London Day 2

 It's another sunny hot day, so we decide to take to the river. After a slightly later breakfast, we walk down to Westminster Pier to catch the river cruise. We caught the 2nd one at 10:30am to beat the crowds. There are quite a few companies, we went with Thames River cruise to Greenwich. A perfect day for it, sunny with a nice breeze so not too hot yet. It's a great relaxing way to see the city. It's been over 25 years since I was last in London and it's incredible how the skyline has changed. And such a mix of old and new! You can see so many of London's famous buildings like Big Ben and the Parliament, St Paul's, The Tower, The Shard, not to mention all the bridges! It takes about an hour to get to Greenwich. It's already pretty hot so we try and pick paths in the shade. Karen, Aaron and I walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory. It was a bit too steep for Ian's knee. There is a fantastic view of London from there, and we were able to stand with one foot in the Western and one foot in the Eastern hemispheres. 

Once back down the hill we walked over to the Trafalgar Tavern on the river for lunch. We were able to sit outside in the shade with a lovely breeze. Ian & I shared a plate of fried whitebait; crunchy and delicious! After our lunch we walked over to have a look at the Cutty Sark, then headed back to the boat for the cruise back to London. The tide is flooding fast so it's a quicker ride! The streets are very crowded as we walk back to the hotel, and it's hot. We're all ready for a bit of a rest in the A/C.

After an hour Karen and I decide to finally try and do the London Eye. We had originally planned to go on Saturday night, but with the train strike and getting into London later we hadn't gone. There seemed to be an issue with the website, so we just walked over fairly close to closing and bought a ticket. We only had to wait in line about 10 minutes, and the ticket price was cheaper than on the website! The pod wasn't very full, and the  views were fantastic. It was finally starting to cool down a bit as we walked back to the hotel.

Ian and I went to a nearby pub for dinner, as Ian had a craving for fish and chips. I wasn't too hungry so just had soup. Afterwards we went for a walk around Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. Lots of people everywhere!














Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Warnemunde

Image
  Once again it seems to have rained overnight. This morning is cloudy and a bit cool but dry. We started entering Warnemunde harbour around 7am. The MSC Poesia, 3300 passenger cruise ship was already at dock. Another busy harbour, but much more for pleasure craft. And Warnemunde which is a suburb of Rostock is right there as you get off the ship.  Most of the others were on shore excursions, so I had a relaxed breakfast then headed for Rostock. The train station is less than a 10 minute walk. You can buy a single ticket for 2.80 EUR from the machine on the platform, and the trains go about every 15 minutes. The ride itself takes about 20 minutes. On the same ticket you can change to a tram at the main station and in a couple of minutes you're in the Neuer Markt or main square. Rostock was rebuilt in the old style after being mainly destroyed in WW2. There is a long pedestrian street running from Neuer Markt to Kropeliner Tor, a six storey gate. Most of the old city walls are ...
Read more

Copenhagen Day 1 Local food tour

Image
  A very smooth journey. We flew Air Canada via Montreal in Premium Economy. Flights were full and airports were busy. The new normal. We did carry-on baggage only, and most people have a lot of carry-on suitcases and extra articles. There is usually a difficulty finding room for it all. Surprisingly these days, both flights were early. The service and comfort level in Premium Economy were good. An early morning sunny arrival in Copenhagen. There was about a 1/2 hour lineup for passport control. To get to the city center you can buy a train ticket for 30 DKK (about 6CAD) trains are frequent from the station at the airport and take about 20 minutes to the main station. Our hotel is about a 5 min walk from the station. Because we had arrived so early, we couldn't check into our room. But because Karen & Aaron had arrived the day before we had a rest in their room while they went for a walk, then did an early check-in at 11:30am. I had a short nap, then at 2:30pm joined Karen and ...
Read more

Portsmouth to London

Image
  We had planned to take the train from Portsmouth to London as well, but the rail strike affected todays trains as well. Luckily Azamara had given us a heads up several days before, so I booked the bus for us instead. We had the morning in Portsmouth, and after a great traditional English breakfast at the hotel, Karen, Aaron and I walked into Old Portsmouth. A lovely morning, sunny and fairly windy. The tide currents were very strong at the harbour mouth, the sailboats were really struggling to get out. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 1:30, but was over 30 minutes late. All the buses seem to be full today with the strike on. About a 2 hour bus ride into London Victoria Coach station. Traffic good until we got right into London. A bit of a wait for a taxi because of traffic. About 20 pounds to our hotel near Covent Garden. We're staying in the Hub by Premier Inn. The rooms are tiny, but cleverly designed. And it has A/C, important because we're due for a heat-wave. And the lo...
Read more