London in the rain (2000)

Carole and I flew Icelandair from Halifax to London because we got a much better deal than Air Canada but I don't think we'll fly them again. We felt squashed in like on a charter flight with less leg room and seat room. We had a 2 hour layover in the airport in Reykjavik and watched the sun rise while we waited.

We landed in London around noon on September 14, completely shattered. We decided to take the airport bus which, at that time, took a route through central London. Now it only goes to Victoria Station. We were staying at a converted Victorian mansion in Bayswater, the Inverness Court hotel which we booked through the Holiday House brochure. NOT recommended! It's called the Shaftsbury Hyde Park now and isn't in the brochures anymore. Still not recommended!! Check out Trip Advisor and it's full of horrible reviews so it hasn't changed much. The lobby and stairwells were very elegant, the elevators small and slow. There were stairs once you got to your floor. Hmmm. The room was small as we expected, but our first impression was not great. The carpet was filthy, wallpaper yellowed, curtains hung limply. The outside glass doors to the balcony (well, just wide enough so you could stand if you wanted to brave the pigeon do-do) didn't shut and there was a hole in the glass about an inch round with cracks in the glass. We joked about our bullet hole! The inside sliding glass doors came off the runner once and would have every time if we weren't careful. The beds were narrow and really hard though at least the sheets were clean.

The hotel was busy though, full of German tourists I think. Breakfast was included and was continental in the dining room in the basement. It was also convenient, across from Hyde park and around the corner from the Queensway underground station, a block from the Bayswater station but there's loads of hotels in that area. Pick something else! That made for a bit of a downer to start our trip off but you can't let that bother you. We had prepaid the room and from what I heard also, London was full, with nary a hotel room available as a friend of mine found out that week as well.

No sleep since yesterday but we rested a bit and decided to go out and over to the park for a walk through Kensington Gardens. We passed the children's playground where there is a trunk of an old oak tree with elves and fairies carved and painted into it. It was done in 1911 and is called the "Elfin Wood".

We walked down toward Kensington Palace and saw this building with high windows. It appeared to have a restaurant in it and we decided to go in for high tea as it was high tea time. We weren't dressed for it but others there were in jeans as well so we went in. This, by the way is the Orangerie which was built in 1704 as a greenhouse. We decided to splurge on the Grand Tea which includes a glass of champagne to celebrate the beginning of our trip. Included were a little finger sandwich, raisin scone with fruit syrup and clotted cream and a piece of Belgian chocolate cake! How could one resist! I managed most of it though couldn't eat all the icing on the cake as it was way too rich on top of the clotted cream. And not having eaten since the plane, that champagne sure went to our heads! Time to walk some more!

We went to Kensington Palace for a look through the gates and later walked around the lower end of the park where there were some nearby gardens as far as the Albert Memorial and Albert Hall. Dusk is imminent so we made our way back up to the Bayswater Road end of the park via the same route we took down. We had a look at some souvenir shops opposite the underground stop, but didn't' buy tonight. Noticed that the postcards were fairly cheap here though, 10 for a pound. Back to the hotel, nothing on telly and as usual that first day, overtired so it was hard to drop off to sleep.

The Orangery is an annex to Kensington Palace and has been turned into an elegant tea room. With soaring ceilings, lovely 18th century plaster work, and tall windows letting in lots of light, this tea room is a gem in the middle of Kensington Gardens. It's a nice way to end a visit to Kensington Palace or a good stop while you're wandering through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens itself. They serve massive fruit scones and clotted cream, and also light lunches. They are more expensive than the average tea room or cafe but the experience is well worth it. The desserts and cakes are to die for! They also do a high tea, with or without champagne, after 3 p.m.

My friend Nikki called this morning so we could set a time and place to meet tonight near Liverpool Street station. We went down to breakfast around 9:30. Continental, just rolls, croissants, tiny glasses for the juice. I called another friend to set up a coffee date at 4 in a café on Queensway behind the hotel.

We caught the tube to the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House (see separate review). It's raining but not cold, however it makes it very muggy in the underground. We got off at Temple and walked along the embankment which would have been very pretty if it hadn't been raining.

We were in the Courtauld about an hour and a half, maybe 2. It was a lovely gallery in a lovely building and we were going to have lunch in the café there but it was too full. We went out along the Strand but by now the rain is coming down in buckets! We ducked into a small bookshop to get out of it but it didn't let up. We walked a bit further, trying to avoid the puddles and playing bob and weave with everyone else's umbrellas. Across the road I saw a sign for a restaurant that had a sign offering a hot and cold buffet lunch for £5.50! We had the buffet and a large pot of tea each to warm up. There was a lovely poached salmon on the buffet with veggies and rice. We stayed and had a leisurely lunch, dried off and warmed up.

Once we were done we killed a bit of time in Covent Garden and then, as it was coming up on four, we bolted for a bank machine and caught a taxi and were only 10 minutes late. We met Barb in Café Verdi and had a lovely visit. We talked right up until it was time to leave to catch the tube back west to Liverpool St. and meet Dave and Nikki.

The weather by this time has started to clear up a bit so we were hopeful. Came out in a massive crowd in the train station but found Nikki. ! We waited a few minutes for Dave to arrive then left the station. Just as we came out, it started to thunder and lightening but it didn't rain hard. We walked to a bar, dragged a table to a quiet corner and got settled in for a drink. Later another walk through the dark and quiet City to Pizza Express in the Barbican complex. It was modern, clean, quiet and the thin crust pizza was quite good. We walked to the St. Paul's underground and wow! There's St. Paul's in all it's magnificence lit up!

We arrived back at the hotel about 10:30 and our train tickets had arrived, having been posted by a friend in Manchester. The envelope looked like it had been through the wars! We found out later that the post office had a signature from the hotel received the day before we arrived and the envelope must have been mislaid at the hotel! One more mark against it. Tomorrow we go to Greenwich. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative.

Took awhile to get to sleep. Partly caffeine and partly a succession of beeping horns outside. We overslept so got a late start. We took the tube to Tower hill where we had a gawp at the Tower of London across from the tube station before finding our way to the DLR train. There was recorded commentary on the train as we passed through the stops in the deep east end of London, the old Dock areas on the Thames and we heard all about the history of each section we passed through.

We didn't get off at the stop the guide recommended, thinking we would be closer to the Royal Observatory end of Greenwich park. We decided to start at the Observatory at the top and work our way down. There was, we discovered later, a shuttle bus that takes you up from either the first DLR stop or an information center. Doh.

We walked from the second stop in the general direction of the park and soon figured we were heading the wrong way so changed direction. We started up a side street and I do mean up! It was called Point Hill. Fairly steep and winding and lined with shops and houses and an old school. It was quite pretty even if it was a bit of a tough climb. Luckily, it wasn't raining though overcast and there was a breeze. At the top we were faced with flat greenspace. Which way now?

The Observatory was somewhere on the top of the hill and that's where we were. We see a house called "Ranger House" and a sign about an exhibition of paintings by a French Artist. The house isn't on the little map we have. There was a groundskeeper and he directed us down a path. We made a stop at a café in Greenwich park, bought ice cream and looked at the view for a few minutes but the wind on the hill was chilly. Into the Royal Observatory complex, paid the admission. (Note, admission is now free for the Royal Observatory, Queen's House and Maritime Museum) The first thing we looked at was the Camera Obscura. That is in a darkened room and there's a reflection off a mirror in the ceiling projected to a white surface on a table. You can see all the area surrounding the observatory down the hill to the river and town, magnified. Very neat! The mirror revolves so you get a 360 degree look around you.

We started looking through the displays in Flamsteed House where the first Royal Astonomer lived. The Observatory was set up in 1675 under the patronage of Charles II in order to find out how to measure longitude. There was a succession of astronomers each with a larger telescope than the last, but instead of measuring the moon and stars, a clock maker, Harrison, discovered the best way to do it was to use a clock and measure it in minutes and seconds, how far away you are from the "home" or 0 longitude. This "home" was eventually established as Greenwich and after a bit of a political fight with several other places, Greenwich was established as the Prime Meridian, the beginning of time and space, as it were.

This we learned from a fellow in costume who led us around the courtyard describing the history. Every day a big aluminum red-painted ball is dropped from the turret of Flamsteed House at 1 p.m. and has done since the Meridian was established and all could set their watches and clocks by it before sailing. If you missed it, you were "not on the ball". We went back to see the rest of the displays including Harrison's clocks before checking out the gift shop for postcards.

Our feet aching and energy flagging, we trudged down the hill and went to a pub right by the park gate entrance. We decided to skip the Queen's House go to the Fan Museum because we wanted to take a riverboat back to the center of London and the last one left at 5. It was almost 3:30 by the time we had our pint and lunch.

I had wanted to go to the Fan Museum once I discovered its existence. There was only the two of us in the museum which is in an old house not too far from Greenwich park. We started off with a taped commentary but Carole had trouble with hers and I found it way too slow. The museum showed a number of fan leaf art that would be folded and put on a fan. There were some framed and you could see the folds and then the edges were painted into form a square picture. There were different styles of them and upstairs in two rooms was a special exhibit of jeweled fans, absolutely exquisite!

Down to the pier, what a busy little spot! Had we got there earlier I guess we would have seen more but what we did see was really interesting! The ride down the river was about 40 minutes to Waterloo pier. Good view of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and London eye. We walked across Westminster Bridge and walked down by the Houses of Parliament in time to hear Big Ben Bong! Got to Westminster underground which was really modern. Had a bit of a wait for the train and then, once on, managed to push out of the crowded train before the doors closed at our stop. We trudged down Queensway looking for a restaurant. We ended up having minestrone soup and a sandwich in Café Verde where we had had coffee with Barb yesterday. Back to the hotel about 8:30 and puttered around, watched tv and chilled out.

A little bit about Somerset House, it was built in the early 19th century to house the Royal Academy of Art which is now in Burlington House off Picadilly. Now there are several collections in there but the Courtauld Gallery is most well known. It's not a large overwhelming gallery like the National Gallery. There are three floors though only one room on the ground. The proper entrance is off the Strand but we were not there. To get to it, we had to come in from the Embankment entrance and walk across a large courtyard with a large fountain display in the center. They set up an ice skating ring there in winter.

There are free tours of Somerset House but there are stairs involved so if you have mobility issues, this might not be an option. They also have open air concerts and films in summer and there are other exhibitions going on in Somerset House all the time. The building has lovely detail that you don't always see because it's up so high, both inside and out.

At the Courtauld, The ground floor was the 14th and 15th century Northern Europe religious works, altar pieces and delicate and intricate ivory carving and triptychs. Each of the other two floors only had a few rooms and followed the timeline through the Renaissance, Baroque, a bit of Dutch and Italian and of course the Impressionists, my favourites. There were only one or two Monets, and only a few of each of the more famous painters though there were a number of Seurats, both before and after his divisionist (painting with little dots, I didn't know the proper name before!) period. I saw another Cezanne and Renoir I liked, about 3 or 4 all told that I wanted to get postcards of and was successful in that quest.

Cost is 5 pounds and that includes any temporary or special exhibits. It's free on Mondays between 10 and 2 p.m. though! It's very friendly for disabled access with level entry or ramps and a lift.

The Fan Museum was one of those museums that, once I'd heard about it, I *had* to go. You see, in addition to the big, popular museums and galleries, I love small and quirky museums that focus on one thing or unusual things. I saw the Dog Collar museum in Leeds Castle some years ago and I was hooked! I haven't seen nearly as many as I would like, but I keep an eye out and when I heard that Greenwich had a museum dedicated to decorative fans, I was *so* there! Granted, a museum dedicated to the art of fan making and fans probably has more appeal to women then most men so guys, if it really doesn't interest you, wait for the women in a nearby pub! It's a small museum and won't take all day to check everything out.

My friend and I had planned a trip to Greenwich to see the Observatory, which we did, and then walked down the hill into the town for lunch at a local pub. We searched out the Fan museum after, which is located not that far from the Royal Observatory park and Greenwich Theatre. It's housed in an early 18th century building which is meticulously restored and worth seeing just on its own. There's also an Orangery, used as a tea room and a lovely little garden in the back. There is, of course, a shop with lovely books and fans and jewellery.

We were given those recording gizmos for self-guided tours through the rooms. You can see how fans are made and see exquisite examples of fans from all over the world. There are also lovely antiques and paintings to view as well. Fans have been in use for 3000 years though folding fans are actually more recent in the history of the fan, relatively speaking. Sadly, fans are not that popular these days though they are still used in the warmer countries such as Spain. The most elaborate ones dated from the 18th and 19th centuries. It was fascinating to see them in various stages of assembly, from the sticks and "ribs" to the vellum painted decorative covering.

The museum has a permanent collection to focus on the basics and then has temporary exhibits that change three times a year to focus on specific areas and eras and themes. If you are going to be in Greenwich, it's well worth visiting. Try to go on the days they do afternoon tea in the Orangery (Tuesday and Sundays after 3 p.m.). There is a fee of £4. There is a lift and a disabled toilet. Best way to get there is the DLR to the Cutty Sark stop or you can take a train to the Greenwich station, both are a short walk from Croom's hill. See the website for a map.

This little narrow restaurant is below street level and isn't that easy to find. The easiest way to describe how to get there is to start from the Bayswater underground station. Come out of there and cross Queensway. There's a little side street just there. Go in there and just on your left is the mews though it only looks like a back alley or parking lot for the buildings around it. There was a sign on the street so we knew it was there and it turned out to be a small, narrow restaurant below street level that's been there since 1966. Last time I was in London, I saw a man dressed in Greek traditional costume with a sign out on Queensway pointing the way in to the restaurant. Excellent.

The restaurant, in 2000, was decorated with cream walls, soft cushioned benches along the walls and dark low backed cane chairs. There was traditional Greek music playing but not too loudly and you regularly heard the low rumble of the underground trains which wasn't too loud, just sort of like it might have been thundery weather. The table cloths are pink with burgundy over-linens.

We approached it and the owner came out when he saw us looking at the menu and was very congenial. We asked about the fixed price menu (mezze) and he made it sound so good that we went in. It was about 16 pounds (2000 prices) per person and they state a minimum of two people because you share everything. You get a sampling of cold and hot starters then the entree (our choice of about 3 or 4 meats). Desert and coffee/tea is included.

They kept bringing food and bringing more food, on little plates and when we decided we weren't too fussy on the calamari, they brought something else instead. When we realized the dessert had honey in it, baklava, we told them that one of us was allergic to honey, they brought out a lovely light custardy type thing in a phyllo pastry instead! We chose the roast leg of lamb for our entree and it was so tender it pulled apart! I would highly recommend this but the dining experience here is not to be rushed.

http://www.kalamarastavern.com/

We set the alarm for 8 but still got a slow start in the end. Weather is overcast and cool but so far doesn’t look like rain. Carole wanted to seek out some gardens but we decided to have a wander in Hyde Park first. Before we could get through the gates, however, we discovered that all along the Bayswater road fence of the park, artists and crafts people were displaying and selling their stuff. We spent nearly an hour walking along and looking at the pictures, prints, stained glass, enamels and some other odds and ends. No jewelry which was surprising. It was like a free art gallery!

One thing I really liked were some watercolours for children's rooms with their names on it. Some were birth announcements. Some had animals or just images surrounding the name. Really sweet. Another kids' print had an old fashioned picture, maybe of little animals dressed up with a little bit of prose hand written above and below the picture. A few other water colour/sketches with London scenes were quite nice and I wish now I had bought a print that this one gal had, cartoons of sheep with bodies that were big white blocks with tiny black blobs for head, ears and legs! I did buy a frame with three enameled small tiles inside with ships on them.

Finally inside the park, we saw an Italian Gardens with fountains and statues at the head of the Serpentine, a long narrow man made lake that neatly divides Hyde park into two halves. This was created for Queen Caroline, wife of George II in 1727-31. Most of these parks really are that old or older, some back to Tudor times. We meandered along the path following the Serpentine. We stopped to watch some little girls looking at the Peter Pan statue which is made of bronze and covered in little figures of fairies and small animals under Peter himself. A little farther we stopped for tea at the park café. It wasn't too cold to sit outside at a table by the lake. The bottom of the lake is near "Rotten Row", that's a road that was built in 1690 to connect St. James Palace and Kensington Palaces. In French, "Route de Roi" or King's Road which is extended into King's Road, Chelsea. Later on it was the place to see and be seen, driving carriages and riding horses and indeed we did see horses and riders in the park today.

The sun finally came out briefly in time for us to see the rose garden and we had a nice look around at the plants there. We left the park then and headed across the road to Green Park, with Buckingham Palace our ultimate destination after a stop at the Canada Monument for a photo. It's in two parts, in a wedge shape, which points in the direction of Ottawa I think, with maple leaves carved into it and water streaming down the flat surface. Sun's gone again.

Over to the Palace. We missed the Canadian regiment that is taking turns guarding the Palace this month, they just changed and will be back Tuesday but we won't be here. Carole had a look round while I waited by the Victoria statue, having been here a couple of times before. We grabbed a sausage from a vendor in Green Park on our way back to the underground, worshipped at the Great Money God of the Wall on Picadilly and took the tube back to the hotel. We had a rest and a cuppa and decided to try a restaurant that a friend of mine told me about that was nearby.

We left early, hoping to be back for 7:30 to watch corrie but we didn’t make it. The restaurant is called Kalamara's on Inverness Mews. I've got a review of it in this journal. We arrived at 5:30 and didn't get out until after 8, a lovely leisurely dinner. We had a browse in the souvenir shops on the way back to the hotel. Up at 7 tomorrow to get the train from Euston.

It's now nearly 3 weeks later and we're heading back to London from Glasgow. We are in the "quiet" car, no cellphones so that made for a peaceful ride. Eventually the train was pretty full. The scenery was pleasant some of the time especially through the Lake district but mostly uninspiring. We had a chuckle at one point when a rather large burly gent came through the car announcing he was on the way to the pub and returned later brandishing a tall can of Tetley's bitter (beer) and exclaiming about the high price of it! I commented about "Railway Robbery" which he heard and laughed about and made a comment "I wouldn't mind so much but I hate tea!" (Tetley's is also a brand of tea)!

We arrived in Euston on time and managed with our bags, to drag them down the street to the Thistle Euston just a couple of blocks from the station. I've stayed here before and it was a vast improvement over the Inverness Court.

We have been transported from what now feels like the relative tranquility of Scotland, even in the cities Glasgow and Edinburgh, to the noise, crowds and smells of London! We decided to go out and see if we could get tickets for Mamma Mia for tomorrow. Took the tube to Tottenham Court Road and fought our way through crowded sidewalks with the foot traffic streaming by. It was an outside chance, we should have tried when we first arrived but we didn't get around to it and sure enough, sold out. We were told we could queue up for returns in the morning at 9:30. We'll see.

We walked through SoHo and Chinatown to Picadilly Circus, down along Regent street and down to Waterloo Place where there is a high column, with a statue of the Duke of York on top (Second son of George III) There are a number of memorial statues in the square here that leads down, by way of a staircase to the Mall, just before Admiralty Arch and Carleton House which was the residence of Edward Prince of Wales before he became King Edward VIII. We doubled back to Trafalgar square, under gray skies. We went past St. Martin's in the Field where the remnants of a churchyard market in behind was closing down and into the warren of little streets leading into Covent Garden.

We're getting hungry now so why not complete the assault on the senses? We went into an American restaurant, T.G.I.Fridays for what reason, I have no idea! It had loud music, many people with the noise of talking and silverware echoing and bouncy and cheerful wait staff. Shockingly high prices for what it was but again, tired and hungry we stayed put and caused a bit of confusion by ordering garlic bread with cheese as our starter and a side dish as our main meal. They kept trying to bring it before we were done with the bread but they got it right eventually. Woe to those who try to eat out of the prescribed order of things!

After that, we wandered around Covent Garden where most of the shops were closed but we browsed in the few that were open and sussed out a few we thought we might come back to tomorrow. For a place with few shops open, the area was crowded with seas of people heading to restaurants, pubs and bars and though they were everywhere, along the streets and sidewalks, things kept moving and everyone seemed in good spirits. We found ourselves by the tube stop for a line that would land directly at Euston with no changes and returned to the hotel around 8. We haven't decided if we're going to queue for tickets tomorrow or if not, maybe we'll go to a movie.

Saturday

Welcome back to London. After mostly sunny weather in Scotland this last week, it is raining. Hard. Forecast for all day and it did most of the morning and afternoon.

We decided against queuing for tickets for Mamma Mia in the rain. We went to the National Portrait Gallery instead. It's a Victorian building just behind the National Gallery but the building inside is a bit confusing at times, between new bits and old bits and trying to get from one floor to the other. One lift only goes to the first floor and if you try to go to the ground and aren't disabled, there's a guard outside the lift making you go back up and down the staircase or a different lift. I don't know. It was all very confusing and frustrating.

There is no entrance fee. We started at the top at the oldest portraits, the Tudor era!!! My favourites! There was a group of about 10 little kids, about ages 6-8 with a teacher who was telling them about Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and discussing the portraits and the symbolism found in them. Those children were pretty sharp! A couple of portraits that I had hoped would be there weren't and probably weren't part of that collection. I just thought they would be. We did the top floor through the Tudors, Stuarts, Civil War, Restoration and up to George IV and Regency periods.

We had a bit of lunch in the basement café and watched the rain on the "skylight" thought it was actually below street level. We could see people walk by on the street above us. Feet rested, we went on to the Victorians where photos started to creep in. All the Oscar Wilde portraits were either sketches or photos. I didn't know as many of these faces though of course Dickens, Bronte sisters and some of the politicians I had. There was a long narrow gallery of photos from the 60's forward but we skipped the Royal Family gallery, a bit of an anticlimax really.

As it was raining still, we had already given up the idea of a show but a movie wasn't a bad idea. Over to Leicester Square where the big (expensive) cineplexes were and we found one playing the new British film, Billy Elliot. We really liked it and it's been done up as a West End show now. It was interesting that the theatre was way underground with several long staircases leading down to it rather than on the same level you entered on. Yes there were other movie theatres in London that would have been cheaper but it still cost less than a theatre show and what the heck, we are on holiday after all! The theatre was rather warm though, filled with people and no air conditioning.

Still raining after the show, but easing up to a spit now. We headed back to Covent Garden to shop and again throngs of people coming in and out of the square though there weren't that many in the shops. There was also a craft market in one courtyard so I browsed there while Carole went to the china seconds shop.I bought a few small water colour prints, and we decided to eat there in an open air café. Well, it's still under a roof of the market but open to the courtyard. We had potato skins with tomato sauce, cheese and bacon and tea and sat and chatted and people watched. I really like this area of London, it's very lively!

Back in the hot and muggy underground to the hotel now. Made a few phone calls. Don't know what we're doing tomorrow. We need to have a look around Euston to find the location of the airbus stop for Monday morning and maybe we will go on the London Eye if the weather clears up. Yeah. Right. We are getting weary of living out of a suitcase and walking and climbing stairs. I think a month or nearly, is a bit too long for it. Not too bad if you were staying in just a couple of places but changing locations so much over the course of this holiday is a bit much.

We had a slow start this morning and slept in a bit. We had breakfast about 9:30. The breakfast comes with and in the room as well, a tray of tea and juice and a mix of rolls and sweet rolls served in our room every day. We got on the way about 10 and determined the location of the airbus stop and the times.

The weather looks promising, *finally* so we took the tube to Waterloo station to see about the London Eye. Yes, there are actually blue patches and hundreds and hundreds of people in line for tickets and for the ride. We passed. We decide to walk along the south bank of the Thames, the "Millenium Mile" to Southwark. It's not all that pretty along the river really, rather industrial, with lots of tour boats and barges. There doesn't seem to be any pleasure craft on the river which is odd really. There's a lot of money in London, a lot of upscale condos but no private sailboats! Perhaps the Thames current is too strong for a leisurly sail.

We came across an open air second hand book sale and browsed the tables. We found Gabriel's Wharf which is a little square of shops but being Sunday, most of them are closed. A little farther in a rather sorry looking little garden, a man, who saw our cameras, told us about the free public viewing deck on the Oxo tower which was just there. We went up there for an 8th floor view over the City of London and the river and that was great. I love to go up high places for a view. Neither of us are into modern art so we skipped the new Tate Modern on the Southbank, built into a massive old power plant.

We reached the new Globe theatre but Carole who isn't really into Shakespeare wasn't interested and I didn't want to leave her waiting for an hour or more while I went though it so we just browsed in the shop at the visitor center and had lunch in the café there. We decided instead to go to the Tower of London as we were pretty close. We walked a bit farther, where there is a replica of the Golden Hinde, Sir Walter Raleigh's ship that he sailed around the world in and let me tell you, seeing that small boat doesn't instill you with the confidence that you'd ever manage to return home on a voyage like that with next to no navigational aids. (Before the discovery of longitude, remember!) Behind that was Southwark Cathedral, mostly under scaffolding. The south bank was historically a very unsavory part of London but at least the waterfront is all spiffed up now with shops, galleries, the Tate Modern and a new millenium footbridge linking the Tate with St. Paul's.

We took the tube from London Bridge to the Tower. Traffic outside of the relative peaceful hour or two walk along the waterfront seemed very intrusive. There was a longish queue for tickets to the Tower and it was probably the most expensive attraction we've paid for but the line moved fairly quickly. We didn't bother joining the several hundred deep crowd waiting to be guided around the grounds by a Beefeater, or Yeoman Warder, though if he and his followers were nearby we would stop and listen to his exaggerated tales of blood and guts! We did notice that he was stopping people from videotaping his stories so we wondered if it was because there was a video for sale in the shops. I forgot to look. (See the review in this journal for more detail on the Tower). We spent a couple of hours there and could have spent a couple more quite easily if our energy wasn't flagging. I'd recommend going there first thing in the day, not after a 2 hour walk!

A quick browse in the crowded gift shop, a few photos of Tower Bridge and we're back to the underground for a very slow and painful trip back on the Circle line. Lots of delays so it was almost a 20 minute wait and by then the train was packed. The train went so slow between the first few stops, including a few unscheduled stops in the tunnels that it felt more like it was being pedalled! Made it back finally and trudged down the road.

I am absolutely staggered that my feet only hurt a little today. I should feel like I'm going to be crippled for life about now! I was yesterday with not nearly as much walking and standing. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and it was quite good actually. It's vastly different from when I stayed here before and a vast improvement in ambiance and food.

Home tomorrow. Not looking forward to the trip but very much looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. This was a long trip. London, then a week in Manchester doing side trips, a day in Stoke shopping, Glasgow and Edinburgh and a tour in Scotland and back to London again. We've been gone a month and it was about a week too long. We did enjoy everything though, immensely! We did independent stuff and organized tour stuff. We had a great time meeting up with friends. The weather could have been better but at least held good for the bus tour.

One of the star attractions in London is also one of the most expensive. At 17 pounds per adult (16 online) and 47 for a family entrance fee (2 adults, 3 kids) it's steep. The queues for tickets can be quite long and can stretch back to the tube station. We did find that the queue moved fairly smoothly and quickly. I do think that buying tickets online or from the kiosks a day or two ahead of time might be good if you're going in "prime time" (summer, school holidays).

It's not difficult to get there. The Tower Hill tube station is very close, the DLR station just around the corner from that and many busses stop along Tower Hill. Tour busses will stop nearby as well. If you arrive by train, go to the London Bridge station and then you can walk over historic Tower Bridge!

There are organized tours with the Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) as tour guides and these are usually pretty crowded. We didn't bother and just followed our noses. First stop was the old medieval palace where there were a few reconstructed rooms from the 13th century, Edward I era. The throne room was most impressive and in the King's Hall which might have been used for dining, there were also a man and woman dressed in period costume. We went into a few of the towers and along parts of the walls and went to see Traitor's Gate and through the queues to see the crown jewels, set in a new exhibition. There are videos on the walls of the jewels and the coronation of the current monarchy while you wait in the lines which move steadily, and then in the jewel room, there are now moving conveyor belts along either side of the cases that you stand on. You can get back on again if you want to go through again or just have a look from a few yards away on the main floor. It keeps the crowds moving rather than them standing there and looking even though they were supposed to keep moving. All the other gold and silver pieces are in separate cases and you can look at your leisure at those.

We wandered the grounds, made friends with the ravens (who could pick a fight with a small dog and probably win!) and went into the Royal Chapel, St. Peter ad Vincula where the poor beheaded queens of Henry VIII are buried beneath the altar (including Anne Boleynn, Jane the Duchess of Rochford and Jane Seymour) No photos allowed inside the chapel though. We didn't have the energy to climb anymore stairs so we didn't go into the big White Tower, the original fortress in the center of the compound where there is an armory display and maybe we missed the best bit but there is certainly enough still that we didn’t see to warrant going back again sometime. There are actually quite a few of the towers along the walls open to the public with things to see inside. The Lower Wakefield tower has a torture device display and there is still graffiti on the walls in the Beauchamp tower apparently enscribed by prisoners of long ago.

The Tower is open most days of the year, closing at 5:30 p.m. in spring, summer and fall and at 4:30 from November to February. Most of the Tower is not accessible for people with mobility issues but the Crown Jewels are defintely accessible to wheelchairs. There are accessible toilet facilities, shops and eating stops. There are a couple of cafes and gift shops though there are also pubs and cafes close by outside the walls of the Tower as well.

If you are on a budget, then this is probably going to be a bit high cost but you can spend hours here. I find that if it's somewhere that you have a lot to see or do, then the cost doesn't seem quite so high. If you are on a budget and want to splurge on one thing, I think this would be the one to see.

I've stayed at the Thistle Euston several times over the years and it's always been a pleasant experience. It has often been used as a "bus tour" or group tour hotel, which is how I first stayed there. The location is very good, just a block from Euston train and underground station and around the corner, on Euston Road, is the Euston square and Warren Street stations with in a block or two. Euston station is a major bus terminal as well. I didn't notice much noise from the trains and the neighbourhood itself is quiet. It's close to Regent Park and Camden too.

The hotel has a nice little bar and a restaurant in the basement, both have pretty good food, though a bit pricey as you would expect from a hotel. If breakfast is included, when i was there at least, it was a continental breakfast served in your room. Between the first time i stayed, in 96 and the second in 2000 I think the hotel had refurbished. Certainly redecorated and it was much nicer.

The rooms were average sized, nicely decorated and air conditioned. Nice television, there was a desk and chair and some side chairs as well. There are lifts in the hotel but some of the hallways also have a short flight of stairs so check where your room is if you have heavy luggage or mobility problems.

Price is not budget but not too expensive either, though one year I booked it via londontown.com and got a ridiculously low price of 35 pounds per night. I've never seen that since and I think it may have been because it was over Easter weekend. They were willing to extend my trip for one extra night at the same rate as well, when i contacted them privately. I won't say the staff was overly friendly but they weren't rude either, just busy. I did get sick on my last stay there and they were helpful in contacting a doctor for me.

I'd reccomend this hotel for the location.