to the other side of the Thames to get a full view of the Parliament Buildings from afar. We strolled along the Thames before re-crossing the River further along. We then walked by Westminister Abbey, a site that has history which spans over a thousand years. In the middle
John and Mike
Looking the most behaved I've ever seen them. of the tenth century, Benedictine monks established a daily worship. Since 1066, the Abbey has been the coronation church and is the final resting place for 17 monarchs.
We ambled through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Queen. No luck there. Buckingham Palace has been the official London home of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. It started as a townhouse in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham and became an official royal residence in 1837. Since no sight of Queenie was beheld, we wandered up through Green Park and took the subway to Piccadilly Circus which is a famous traffic intersection in the West End. Neon and video signs greet you as you alight up the stairs from the subway stop down below. We conquered the crowds and walked through the streets of London back to the hotel to collect our luggage. We then trundled it all to the tube, making our way to Victoria Train Station to start the next leg of our journey. More of that in our next blog.
Until then, take care and lots of love xxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.376s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 27; qc: 151; dbt: 0.3176s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.6mb
Jon H
non-member comment
Congratulations.
Good man Mike, congratulations to the both of you. Jon.