Since this is my "Last Day in London" (travelling to Heathrow Airport tomorrow morning doesn't count), Monica made the great sacrifice of taking a day off of work (she's only been working one day so far) to go around town with me.
Another hot day forecast, so I decided to travel light and leave my jacket and umbrella behind. I hate lugging them along with me all the time, but you can't be sure most days. Today, however, it's cloudless and warm at 9 in the morning. Looks like another good day.
We've actually been very lucky with the weather. When Monica was here in July two years ago, she said it rained constantly. Our day at Notting Hill was the only one that had a really heavy rainfall. Otherwise, it's only rained lightly through part of the day, and overall, it's been quite warm.
Monica had recommended the Geffrye Museum, which has rooms decorated with period interiors. It's in Shoreditch, which is a bit far away from the other attractions. We headed out early, go off at Liverpool, and caught a bus to the museum. When we get there, we see schoolchildren lining up outside. What a surprise. We hurried inside, but only found three rooms - the Regency, Victorian and Aesthetic. Monica asks how to get to the earlier exhibits - we were interested in the Tudor and Stuart - but the guide tells us that those aren't open; they're being renovated. Oh no! "I'm sorry - did you come a long way?" Kind of, but it doesn't really matter, does it. He tries to placate us by telling us that the 20th Century wing is open. Great! I've always wondered how people lived in the 20th Century! (They were kind of neat, actually, but it's hard to say if they were worth the 40 minutes of travel.) We went into the gift shop so I could see postcards of the rooms that I would have seen, if they were there. :-)
Okay, so that was a bit of a misfire. We hop onto another bus. I don't like this bus. It's a single-level accordian bus. They aren't nearly as much fun as the double-deckers.
Back to Liverpool station, and from there to London Bridge to visit the Clink Prison Museum (on Clink Street!). We use our handy-dandy 2-for-1 admission passes, and get in for £2.50 each. It's a very small museum, mostly tableaus of medieval prison life (NOT a good time). Monica has a picture of me sitting in the stocks - I hurt my foot getting into that thing. Yeah, poor me. I wouldn't last two minutes in a real jail.
We then walked down the Thames walk (again), looking for a place to eat. We'd already eaten several times at "Eat." and wanted to try somewhere else. We did go into a pub, but the signs pointed up and down and allaround, and we couldn't figure out where to order (nor could the two London men who were also looking around in puzzlement), so we left. If it's that hard, it's not worth it. Instead, we went into Gabriel's Wharf, which is a funky little marketplace, and ate at a crepery. Fortunately, our outdoor table had an umbrella - it's another scorching day.
Continuing along the riverwalk, we come across more groups of children. I ask again - do they ever go to school? Monica says she'll ask Neil & Geraldine when they get back.
Fortunately, there's no lineup at the Aquarium today, and our 2-for-1 is valid here, so it's £11 for both of us. (I love that 2-for-1 - wish we'd discovered it earlier!) Hmph. Another "private function" in a corner room. Elitist snobs!
The aquarium is great - starts out with the smaller tanks of fish, then moves on to huge tanks with Atlantic fish, then Pacific. It's very relaxing to just sit and watch the fish in the large tanks - until the reverberating screams of excited children start bouncing off the walls. Aargh. Could you tell your kid not to scream in a place that echoes so much?! Earplugs. Why didn't I bring earplugs? Fortunately, admission is expensive enough that there aren't many children.
The sharks were probably the "stars" of the aquarium. And they really are quite frightening looking - one had rows of spiky-looking teeth, another looked like it was frowning, with really mean little eyes. In reality, most of them aren't that dangerous, but they are very big fish, and they do look scary. If somebody's little kid fell in there... well, I don't know what would happen, but it would be a lot quieter in the Aquarium. (I'm just saying...) :-P
The zebra shark was beautiful, very graceful when swimming (and its teeth are on the bottom, so you could only see them when it passed over the window), and the nurse sharks, when they're not swimming, sink to the bottom and sit there. I also liked the stingrays - they swim about in a very leisurely manner, almost look like they're flying.
There was one area that had an open tank where you could touch the stingray, but only on its back. It was a bit odd - felt almost like it had hair. Or, Monica thought, slime. Whatever. But the stingray circled round and round, and seemed to like people touching it, because it would swim back and almost poke its head out of the water.
Plaice are freaky fish! They're flat, with weird misshapen eyes and mouth. Bizarre! There were also some jellyfish, which are also freaky. No brain, no heart, no blood, no eyes, but they swim around and can apparently taste and smell.
Lots of anenomes, which I don't really like. They're weird plant-like tentacled things. It was neat to see the clown fish darting in and sitting in the middle of them, though. A happy lobster, who was grateful to be safely away from the likes of Red Lobster. That's the good life for a fish - the London Aquarium.
It was still early in the afternoon, so we decided to go to Kensington Park to see the Albert Memorial, which was described as a monument to Albert, done in true Victorian excess. We saw Kensington Palace - Monica was briefly interested in going in to see Diana's dresses (which are on display), but at £11 each admission, that wasn't going to happen. They're nice dresses, but not that nice.
Kensington Gardens were lovely, though. There's a long stretch of adjacent parks in London. Kensington turns into Hyde, which meets up with the Green Park, which is by St. James's Park. A lot of green space.
Kensington Park seems to be favoured by sunbathers. They were out in force today, lounging around in every direction. Monica and I walked along a route called the Flower Pathway, where notices specifically warned against feeding the pigeons or the squirrels. Those squirrels were practically tame; they'd bounce right up to you, looking for food. Lots of beautiful tulips and rosebushes on this pathway.
We could see the Albert Memorial from some ways away - it's huge! Gold and ornate, with marble statues all around. Guess Victoria really was fond of him. Since Monica had a photo of herself at the Queen Victoria memorial, she thought she ought to include Albert, too. So now there are pictures of tiny Monica with gargantuan Victoria and giant Albert.
After that, we continued walking into Hyde Park. We stopped at the Serpentine Gallery, an art gallery in the middle of the park. Admission is free - yay! It takes us all of one minute to walk through the entire gallery, with me offering my muttered review of "Crap. Crap. Crap. It's all crap." You get what you pay for, I guess.
Walking further into Hyde Park, we come along the Serpentine Lake. There are people on the lake in paddleboats and rowboats. We decide to rent a rowboat for an hour. After some initial clumsiness with the oars and learning how to paddle, we do okay. Only one of us rows at a time, while the other navigates (since you have to sit facing away from the front of the boat when rowing). It was quite relaxing, although a wee bit hot. There's absolutely no shade to be found on the lake. We row from one end of the lake to the other, quite often having to dodge other boats. Thank goodness for those rowing machines at the gym. If I weren't eating chocolate pots for lunch every day (from the ubiqitous Eat.), I'd probably be in good shape by now. As it was, once we docked our boat, we sat down under a tree and had some ice cream.
Then through Hyde Park toward Speaker's Corner. This area of Hyde Park seems to be the sports area - lots of people playing football (translation: "soccer"). When we get to Speaker's Corner, Monica is disgusted to see that it is now a little coffeehouse. Exiting by the Marble Arch, we take the tube toward Covent Garden, where we plan to have supper.
Walking down Drury Lane into the Covent Garden district, we see a lot of upscale shops and traditional-style English pubs, and the further we go, the more people there are. Covent Garden Market is an absolute ZOO. Maybe it's the time of day, but the market is packed. The pubs are packed, and overflowing. People are everywhere - you can't take two steps without having to step around someone else. Unbelievable. There's no way we're going to be able to eat anywhere here. Monica is getting foot-stamping grumpy - she doesn't like crowds. Wrong place to be, then.
We walk around to take a look at the Royal Opera House. People are showing up all dressed up to go to the ballet. Monica was contemplating tickets to Sleeping Beauty, which is later this month, but Covent Garden has steep ticket prices, so she hasn't decided. (The Paris Opera House is more impressive.)
Having seen that, Monica wants to get out of Covent Garden. We head towards Embankment tube station, where there are hordes of people filling the road. People coming to see plays, or ballets, or just go out for an evening. However, at this point, there appears to be room in some of the restaurants that are a little further away, so we settle on an Italian restaurant. We both have a good meal, she has some wine and calms down, and when we get our bill, there's a cover charge of £3.50 included in the £23 total. ??? Apparently, you get a cover charge when they give you bread before the meal, and it's noted in the menu. Go figure. I think I'll enjoy eating out more at home, where I get free refills, and the bread is part of the meal.
Anyway, at least by that time the crowds have thinned out. We get back to Embankment and take the Bakerloo line (Bernadette always hated the Bakerloo line - she thought it was a silly name). It's the Bakerloo line's 100th anniversary - it started running in 1906. I was hoping someone would give me a free pen or something to commemorate the event, but no such luck. Happy Birthday, Ye Olde Bakerloo!
When we transferred to good old reliable Jubilee line, it was slow going. It would zip along for a while, the next stop would be announced, then the train would slowly tundle to a halt and we'd sit in the tunnel for a while. And then it would start up again. At Finchley Road, the driver announced that the train would be terminating in West Hampstead (our stop). Monica and I are pleased - whoohoo! - the rest of the people on the train are disgusted. Due to earlier backlogs, there are now too many trains on this track, and the driver was ordered to take this train off the route. Works for us. Good old reliable Jubilee!
(Don't be so grumpy, Londoners. You have to wait all of two minutes before the next train arrives - you should try transit in Saskatoon.)
So, back home once more. Time to pack (I like my nice new luggage. Plenty of room!) I have to leave tomorrow morning. It's probably for the best - I've now lost more pounds (£) than one person should in two weeks. Monica says I have to compile a top 5 list (best, worst, etc.), but knowing the Toronto airport, I probably won't have internet access, so that will have to wait until later.
:-)
Another hot day forecast, so I decided to travel light and leave my jacket and umbrella behind. I hate lugging them along with me all the time, but you can't be sure most days. Today, however, it's cloudless and warm at 9 in the morning. Looks like another good day.
We've actually been very lucky with the weather. When Monica was here in July two years ago, she said it rained constantly. Our day at Notting Hill was the only one that had a really heavy rainfall. Otherwise, it's only rained lightly through part of the day, and overall, it's been quite warm.
Monica had recommended the Geffrye Museum, which has rooms decorated with period interiors. It's in Shoreditch, which is a bit far away from the other attractions. We headed out early, go off at Liverpool, and caught a bus to the museum. When we get there, we see schoolchildren lining up outside. What a surprise. We hurried inside, but only found three rooms - the Regency, Victorian and Aesthetic. Monica asks how to get to the earlier exhibits - we were interested in the Tudor and Stuart - but the guide tells us that those aren't open; they're being renovated. Oh no! "I'm sorry - did you come a long way?" Kind of, but it doesn't really matter, does it. He tries to placate us by telling us that the 20th Century wing is open. Great! I've always wondered how people lived in the 20th Century! (They were kind of neat, actually, but it's hard to say if they were worth the 40 minutes of travel.) We went into the gift shop so I could see postcards of the rooms that I would have seen, if they were there. :-)
Okay, so that was a bit of a misfire. We hop onto another bus. I don't like this bus. It's a single-level accordian bus. They aren't nearly as much fun as the double-deckers.
Back to Liverpool station, and from there to London Bridge to visit the Clink Prison Museum (on Clink Street!). We use our handy-dandy 2-for-1 admission passes, and get in for £2.50 each. It's a very small museum, mostly tableaus of medieval prison life (NOT a good time). Monica has a picture of me sitting in the stocks - I hurt my foot getting into that thing. Yeah, poor me. I wouldn't last two minutes in a real jail.
We then walked down the Thames walk (again), looking for a place to eat. We'd already eaten several times at "Eat." and wanted to try somewhere else. We did go into a pub, but the signs pointed up and down and allaround, and we couldn't figure out where to order (nor could the two London men who were also looking around in puzzlement), so we left. If it's that hard, it's not worth it. Instead, we went into Gabriel's Wharf, which is a funky little marketplace, and ate at a crepery. Fortunately, our outdoor table had an umbrella - it's another scorching day.
Continuing along the riverwalk, we come across more groups of children. I ask again - do they ever go to school? Monica says she'll ask Neil & Geraldine when they get back.
Fortunately, there's no lineup at the Aquarium today, and our 2-for-1 is valid here, so it's £11 for both of us. (I love that 2-for-1 - wish we'd discovered it earlier!) Hmph. Another "private function" in a corner room. Elitist snobs!
The aquarium is great - starts out with the smaller tanks of fish, then moves on to huge tanks with Atlantic fish, then Pacific. It's very relaxing to just sit and watch the fish in the large tanks - until the reverberating screams of excited children start bouncing off the walls. Aargh. Could you tell your kid not to scream in a place that echoes so much?! Earplugs. Why didn't I bring earplugs? Fortunately, admission is expensive enough that there aren't many children.
The sharks were probably the "stars" of the aquarium. And they really are quite frightening looking - one had rows of spiky-looking teeth, another looked like it was frowning, with really mean little eyes. In reality, most of them aren't that dangerous, but they are very big fish, and they do look scary. If somebody's little kid fell in there... well, I don't know what would happen, but it would be a lot quieter in the Aquarium. (I'm just saying...) :-P
The zebra shark was beautiful, very graceful when swimming (and its teeth are on the bottom, so you could only see them when it passed over the window), and the nurse sharks, when they're not swimming, sink to the bottom and sit there. I also liked the stingrays - they swim about in a very leisurely manner, almost look like they're flying.
There was one area that had an open tank where you could touch the stingray, but only on its back. It was a bit odd - felt almost like it had hair. Or, Monica thought, slime. Whatever. But the stingray circled round and round, and seemed to like people touching it, because it would swim back and almost poke its head out of the water.
Plaice are freaky fish! They're flat, with weird misshapen eyes and mouth. Bizarre! There were also some jellyfish, which are also freaky. No brain, no heart, no blood, no eyes, but they swim around and can apparently taste and smell.
Lots of anenomes, which I don't really like. They're weird plant-like tentacled things. It was neat to see the clown fish darting in and sitting in the middle of them, though. A happy lobster, who was grateful to be safely away from the likes of Red Lobster. That's the good life for a fish - the London Aquarium.
It was still early in the afternoon, so we decided to go to Kensington Park to see the Albert Memorial, which was described as a monument to Albert, done in true Victorian excess. We saw Kensington Palace - Monica was briefly interested in going in to see Diana's dresses (which are on display), but at £11 each admission, that wasn't going to happen. They're nice dresses, but not that nice.
Kensington Gardens were lovely, though. There's a long stretch of adjacent parks in London. Kensington turns into Hyde, which meets up with the Green Park, which is by St. James's Park. A lot of green space.
Kensington Park seems to be favoured by sunbathers. They were out in force today, lounging around in every direction. Monica and I walked along a route called the Flower Pathway, where notices specifically warned against feeding the pigeons or the squirrels. Those squirrels were practically tame; they'd bounce right up to you, looking for food. Lots of beautiful tulips and rosebushes on this pathway.
We could see the Albert Memorial from some ways away - it's huge! Gold and ornate, with marble statues all around. Guess Victoria really was fond of him. Since Monica had a photo of herself at the Queen Victoria memorial, she thought she ought to include Albert, too. So now there are pictures of tiny Monica with gargantuan Victoria and giant Albert.
After that, we continued walking into Hyde Park. We stopped at the Serpentine Gallery, an art gallery in the middle of the park. Admission is free - yay! It takes us all of one minute to walk through the entire gallery, with me offering my muttered review of "Crap. Crap. Crap. It's all crap." You get what you pay for, I guess.
Walking further into Hyde Park, we come along the Serpentine Lake. There are people on the lake in paddleboats and rowboats. We decide to rent a rowboat for an hour. After some initial clumsiness with the oars and learning how to paddle, we do okay. Only one of us rows at a time, while the other navigates (since you have to sit facing away from the front of the boat when rowing). It was quite relaxing, although a wee bit hot. There's absolutely no shade to be found on the lake. We row from one end of the lake to the other, quite often having to dodge other boats. Thank goodness for those rowing machines at the gym. If I weren't eating chocolate pots for lunch every day (from the ubiqitous Eat.), I'd probably be in good shape by now. As it was, once we docked our boat, we sat down under a tree and had some ice cream.
Then through Hyde Park toward Speaker's Corner. This area of Hyde Park seems to be the sports area - lots of people playing football (translation: "soccer"). When we get to Speaker's Corner, Monica is disgusted to see that it is now a little coffeehouse. Exiting by the Marble Arch, we take the tube toward Covent Garden, where we plan to have supper.
Walking down Drury Lane into the Covent Garden district, we see a lot of upscale shops and traditional-style English pubs, and the further we go, the more people there are. Covent Garden Market is an absolute ZOO. Maybe it's the time of day, but the market is packed. The pubs are packed, and overflowing. People are everywhere - you can't take two steps without having to step around someone else. Unbelievable. There's no way we're going to be able to eat anywhere here. Monica is getting foot-stamping grumpy - she doesn't like crowds. Wrong place to be, then.
We walk around to take a look at the Royal Opera House. People are showing up all dressed up to go to the ballet. Monica was contemplating tickets to Sleeping Beauty, which is later this month, but Covent Garden has steep ticket prices, so she hasn't decided. (The Paris Opera House is more impressive.)
Having seen that, Monica wants to get out of Covent Garden. We head towards Embankment tube station, where there are hordes of people filling the road. People coming to see plays, or ballets, or just go out for an evening. However, at this point, there appears to be room in some of the restaurants that are a little further away, so we settle on an Italian restaurant. We both have a good meal, she has some wine and calms down, and when we get our bill, there's a cover charge of £3.50 included in the £23 total. ??? Apparently, you get a cover charge when they give you bread before the meal, and it's noted in the menu. Go figure. I think I'll enjoy eating out more at home, where I get free refills, and the bread is part of the meal.
Anyway, at least by that time the crowds have thinned out. We get back to Embankment and take the Bakerloo line (Bernadette always hated the Bakerloo line - she thought it was a silly name). It's the Bakerloo line's 100th anniversary - it started running in 1906. I was hoping someone would give me a free pen or something to commemorate the event, but no such luck. Happy Birthday, Ye Olde Bakerloo!
When we transferred to good old reliable Jubilee line, it was slow going. It would zip along for a while, the next stop would be announced, then the train would slowly tundle to a halt and we'd sit in the tunnel for a while. And then it would start up again. At Finchley Road, the driver announced that the train would be terminating in West Hampstead (our stop). Monica and I are pleased - whoohoo! - the rest of the people on the train are disgusted. Due to earlier backlogs, there are now too many trains on this track, and the driver was ordered to take this train off the route. Works for us. Good old reliable Jubilee!
(Don't be so grumpy, Londoners. You have to wait all of two minutes before the next train arrives - you should try transit in Saskatoon.)
So, back home once more. Time to pack (I like my nice new luggage. Plenty of room!) I have to leave tomorrow morning. It's probably for the best - I've now lost more pounds (£) than one person should in two weeks. Monica says I have to compile a top 5 list (best, worst, etc.), but knowing the Toronto airport, I probably won't have internet access, so that will have to wait until later.
:-)
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