The day dawned bright with a 20% chance of rain. Of course, in London that means it will rain but the wet stuff waited until after dinner. We bought our hop on/hop off tickets and a ticket for the EYE. Both are absolute musts if time in London is limited. There was a BIG BUS stop just around the corner, so off we went on a tour complete with guided commentary - a bit of history, more of interesting trivia and a lot of delightful British humour. Luck would have it that the India Embassy was right across the street from our pick-up stop.
We snapped a few photos from the open top:
St. Paul's Cathedral, masterpiece of Christopher Wren
Stone pillar honouring the tragedy of the fire of London in 1666 when 80% of the city was destroyed.
Then we hopped off only to hop on the Thames River Cruise (Big Bus is a good option).
The cruise, I think, is probably very relaxing. Unfortunately, we were accompanied by a large group of European high school students, half of which were boorish, obnoxious, rude, insensitive, intrusive, invasive, little buggers, who were completely unsupervised. Mostly silly, high on testosterone boys trying to impress the sophisticated young female students, who also thought they were morons. By the end of the trip, when the captain was calling for someone to explain safety rules to the 'children', we realized their chaperones had plunked themselves as far away as possible, tuned them out and earned not a penny of their wages. Not only was RP ready to read the riot act, but also passive moi was ready to upbraid the leaders and tell them how to do their job. Instead we found a pay to use 'loo' and let the morons disperse. We are, after all, retired and not prepared to let foolish people spoil our fun. The photo ops from the river were amazing.
Yes, we were typical tourists, snapping picts at every moment. Even RP asked for the wee camera I had given him to take to golf courses on the trip. He NEVER wants to take pictures but there he was framing shots and capturing the best light. That says a lot for the wonder of this city. Sadly, any camera cannot really capture the magnitude, the glory, the magnificence, the beauty that is London. We tried and here are a few of our efforts.
Just across the river from the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey is the iconic London Eye, built for the Millenium as a temporary structure. It wasn't long before the accountants figured out the monetary value and the structure became permanent. It stands 400 feet tall, has 32 passenger capsules (one for each London Borough), which hold 25 people per capsule and takes 30 minutes per revolution. The queues move quickly; it is well organized and monitored safely; efficiency reigns supreme; the capsules are quiet and uncrowded; the views jaw dropping, absolutely incredible. BUCKET LIST, BUCKET LIST!! No words, just picts from THE EYE!
After The Eye, RP succumbed to the lure of Ronnie Mac coffee and then it was on to the business of State and Church. The photos cannot possibly capture the incredible architecture or artistic glory of the houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Seeing is believing. BUCKET LIST! BUCKET LIST! (Not the Ronnie Mac part:)
Next stop, Buckingham Palace. This was as close as we got to the Queen.
Nevertheless, we payed our tribute along with the 1000s of tourists who come 24/7 to do just that. There are hoards of people everywhere you go. We just went with the flow, enjoyed the ambience and did not care, in the least, that we were typical tourists. Having said that, we did behave politely, smiled lots, waited our turn, took photos of strangers, who returned the favour, and marvelled at it all!
Now, we did not see Her Majesty but there was someone important in this carriage. We were fortunate to hear the clip clop of horses' feet as the regal carriage approached the palace. Try as I might to capture a shot of WHO, a large white van pulled discreetly in front of the carriage at the palace's far entrance, completely blocking the view of WHO. Someone in a black suit emerged. I saw only a sleeve and leg cuff. Protocol is handled so well and the masses are left to wonder.
Although there are several magnificent museums free of charge, most venues in London charge by the pound, actually multiple pounds. You need to be loaded to do it all justice. We passed on many opportunities to pay the piper, opting instead to listen to the driver's commentary.
At one point our bus was trying to make a tight turn on a VERY narrow street BUT was blocked by a line of cabs who refused to move. It was entertaining for us to hear the Brits react - first with sighs, then with 'bloody hell', next with 'jackass puny cabs', erupting to 'move the f*#**^! thing backwards' expressed by the young ladies behind us. Finally, cheers when our driver finally yelled at the cabbie, who obligingly backed up to make room for our huge double-decker. The entertainment was well worth the price of our all day ticket. Oh, BTW, the ticket is now valid for another day because it is October, end of tourist season. You could have fooled us. If this is the quiet time, please do not plan London in high season.
We get to do it all over again tomorrow with different points of interest. Big Bus offers no less than 39 stops, 52 venues. Back at the Strand we were greeted by our cheery doorman.
After happy hour and photo reviewing we headed off the the nearby Maple Leaf, which was packed last night. Tonight we got a table in no time. Pubs in England are great fun, as was this one for most patrons. As I sat next to stuffed black bear cub and gazed across the room to a moose head, complete with antlers upon which hung unmentionables, I wondered just why we were here and what fun is this? There was a dollar store (called Pounders here) plastic flag banner fluttering over head, a typical Sleeman!'s sign, very old hockey banners and other assorted tacky "made in Canada" stuff. We need to work on our image. Hoping for a good meal I sipped the chardonnay, which ultimately was the best part of our 2nd to last meal in the UK. Oh well, memories are made of this.
Tomorrow will be the last day of this remarkable journey and Harrods awaits. Darn, no £££s left, no weight luggage to spare. Guess we will just have to be typical tourists. I am not ashamed for we help the economy of the UK big time!
Oh and the grande finale, THE THEATRE tomorrow tonight. Someone is suggesting fish and chips are the pre-show meal!
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