Double Decker Cruising

London, England

The stars (Southern Cross) must be in the boot?

For our second day the weather could have been a bit better, but undeterred, we sat up top in a double decker tour bus and travelled the red, yellow and blue routes. 

Tower Bridge under some blue sky

Overwhelmed with information, we hopped off at the Victoria and Albert Museum for a “lunch & loo” stop before popping by to see the huge Raphael cartoons (drawings) housed there.  Unfortunately, the Textile Museum (with a Kaffe Fassett exhibition) was closed – both Sunday & Monday… 

It's amazing who your neighbours could be....  Sherlock Holmes?

No chance there, so we decided to whizz passed Harrods, cross over Oxford Street, and pretend we had time to take in a show at one of the numerous theatres in West End instead.  (GS made a mental note for next time we’re in town though).  At least this time she did not come back with a Selfridge’s bag bulging with a purple fur coat (fake), a suede fringed vest or outlandish snakeskin high heels.  Well, come on!  It was the Seventies…

One Fine Stay

London, England

Yes, we were really there...and it was a grey day (in part) too!

We can now understand why Queen Victoria loved the Isle of Wight.  It was a great place to be and well out of the city rat-race, even if home was a palace.  There is no doubt about it, London is huge.  It’s vibrant, expensive, and wall to wall with people, tourists included.  There’s a lot to see and do and you really do have to pinch yourself to believe that everything (mostly) is REAL.  The Motleys had allocated a little over two days for their first foray – a tester perhaps, to see if sailing to the UK was at all do-able, weather permitting.  Add to the mix Cap’n Peg Leg‘s gammy leg and we knew we were going to be doing it tough.  But we did our briny best….

All eyes were on that horse! Cousin Peter & Ben

Luckily our hotel in Westminster was central, so on Saturday we met up with Peter, Petra and baby Ben for a guided walking tour of the “must do” sights.  There is no doubt that walking in a new city is the best way of understanding it.  Following along, even at a snail’s pace, we managed to cover the best picks for a top ten (well, twenty really!). 

Getting lost at Australia Gate near Buckingham Palace

After visiting Number 10 and the Queen, we recovered over a nice lunch near Nelson’s Column.  Then it was on to admire Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral before pondering the fate of dissidents or pirates at the Tower of London. We warmed up with tea & scones under the Tower Bridge, before braving a river cruise back upstream passing South Bank highlights including the Golden Hinde and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Taking Tea with Petra & Ben under the Tower Bridge (a PG photo)

And yes, it did rain (thankfully not all day)