Hampton Court

Sun, Aug 23:  London:  Had breakfast at Garfunkels restaurant this morning which is near St. Paul’s Cathedral.  I had poached eggs on toast and Mike had an omelet which was served with potatoes and tomatoes.  Back to the hotel for a bit and then headed out to Hampton Court.  To get there we took the subway to the Embankment Station and transferred to the North Line.  Took the North Line south to Waterloo Station which goes under the Thames, so we had to go down, down, down to board that subway.  Got off at Waterloo Station and took a surface train to Hampton Court Station.  Just a short walk to the palace.  Hampton Court Palace is immense.  We toured Henry VIII’s apartments, kitchens, and gardens.  They prepared meals for 600-1200 people twice a day.  I can’t even imagine.  Had a bite to eat at the Palace café and then walked back to the Hampton Court train station and back to Waterloo and then the subway back to Blackfriars.  Were able to get a table outside at the Blackfriars Pub and had a couple of cocktails before heading back to our hotel which is right across the street.  Tired.

Guests would come in this entrance.

Base Court--Guests would be welcomed here and taken to their suite of rooms.  Each suite had its own toilette, which emptied through viaducts underground and into the Thames.

Henry VIII kitchens.  They made these pies which were filled with boiled or roasted meat.

They had banks of these charcoal stoves where they would make stews, soups, or whatever.  They say they're as efficient as our stoves at home.

Close-up of one of the charcoal stoves.

Huge spits where they roasted the meat.

The wine cellar held these huge casks of wine and beer, which were served at every meal.  The wine was imported from France and was meant to impress the guests.

Some of the windows in the palace.

The Great Hall where Henry VIII entertained.  This was built when Ann Boleyn was Queen.  Sumptuous meals were served here along with all kinds of entertainment.

During the Georgian period, this was the King's bed chamber.

This was the Queen's bed chamber.

The gardens out back are beautiful.  The Thames River is in the background.  Unfortunately, it was raining so we couldn't explore.

The clock courtyard.

The little village just outside the Palace grounds.  Mike stretching his back.  He decided to wear shorts and a tee shirt.  I told him it was going to be chilly and rainy.

At Blackfriars enjoying some cocktails.  Our hotel is in the background just across the street.

Thames River Cruise

Sat, Aug 22:  London:  Had breakfast at our little café again this morning.  Back to the hotel to regroup and then took the subway to Westminster Pier and queued up for the Greenwich boat.  Really warm today and was a little uncomfortable standing around in the sun.  But that’s better than standing around in the rain.  A nice cruise to Greenwich which is a cute little town and famous for the National Observatory and the zero meridian line.  Henry VIII was born here and Elizabeth I also.  Walked around Greenwich a little and had lunch at a little pub.  There is no waitress service at the pubs.  You go to the bar and order and they bring it to your table. I got a Caesar salad which I discovered had anchovies in it (yuk!).  Mike tried out their wings which he said were sweet instead of spicy. After lunch we toured the Cutty Sark which is the fastest sailing ship ever made.  It still holds the record for the fastest time between Sydney, Australia, and London, England—73 hours.  Got on the 4:40 boat back and stopped at Blackfriar Pub to see if there were any outside tables available.  No luck.  So we went to the little grocery store next to our hotel and bought a couple of ice cream bars to bring back to the hotel.  No champagne bar tonight—way too expensive.  Two drinks cost 18 pounds which equates to about $29.  The concierge gave us complimentary drink tickets the first time we went over there.  I’ll have to hit him up for a couple more.  A beautiful, sunny and warm day today.  Felt like the 80s.  Not sure.

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

This office building is called the Shard.

Tower Bridge

Tower of London as seen from the Thames.  That arched opening in the wall is where they would row prisoners in a little row boat into the compound where they would await execution.  It's called "traitors gate".  This complex is a prison, a palace, a place of execution and torture.  Oh, and it houses the Crown Jewels.

Cutty Sark

Cute little town of Greenwich

A model of Cutty Sark under sail.

Mike on the deck of the Cutty Sark. That's London in the background on the left.

The saloon in the Cutty Sark where the officers took their meals.

They call this building "The Gherkin"

They call this building "The Walkie Talkie".  It kinda looks like one.

Dame Helen Mirren  owns the penthouse in this building in East London.  One of many I'm sure.

Westminster Abbey and Churchill War Rooms

Fri, Aug 21:  London:  Back to our little café for breakfast this morning and then back to the hotel.  Rested a bit and then headed out on the subway to the Westminster Station.  Toured Westminster Abbey which is where Will and Kate were married.  What a magnificent place!  There are so many notables entombed here. Everywhere you walked you were walking on top of someone’s tomb.  The former kings have these elaborate crypts.  After leaving Westminster we walked over to the Churchill War Rooms.  Mike’s back is already killing him.  He has to get some better pain meds or something.  As I am writing this, Mike is already asleep in the chair in our hotel room.  I told him I’m going down to the champagne bar tonight with or without him.  I’m sure he will rally.  We couldn’t find anywhere to have dinner around Westminster, so we took the subway back to Blackfriar and had dinner at our favorite little pub across from our hotel.  After a couple glasses of wine and naproxen I was feeling no pain.  We had the dining room to ourselves, so I was smoking my e-cig with alacrity.  The outside table area was absolutely packed.  But, it is Friday—TGIF!  Back to our hotel across the street and a little rest and then down to the champagne bar.  A beautiful day today--temps in the 80s! Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer!

Westminster Abby

Westminster Abby is where William and Kate were married.

St. James Park

Blackfriar Pub--Mike looking happy!

Outside Blackfriar is slammed!  We couldn't get a table outside.  Bummer!

Champagne Bar...

Went down to the champagne bar in the hotel.  I had a glass of champagne and Mike had a Bailey's.  18 pounds which equates to $30.  Yikes!

The main champagne bar...

They have these little rooms off the champagne bar, which I call the grotto.

Mike waiting in the grotto.

Our drinks have been served...

Buckingham Palace

Thu, Aug 20:  London:  We headed back to our little café by St. Paul’s Cathedral and had our breakfast this morning.  The traditional English breakfast is not very palatable—to me, anyway.  It consists of eggs, mushrooms, bacon (really ham), baked beans (what?), and grilled tomatoes.  I had a bagel with cream cheese and Mike had a breakfast sandwich which looked pretty good.  Back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit and then headed out to the subway and Buckingham Palace.  We lucked out and scored tickets for the inside tour—which is only available a couple of months in the summer.  We toured 18 state rooms.  Even though the outside is pretty plain, the inside is sumptuous beyond belief.  It started out as a country home and still sits on 39 acres in the middle of London.  We did a lot of walking.  Mike’s back was killing him.  On our way back to the subway station we stopped at a little pub and had dinner.  So, we hit the subway at rush hour, which wasn’t too bad really.  Back to our hotel worn out.  Not sure if we’ll hit the champagne bar tonight or not.

One of the Queen's Guards.

One of the gates--resplendent in beautiful gold.

Queen Victoria Monument and Fountain.

Gate to Green Park which is next to Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace with Victoria Fountain in the foreground.

These guards are armed with MP-5's.

A couple of residences near the Palace.

Back of the Palace which faces the gardens.

Tower of London

Wed, Aug 19:  London:  After our morning ablutions we headed back towards St. Paul’s Cathedral where we spotted a little café that serves breakfast at a reasonable price.  After a leisure breakfast we walked back to the hotel and relaxed for a while.  Then headed to the Tower of London via their very efficient subway system.  The Tower of London is so large and so historic.  But there were so many people there—thousands.  After about 4 hours of dodging people, walking up narrow, steep, winding steps and waiting in line after line, we left in search of somewhere to eat.  Found a little place on the way to the Underground station and had a late lunch.  It was great just sitting for a while.  I lugged an umbrella around with me all day because they were calling for rain.  But, of course, it didn’t rain at all.  A pretty nice day actually.  Back to our hotel and relaxed for a while.  Going down to the champagne bar and cigar terrace to have a drink or two.  

City Hall--across the Thames from the Tower of London.

Tower that houses the Crown Jewels--Tower of London.

Tower of London

Tower guards

Little chapel in the King's palace--Tower of London.

Window in the King's palace--Tower of London.

Stained glass window in the King's palace--Tower of London.

The little pub across the street from our hotel.  It's a cute little wedge shape, because back in the day there were buildings all around it and this was the only space available.  Now it sits by itself.  It is so cute.  There are a bunch of tables outside to the left of the building.  It seems to be a favorite watering hole for people on their way home from work.