Today, Sunday, July 27, the three of us trotted off to London for what will probably be our last visit this holiday. We were a bit later leaving than we originally planned due to blisters, aching muscles, and a bruised knee.
We caught the London-Waterloo and were off. We were all determined that this was to be a low key day after hustling so very much yesterday.
First stop was for a caffeine drink. Not having any yesterday taught us that we are all addicted to the early morning push.
The London Eye, what appears at first look to be a humongous Ferris wheel, was built temporarily as a turning of the millennium attraction. It was so popular that it was kept permanently and still is a gigantic attraction. I think the Eye may have appeared in some posts last week. The picture today shows the three of us in a pod. This wheel takes the pods 450 feet high. What a view we got from there.
We walked down the river way through a park with street performers. These people really act their part. The lady with me is a silver statue. She barely blinks and is quite talented. I could not be that quiet and motionless. It was the hottest day since we have been here, but these performers did not let us see them sweat.
Next was a stroll across the River Thames. This is pronounced tems. We crossed the Millennium Bridge, then on to Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square hosts the National Gallery among other items of interest such as statues, and fountains.
The National Gallery is home to many extremely valuable and famous paintings. I could recognize some by Van Gogh and Monet. I had read about these almost all my life and to actually see them was something. This could have been an all day experience all it's own, but we didn't doddle; there was more to see.
The Tube was next. The Tube is the subway system. This was something we had been putting off. Jenni and I were both a bit leery. Going down seemed like we were going two or three floors under ground. It was hot and loud! We were in out of the subway system five or six more times today. It certainly is not my favorite way to travel, but it surely beats walking...
Katie took us to the Lloyd's of London building where she works. [She leaves her flat a bit past seven, walks about half a mile to the train station, rides about thirty minutes on the train, takes the Tube about thirty minutes, walks about twelve blocks to the Lloyd's building, takes the lift (elevator) to the seventh floor. Works till 5:30 - 6:00 and travels in the reverse all the way back home arriving after 7:00.] The building is built so that all the pipes, air shafts and etc are on the outside. The inside is all open, no walls. The Lloyd's building is shown in one of the photos. The round things on the corners are the fire escapes.
The next section of the trip was back to the Tube and to London Tower area. We are lunch at a Gourmet Kitchen Burgers. The food was delicious. If ever get the chance to eat at one do so. It is a chain, but uncommonly fresh and good. Speaking of food, the food here is almost all grown in England. They take pride in produce being grown and eaten here, not imported from strange locations.
After a visit to Baker's Street known for Sherlock Holmes, we headed out of the city by way of Wimbledon. Therein was a snafu. A link of the tube was shut down for engineers to do repairs. Then traffic backed up, then some signals malfunctioned. The line we were on was shut down for a bit. We all had to get off and wait. It was an ordeal, but we made it to the flat. We were all hot and tired, but after a shower and a Pepsi we are all feelin' fine. What a day.
We caught the London-Waterloo and were off. We were all determined that this was to be a low key day after hustling so very much yesterday.
First stop was for a caffeine drink. Not having any yesterday taught us that we are all addicted to the early morning push.
The London Eye, what appears at first look to be a humongous Ferris wheel, was built temporarily as a turning of the millennium attraction. It was so popular that it was kept permanently and still is a gigantic attraction. I think the Eye may have appeared in some posts last week. The picture today shows the three of us in a pod. This wheel takes the pods 450 feet high. What a view we got from there.
We walked down the river way through a park with street performers. These people really act their part. The lady with me is a silver statue. She barely blinks and is quite talented. I could not be that quiet and motionless. It was the hottest day since we have been here, but these performers did not let us see them sweat.
Next was a stroll across the River Thames. This is pronounced tems. We crossed the Millennium Bridge, then on to Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square hosts the National Gallery among other items of interest such as statues, and fountains.
The National Gallery is home to many extremely valuable and famous paintings. I could recognize some by Van Gogh and Monet. I had read about these almost all my life and to actually see them was something. This could have been an all day experience all it's own, but we didn't doddle; there was more to see.
The Tube was next. The Tube is the subway system. This was something we had been putting off. Jenni and I were both a bit leery. Going down seemed like we were going two or three floors under ground. It was hot and loud! We were in out of the subway system five or six more times today. It certainly is not my favorite way to travel, but it surely beats walking...
Katie took us to the Lloyd's of London building where she works. [She leaves her flat a bit past seven, walks about half a mile to the train station, rides about thirty minutes on the train, takes the Tube about thirty minutes, walks about twelve blocks to the Lloyd's building, takes the lift (elevator) to the seventh floor. Works till 5:30 - 6:00 and travels in the reverse all the way back home arriving after 7:00.] The building is built so that all the pipes, air shafts and etc are on the outside. The inside is all open, no walls. The Lloyd's building is shown in one of the photos. The round things on the corners are the fire escapes.
The next section of the trip was back to the Tube and to London Tower area. We are lunch at a Gourmet Kitchen Burgers. The food was delicious. If ever get the chance to eat at one do so. It is a chain, but uncommonly fresh and good. Speaking of food, the food here is almost all grown in England. They take pride in produce being grown and eaten here, not imported from strange locations.
After a visit to Baker's Street known for Sherlock Holmes, we headed out of the city by way of Wimbledon. Therein was a snafu. A link of the tube was shut down for engineers to do repairs. Then traffic backed up, then some signals malfunctioned. The line we were on was shut down for a bit. We all had to get off and wait. It was an ordeal, but we made it to the flat. We were all hot and tired, but after a shower and a Pepsi we are all feelin' fine. What a day.
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