London, Day 3, 30.12.06
More on yesterday, 29.12.06:
Random comment: I saw a Mr. Bean look alike yesterday! Love it.
After leaving the internet cafe, we stopped at a Tesco to pick up some fruit and goodies to make PBJs for the next week. The only gluten free bread was at the health food store next door for £4. Now the gluten free bread at home tastes like cardboard with the exception of one kind, and the stuff in OZ was *amazing*, but THIS bread here tastes....let's keep it to a simple "horrible." It's black on top, crumbly on the bottom, and smells -- well, horrible. I figured I had to at least see what it tasted like with PB and jam, and wouldn't you know, they completely mask the taste. Seriously, if I could make super gluten free bread and market it, I would be rather well off. And by the way, Katie and I agree that the jam we have here is the *best* (not counting your homemade, mom).
We returned to the hotel for a change of clothes before heading to Victoria Station to meet up with my pal Kevin. When we were approaching the station, 3 girls walked up to us to ask for directions. We were actually able to help and felt quite pleased that they didn't take us for tourists by sight. Or, at least we didn't look like clueless tourists.
Once inside the station we waited for Kev and Gemma's train to arrive while trading looks with a group of 5, also waiting for Kev and Gemma -- and us :-) I've mentioned Andi and Dave's blog before, and they joined the group, along with their girlfriends Amy and Pam and everyone's pal Robin. Please let me know if I've spelled anyone's name incorrectly!
Once we were all together, we headed across the street to a pub, and everyone made us feel so welcome! We enjoyed their accents as much as they seemed to enjoy ours, so couple that with friendly, chatty people, and we got the conversations rolling right away!
Our new pals proved to be great tour guides, with intriguing commentary as, "And to your right is a building. It's old." They were good enough to point out a few other landmarks that we had already visited ;-)
We walked, it rained, we visited a couple of more pubs. And we all had a wonderful time. Thank you *so much* to the 7 of you for your warmth, energy, and hospitality last night. When you come stateside, you know we'll help in whatever way we can!
Now on to today, 30.12.06
Jet lag hit us harder today, and we took the opportunity to "sleep in" before meeting up with Katie's friend Jon at Victoria Station. It was the best weather yet -- very sunny and not the least bit cold!
Jon's a good sport and decided to go along with us for the day, so we decided that it would be a faublous idea to walk all the way to Tower Bridge. What were we thinking?! Well, we did it, and while dad and I visited the Tower of London, Katie and Jon opted for lunch. I think our favorite part of the Tower of London was the Crown Jewels, and it came as no surprise that it was the only area with a queue. Everything, the crowns, robes, and other coronation regalia was breathtaking.
As all 4 of us met back up, it was pouring, and we took the Tube back to Victoria, to take a pit stop at the hotel. After a brief break it was already 5pm and it was time for all of us to leave again -- Jon to get to Waterloo to take his train home, and the 3 of us to take our flight on the London Eye!
The view at night from the London Eye is very beautiful -- all of the city lights were glowing and the slow pace of the flight meant we had time to enjoy it all. Of course we had clear skies until we were in the queue for the London Eye, and then once on board, it started to pour :-) We only had one umbrella between the 3 of us, as the wind has destroyed the other ones! Dad wins MVP for the day for braving the weather with his coat, scarf, and hat, while Katie and I linked arms and shared the umbrella for the walk back to Victoria, where we are now at the internet cafe.
With our long walk to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, we didn't "do" as many things today, but we saw a whole lot of the city on foot and had a great time spending time with Jon (and not just because I love the fact that he says "cheeky"!).
Now it's back to the room for a good night's rest. Tomorrow we plan on keeping things low key before heading to Dave and Andi's flat for New Years!
Cheers ♥
More on yesterday, 29.12.06:
Random comment: I saw a Mr. Bean look alike yesterday! Love it.
After leaving the internet cafe, we stopped at a Tesco to pick up some fruit and goodies to make PBJs for the next week. The only gluten free bread was at the health food store next door for £4. Now the gluten free bread at home tastes like cardboard with the exception of one kind, and the stuff in OZ was *amazing*, but THIS bread here tastes....let's keep it to a simple "horrible." It's black on top, crumbly on the bottom, and smells -- well, horrible. I figured I had to at least see what it tasted like with PB and jam, and wouldn't you know, they completely mask the taste. Seriously, if I could make super gluten free bread and market it, I would be rather well off. And by the way, Katie and I agree that the jam we have here is the *best* (not counting your homemade, mom).
We returned to the hotel for a change of clothes before heading to Victoria Station to meet up with my pal Kevin. When we were approaching the station, 3 girls walked up to us to ask for directions. We were actually able to help and felt quite pleased that they didn't take us for tourists by sight. Or, at least we didn't look like clueless tourists.
Once inside the station we waited for Kev and Gemma's train to arrive while trading looks with a group of 5, also waiting for Kev and Gemma -- and us :-) I've mentioned Andi and Dave's blog before, and they joined the group, along with their girlfriends Amy and Pam and everyone's pal Robin. Please let me know if I've spelled anyone's name incorrectly!
Once we were all together, we headed across the street to a pub, and everyone made us feel so welcome! We enjoyed their accents as much as they seemed to enjoy ours, so couple that with friendly, chatty people, and we got the conversations rolling right away!
Our new pals proved to be great tour guides, with intriguing commentary as, "And to your right is a building. It's old." They were good enough to point out a few other landmarks that we had already visited ;-)
We walked, it rained, we visited a couple of more pubs. And we all had a wonderful time. Thank you *so much* to the 7 of you for your warmth, energy, and hospitality last night. When you come stateside, you know we'll help in whatever way we can!
Now on to today, 30.12.06
Jet lag hit us harder today, and we took the opportunity to "sleep in" before meeting up with Katie's friend Jon at Victoria Station. It was the best weather yet -- very sunny and not the least bit cold!
Jon's a good sport and decided to go along with us for the day, so we decided that it would be a faublous idea to walk all the way to Tower Bridge. What were we thinking?! Well, we did it, and while dad and I visited the Tower of London, Katie and Jon opted for lunch. I think our favorite part of the Tower of London was the Crown Jewels, and it came as no surprise that it was the only area with a queue. Everything, the crowns, robes, and other coronation regalia was breathtaking.
As all 4 of us met back up, it was pouring, and we took the Tube back to Victoria, to take a pit stop at the hotel. After a brief break it was already 5pm and it was time for all of us to leave again -- Jon to get to Waterloo to take his train home, and the 3 of us to take our flight on the London Eye!
The view at night from the London Eye is very beautiful -- all of the city lights were glowing and the slow pace of the flight meant we had time to enjoy it all. Of course we had clear skies until we were in the queue for the London Eye, and then once on board, it started to pour :-) We only had one umbrella between the 3 of us, as the wind has destroyed the other ones! Dad wins MVP for the day for braving the weather with his coat, scarf, and hat, while Katie and I linked arms and shared the umbrella for the walk back to Victoria, where we are now at the internet cafe.
With our long walk to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, we didn't "do" as many things today, but we saw a whole lot of the city on foot and had a great time spending time with Jon (and not just because I love the fact that he says "cheeky"!).
Now it's back to the room for a good night's rest. Tomorrow we plan on keeping things low key before heading to Dave and Andi's flat for New Years!
Cheers ♥
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