Advertisement
Published: June 10th 2007
Hi everybody!
Just a quick message to give our thoughts on London before we head off on our Contiki tour tomorrow morning 😊
After a long and arduous trip from Aswan, Egypt we were glad to arrive in a modern city with all the creature comforts we're used to (and then some!). Fresh air was also an added bonus that we'd nearly forgotten about!
Our hotel, the Royal National is HUGE and the corridors are just a maze! There's not much we can say about it except that it's in a good location and at least it's clean (if only just a step up from a hostel! haha). Finally after 17 hours in transit we checked in and got our keys then headed up to our room. It took some time just to get to our room because it is so massive. With relief, we went to open the door to our room only the key didn't work! Steve trundled back down to reception to sort it out, and he returned to the room with a new set of keys. Trying the keys again, after about 10 attempts the door unlocked - we walked in, ready to drop in a heap, only to find another person's luggage and gear inside!!! Bugger.... back downstairs we went :S grrrr Needless to say our first impressions were not good! lol
Since arriving we have been lucky enough to fit quite a lot of sight seeing in. Last night we went on a pre-arranged 'Sinister London' tour (Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes & SOHO). This was extremely interesting and we learnt so much about London and its shady past! Our guide was just fantastic. He used to be a social worker in the courts and currently lectures social history. He seemed very passionate about London, and so our tour went well and truly over time (nearly 5 hours!). Our last stop was a visit to a 500 year old pub which backed right onto the River Thames.... it was just beautiful!
Today we visited Covent Garden Markets and also the famous Portobello Markets in Notting Hill. Both were bustling and had some very cool stuff. Surprise, surprise, Kim bought another necklace pendant! The London Underground train makes it so easy to get around, the longest wait we've had for a train has been less than 5 minutes - usually less than 1 minute - very different to CityRail haha!!!
We are loving London so far and can't wait to spend another week here once our tour is completed!
Well anyway we must run as we have a meet-and-greet at 6pm for our Contiki tour which kicks off early tomorrow morning. Not sure when we'll get to add our next update because of our regimented tour over the next 28 days.
Stay safe and keep smiling,
Love Steve & Kim xx.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.18s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 8; qc: 51; dbt: 0.1322s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Nana
non-member comment
Glad its all going well.
Hi Kim and Steve It was great to read about your time in Cairo, hope the tummy bug has settled down. The pictures were great, and you both look very well. So glad you like (my old home town London) there are some great places to see and I am sure you will enjoy the final two weeks there. Will be looking for your next blog, and wishing we were over there with you both and the warmer weather. We have had far to much rain (as I am sure you have heard) and yes I know we need it, but not 3 months worth of rain in a few days drought or not lol. Ok enjoy the next part of your trip Love to you both Nana Nikki and boys XXX