Day 9

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Another noisy night but we shut the window and left the curtain open which reduced the noise a bit but still kept it a bit cooler.

We wandered down for breakfast at about 8.30, showered, tidied our room and were off to an internet cafe by 10. We felt a bit ripped off by the cafe - it cost 6 pounds each for a minimum of 5 hours which won't be able to use. A good learning lesson for us - check before sailing merrily in!

We finished there at about 11am and went and purchased another Travelcard for the day. We went to Westminster and then walked down Whitehall which intersects with Downing Street. I thought we might be able to see Number 10 but Kristy said the road was blocked off at either end and she was quite right. Not only was it blocked off but there were several police with machine guns at the ends. It's so scary and surreal. You really hope that they don't get anxious or trip up or anything!


We carried on walking down toWestminster Abbey and had a look through the gates but it seemed to be closed. Maybe we were at the wrong end. It is massive and very ornately carved - characteristics which seem to typify buildings in Europe. We decided to go on the London Eye so we bought tickets at a discount place ( which weren't really a discount - once again... buyer beware) The Eye is over the Thames from Westminster Abbey so we walked over Westminster Bridge to it. If you have tickets then the queue to get on is only about half an hour. The Eye is like an enormous ferris wheel with load of glass carriages. About 20 people fit into each carriage and it very slowly spins you round in a massive circle. You have to be reasonably quick getting in an out. The views are incredible - you can see the whole of London laid out below you.

After our "flight" (as they call it) we stopped for lunch at the Zen cafe nearby. Kristy had a panini and croissant and I had a salad and a slice of cheesecake. Yum.

We decided to head off to the British Museum. Kristy wanted to take some photos for her Classics teacher. We got the Underground from Waterloo to Tottenham Court Rd station and then walked the 5 minutes to the museum. The museum was brilliant but unfortunately our aching feet did not allow us to see as much as we would have liked. It is unbelievable how tired and footsore you get. Your feet ache so much that you go from seat to seat trying to get relief. I consider myself quite fit but I was rapidly disillusioned!

We did manage to get round the Greek section sso Kristy could get her photos and we also saw the Egyptian mummies which were fascinating. The ancient greeks had muffin trays and colendars which I found amazing. We think we are so modern and superior but, in some ways, we have made very little progress! We also saw the Rosetta stone - the real one! By then our feet were giving up so we left the museum and sat out the front for a while. There was a wee garden set up like Africa. I thought that was great and I got a few photos of some of the more intriguing African plants such as "Elephant's Foot" which did indeed look exactly like an elephant's foot! I think that Kew Gardens might have set it up. I would love to go to Kew Gardens. Next trip. :-)

We took a couple of trains back to Paddington Station and, on the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the internet cafe - determined to make the most possible use of our expensive internet access. I looked up Gatwick Express while we were there. It's a 30 minute trip from Victoria Station which will be enjoyable. While I waited for Kristy to finish up I did a bit of surfing but wished I hadn't as I discovered the shocking and appalling news of the death of a good friend 4 days earlier. It was overwhelming. I felt such a long way from home. Kristy switched our computers off, took my arm and led me back to the hotel in a state of great distress. RIP Sharon.

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Photos

Downing Street
as close as the general public gets!

Guarding Downing Street
quite a disturbing sight for innocent kiwis

The Elephant's Foot plant
isn't this amazing!

The Slug & Lettuce!
we saw this as we walked to the station and thought it was great