Expressions and experiences - London / UK / Paris COMPLETED About This Page:

[DrDolphin]

What a wonderful report so far!!!

[chezp]

Sunday 4 May – part five: “this is something we hoped we’d do”

We rolled out of there, both full of food and drink and headed back down the King’s Road to catch a bus into the centre of London, as we wanted to show Sue and Steve the sights of the city at night. It’s hard to believe, but there don’t appear to be any guided tours of London by night – at least there were none that I could find. It’s something that I’m sure someone could make a lot of money from, as it’s a beautiful city at night, as we set out to prove.

We got the bus and headed upstairs to the top deck of the double decker bus – and we were the only ones up there, so we grabbed front row seats! I won’t forget Sue and Steve telling us “this is something we hoped we’d do” – well, I’m glad we were able to make that dream come true.



We got off at Piccadilly Circus:



As you can probably tell, this is one of the busier parts of London at night, with shops, restaurants, clubs and theatres. As everywhere was still open, we headed into one of the souvenir shops to pick up the free London teddy bear that you get with your London Pass. While we were in there, we had a look at some of the souvenirs available – some of them more unusual than others…



I hasten to add that Steve did not buy these!

Then it was into the Theatre District, passing the gateway into Chinatown and finally into Leicester Square, where all the film premieres take place in this country.



From there, it was a short walk over to Covent Garden and it was amazing how quiet it was at night.



Our next stop was Trafalgar Square and, as we walked, it began to rain very lightly.



By now, everyone was tired and we knew that Steve was struggling with the walking, but there was one final sight that we wanted to show them – and we really had saved the best until last – the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. We took a bus over there to save on the walking and then walked back over Westminster Bridge.



By now, I think we were all beat and it was over to Westminster station to catch the Tube back to the hotel. Once there, it was straight off to bed.

The weather today was hot, sunny and humid and in the 70’s.
The best thing today was seeing some of the Changing of the Guard and dinner.
The worst thing today was it raining lightly in the evening.
The funniest thing today was everyone trying to learn Italian at dinner.
Today we tried seeing the Changing of the Guard
And the result was it’s pretty impressive and it makes me proud to be British.
The most magical moment today was seeing the Houses of Parliament at night.

Next: “the black cabs are a British tradition”

[karmic]

Beautiful night shots of London! Looking forward to more.

[Wendyismyname]

Excellent update! Love the nighttime photos!

[lauren-roxy]

It really is beautiful there at night!! Great photos!!

[Lemap760]

That was a busy day you all had. Great pictures of the city at night.

[greentie]

Wonderful night shots!
I'm beginning to suspect that you all needed a holiday by the end of the week!

[RobDVC]

Fantastic evening photos!

[Colexis Mom]

Just getting caught up again! Great pictures of the zoo, the Disney store, and London at night And what a great meal you guys had More please

[stretch2864]

I'm just getting caught up today. It looks like you had a wonderful time! I love all the photos! Now I'm getting the bug to go back to England again.

[DrDolphin]

The nighttime photos are lovely!!

[chezp]

Monday 5 May – part one: “the black cabs are a British tradition”

It was an earlier start than yesterday, as we wanted to get to the Tower of London early before the crowds built too much.

We met Sue and Steve downstairs and headed into breakfast, but it was very different to yesterday, with no hot buffet. If you wanted hot food, you could order it and they would make it for you. The place was dead, with only one other table in there, so we literally had staff at our beck and call, as they had nothing to do.

Once we were done eating, it was back to the rooms to finish off packing and then we dropped our bags off at bell services. The plan was to take a famous London black cab to pick up the car and then we’d park it somewhere else – hopefully for free, or if not, a lot cheaper, then we’d come back to the hotel later in the day and collect our stuff. At first, I don’t think they got the full significance of travelling in a London black cab, but after we told them “the black cabs are a British tradition”, then one eyed Steve was out on patrol, getting all the footage he could!


Inside the black cab

Hyde Park [/b]

Well, we got the car back easily enough and paid the money (half the usual charge, as you can get that when you see a West End show) and then we headed out. Our plan was to head down to the Embankment along the River Thames, as that’s usually free parking on Sunday and on holidays – well, not any longer. The mean powers that be have now turned it into a red route, which means no parking at any time, even Sundays and holidays. We tried Waterloo Bridge, another of our usual cheap parking haunts and no luck there either. This was not beginning to look good….

Fortunately there is somewhere else we know of that we’ve parked at before – a car park near Waterloo station that’s reasonably cheap and so we headed there. Fortunately, the deal was £7 for the whole day, which was a lot cheaper than the one we had just left, so it was worth moving the car. Safely parked up, it was off to catch the Tube to the Tower of London. My goodness, we certainly did some walking to get to the platform! I had forgotten that if you get the Jubilee line here, then it is a long walk. As we walked, I remembered that experience from before.

Waterloo station

Entering the London Tube network

On the platform – this is the only Tube line that has the train line closed off

We got to the Tower of London at around 10am, later than we’d planned, but it was still early enough, as there was no line to get in – and for once, we could just go straight to the entrance and not have to exchange our London Pass for tickets first.


About to enter the Tower

The “gherkin” – modern architecture surrounds the tower


There is the option of taking a tour of the Tower of London with the famous Beefeaters, but we opted not to do that, as we wanted to take advantage of touring while it was quiet – does that sound like anywhere else you know?! I saw the size of the groups with the Beefeaters later on and I’m glad we made that decision, as there were probably around 30 people on the tour.


The famous Beefeaters…

… and with those famous Beefeaters

Instead, we headed straight towards the Crown Jewels, as that’s the real highlight of any trip here, taking some photos on the way:


Tower Bridge peeps out from above the trees


Next: “this would be better if it was a wine rack – then I’d feel at home”

[Wendyismyname]

Love the photos. Takes me back to London!! My favorite I think has to be the Tower Bridge. It's such a neat looking landmark!

more! more!!

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures of the Tower of London and the Beefeaters More please

[JaimeandChad]

Wonderful pictures!!