HMS Belfast

Thu, Aug 27, London:  Off to the HMS Belfast this morning, which is on the other side of the Thames.  On the tube again to Westminster Station and change to the Jubilee Line, then south to the London Bridge Station.  A short walk to the ship.  The HMS Belfast was one of the first ships to fire its guns on D-Day.  After touring the Belfast we wandered over to the Galleria which is housed in the historic Hay’s Wharf complex of buildings.  Had lunch at a little French restaurant there and then checked out some of the shops.  I bought a scarf there.  Took the subway back to our hotel and relaxed.  Asked for some more complimentary drink tickets at the champagne bar for tonight.  Yay!  Today is our last day here.  Tomorrow we take the Eurostar to Paris.

On our walk from the subway station to the HMS Belfast, we noticed this building that had a V2 rocket replica on the side of the building.  Wonder if one landed in this area during WWII?

HMS Belfast

City Hall and its complex of buildings as seen from the HMS Belfast.

Atrium at the Galleria.  The ships used to moor here back in the day. 

There were warehouse buildings on this spot as far back as the Middle Ages.

Blackfriars subway and train station across from our hotel.

London on a rainy day and E-Cigarettes

Wed, Aug 26, London:  Another nasty, rainy day.  Now I have the sinus thing—drainage and a scratchy throat.  On our way back from breakfast this morning we stopped at a pharmacy and bought some throat lozenges Not very effective, but better than nothing. We’re just laying low today.  At around 4:00 we’ll head out for Piccadilly to find a place to eat and then head to the theater.  The rain is supposed to let up by then.  We’ll take the subway there and probably get a taxi back—depending on the weather.

E-Cigarettes:  Right after we arrived in London, there were headlines on the front pages of the paper and items in the news about e-cigarettes.  Apparently, the National Health Service here says that e-cigarettes are 95% healthier than real cigarettes.  On one report they said that they should be issued for free (what?) to smokers. Another report said that doctors should prescribe them to smokers. Interesting…

The girls who wait on us at our favorite breakfast cafe.

There are two of these little sitting areas outside our hotel where you can sit and have a cigarette.  Mike is here every morning.  We do have a smoking room, which is a shocker.

The London Eye.  No, we did not.  Apparently, they bring in about 225,000 pounds a day on this thing.

They still have phone booths all over London.  Can't think of the last time I've seen one in the US.

These little narrow side streets.

One of the lions at Trafalgar Square.

Cute little eating establishment.

Later:  The show was great!  Full of the songs and amazing dance moves of Michael Jackson.  The athleticism and energy of the dancers was incredible.  I am so glad we were able to get tickets.  The guy who played Michael in his later years was really good.  They had everyone on their feet clapping and dancing—even Mike…well, clapping anyway.  My kind of show!  We had an overpriced dinner before the show at the Angus Steakhouse. It was really pricey and if you wanted a salad or bread with it, it was extra.  We ended up taking the subway to and from Piccadilly.  We had to transfer to another line once, but it was quick and easy.  An efficient way to get just about anywhere in this city.

On the tube.

Piccadilly Circus is aptly named--it is a circus.  It's London's version of Times Square in NYC.

Cute little theater.  Three balconies--one is way up there.  My sister and I were  in NYC years ago and decided to see a play.  She insisted on cheap tickets, so we ended up in the uppermost balcony.  You constantly felt like you would be pitched off the thing if you stood up.  She crawled out of the thing at the end of the play.  Marlo Thomas was the lead.

They call the seats "stalls" here.

Horse Guards and Trafalgar Square

Tue, Aug 25:  London:  A beautiful, sunny morning, but a rainy afternoon.  On the subway again to Westminster and walked down to the Horseguards parade ground.  At 11:00 sharp one group entered through the archway in the building and another group (the red coats) came up from behind.  Impressive, but not as much as the Clydesdales 8-horse hitch.  After that, we walked over to Trafalgar Square.  I bought tickets for the Thriller show tomorrow night.  It’s playing at the Lyric Theater over by Piccadilly.  Walked up Whitehall St. and there were two more Horseguards outside the museum—allowing everyone to take pictures and pet the horses.  These horses are so well trained.  Back to the Westminster Station and took the subway back to Blackfriars.  Stopped at the little grocery store before heading back to our hotel.  Going to Garfunkles for dinner tonight and picking up our laundry before heading back to relax at the hotel.

Horseguards Parade Ground

On our way to Trafalgar Square.  Not sure what this building is, but it looks impressive.

Trafalgar Square

Mike petting the horse.  What a face!  On the horse, that is...

Imperial War Museum

Mon, Aug 24:  London:  A really dreadful day today.  Rainy, windy, and cold.  Undaunted, we headed out with our laundry to a wash-and-fold place to drop it off.  The valet service here in the hotel is really expensive.  8.50 pounds for a tee shirt.  That equates to about $12.00 per tee shirt.  Yikes!  I brought a little bottle of Tide with me and washed out my tops, sockies and underwear and hung them to dry.  They usually dried overnight and I would use the blow dryer to speed things up a little.  The rest of our laundry (jeans, Mike’s tee shirts and underwear) we dropped off at the wash-and-fold.  It’s based on weight and will cost us 20 pounds—about $30.  Expensive, but not as bad as the hotel.  After dropping off our laundry, we continued on to our favorite café and enjoyed a leisure breakfast.  Then back to the hotel.  Mike not feeling so great.  His sinuses are killing him.  No wonder, since it's cold and rainy with humidity of 96%.  He wanted to go to the Imperial War Museum today, but not sure if he feels well enough.  We hung around for a while at the hotel and then headed out. We took the bus this time.  There’s a bus stop right in front of the hotel, so very convenient.  Only three stops and we were at our stop for the museum.  A short walk in the rain and we were there.  A very impressive museum with state-of-the-art exhibits.  After we had our fill of the museum we struggled back to our bus stop trying to find our way through all kinds of road construction and a roundabout to deal with.  But we made it to our stop okay and in a couple of minutes our bus showed up.  We got off right at Blackfriars Pub, so stopped there for dinner.  Back to our hotel and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Imperial War Museum

Back at Blackfriars and a glass or two of Chardonnay.  Is there a pattern here?

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.