The Streets of London

Monday 21^st August 2017

We had a good sleep but were both wide awake by about 4.30am so not quite acclimatised yet and probably our tummies were rumbling a bit, Larry having missed dinner and Jenny having not really eaten anything since yesterday morning (and probably not even having kept that down!)  Lazed in bed and watched early morning television and then headed out about 8am for breakfast.  Found a nice little cafe and Larry had the Big Ben full English breakfast and Jenny, scrambled eggs on toast.  Total bill, including hot drinks, was ten pounds.  Probably would have cost 3 times for the same at a Dome Cafe in Perth but Glen tells me that’s pricey for London.

Back to the hotel to brush teeth and pack our day bag and then headed south to Hyde Park.  Wandered through in a south-east direction and took the ubiquitous photos of girls on ponies and squirrels in trees.

 Ended up at Hyde Park corner and then made our way past Green Park and the Ritz to Fortnum and Mason.  Chatted to a nice Irish man on the street who started a conversation with Larry because he thought he heard his Irish accent (??!!) and wanted to tell him about he had coincidence he had had at a restaurant the previous night.  Once we had assured him we were Australian he very kindly pointed out things nearby that he highly recommended.  Not a weirdo,  just a genuinely nice man

We continued up to Piccadilly Circus (yes!  Not Paddington!!) and Larry reacquainted himself with the M&M store.  We didn’t spend anywhere near as long in the store as the last time we went with Sarah but there were no complaints about being rushed so all good!

Continued on and to Leicester Square where they were setting up lights and barricades so assumed it must be for a movie premiere.  Asked one of the security guards at a shop nearby and they told me it was for Logan Lucky.  Not a movie I know much about so don’t think we’d bother coming back tonight to see the stars.  Besides which we have plans for a catch up with Glen and Jeremy.

Time to sit down and have a breather so found a nice little French cafe and had a coffee and citron tart and worked out where a nearby camera shop may be as Larry had discovered the nice people at Emirates had smashed one of the lens protectors on his camera.  Thankfully the lens protector had done its job and the lens was fine.  Luckily there was one on the way to our next destination being the British Museum but Google Maps led us a bit of a strange way as I forgot to tell it we were walking and not driving so probably did a more circuitous route than necessary.  Found it though and Larry was pleasantly surprised at the cost – much cheaper than he had paid for the original one in Perth.  

Onwards to the British museum which was HEAVING.  So many people in the Egyptian section but we fought our way through and saw what we wanted to see before the endless shuffling and hunger pangs saw museum fatigue set in.

Made our way to the exit and headed down to the road to a very touristy cafe (Munchkins?) for a bite to eat. Should have walked a bit further and bought a much cheaper sandwich but sometimes you just have to sit down for a bit and so paid much more than we should have.  Have learned our lesson and will walk that extra hundred yards tomorrow.

After lunch and (in Larry’s case) restorative ale or two, headed south and made our way through Covent Garden and Drury Lane to Fleet Street.

Last time we were in London we had tried to find the Temple Church with only limited instructions on where to find it so had failed miserably.  This time, with the aid of Google Maps we found the little side lane and the church.  We were in time for last admittance at 3.45pm so had only 15 minutes to wander around inside.  Just mind boggling how old it is and interesting that so many of the knights interred there are unnamed and that so many current families are still identified with the inner and middle temples. 

Time to head back to the hotel for a bit so walked down to the Thames and along the edge to Temple Underground station.  Then we stuffed up which train to take and ended up on the District line rather than the Circle line so had to jump on and off a few different trains and lines to get back to Paddington.  Back to the hotel to put our feet up as Larry had informed Jenny (and half the train) that she had developed cankles from all the walking we’d done.  In no time at all Glen had messaged to say he was waiting in the lobby and we then found Jeremy just arriving from work out on the street and made our way up to the Fountains Abbey pub for a drink and a good old catch up.  The pub is right opposite the hospital Jeremy used to work at and he could even point out the window to the room where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.  Apparently the pub takes some credit for puffing the yeast from the brewing across the street!!

Dinner in a funky Italian restaurant (ASK Italian) with pizzas for the boys and a yummy asparagus and pancetta pasta for Jen.  Was lovely to see Glen and Jeremy and we caught up and reminisced until suddenly the wall was pretty much hit and it was time to head home and to bed.  My phone says we walked over 32,000 steps today!