Exploring the Town

Sunday, May 5, 2013

We had a pretty good sleep, considering I went to bed at 7:30.  I woke up at 4am and was at the computer working on the first report when Don wandered in to check on me.  After talking a bit I went back to bed and slept until 9am, but Don was wide awake by then.

We have promised ourselves to continue to try to exercise and watch our calories, so Don got out our host's bicycle and after a bit of work he went for a ride along the cycle superhighway #CS3 that passes right by our house.  He rode past Wapping Wall and on to London Bridge and the Tower of London before turning around and coming back home.

When he returned he got the baby stroller out of the basement, and armed with that and some bags we went to the Tesco to do some serious shopping.  Prices here are high, but it is easy to forget that pounds are 1 1/2 times each dollar.  We loaded up the stroller with bags of groceries and wheeled our "babies" along the river and back home.

Later that afternoon we retraced Don's bike ride by walking all the way into London and around the Tower of  London and back again--6 1/2 miles.  The original plan was to ride the light rail back home, but we couldn't figure out how to purchase a 7 day travel pass, so we walked instead.

Monday was a Bank Holiday and we knew that all of the museums and parks would be very crowded.  The weather was beautiful and sunny as we set out for town again, this time on the light rail.  We still couldn't figure out how to get a travel pass, so we asked the conductor who gave us a free pass to ride to the Bank Station where we could get help from a ticket agent.

Once we got our 7 day ticket handled we were off to town with the crowds of holidaying Brits.  We decided that all of the museums and parks would be very crowded, so we agreed to get on the red hop-on hop-off bus to get an overview of the city.  First we took yellow route which took us all around the town from Tower Hill to Hyde Park and back.  Our lively guide kept up a running commentary of interesting facts laced with plenty of corny jokes.  As expected, all of the parks and points of interest were full of people enjoying the sunny weather and the holiday.

Our bus tour included a ride on a boat along the Thames and the Jack the Ripper tour, so we tried to get both of those activities in.  We didn't make it in time for the Jack the Ripper tour, but the boat ride was very pleasant and our day was full.

We rode the whole loop around the town and were happy to finish up and take the light rail back home for dinner and a rest.  We were able to stay awake until 10pm, so our bodies are adjusting well.

The following day we returned to town to continue our hop bus tour.  We took the blue line, which goes past many of the famous museums--the Baden-Powell museum, the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert museum, Picadilly Circus, the British Museum and the Royal Albert Hall.

We stopped and ate our picnic lunch in Hyde Park and then walked across the street, looking right, of course, and visited Harrods.  All of the pretty Harrod's sales people were standing at attention, ready to help anyone who was interested in their goods.  They could tell that Don and I were not there to buy and didn't accost us.

We strolled from room to room, admiring the themes and decor of each area, gawking at an Hermes scarf for 20000 pounds, oohing at the stained glass windows in the grocery section, and gulping at the $7.50 a dozen eggs for sale.  There was beautiful beef available at the Harrod's butcher shop, not to mention caviar and champagne, fresh vegetables, chocolates to die for, and all kinds of delicacies.

The weather continues to be under Don's power, sunny and blue.  The Londoners are wearing their shorts and sandals, just like a bunch of Californians.  I wonder if they know they owe this weather to my husband, who has demonstrated his weather control powers in Scotland, Wales and Ireland on previous trips.