Today we
were lucky enough to catch up with a friend from Nelson, she’s German and now
working in Glasgow but we happened to be in the same city at the same time = awesome!
Bray even
got up early and we met her outside her hotel in town at 0730. She had
despaired of seeing us as we had Rawiri’s birthday last night and she flies out
around 10am but it was possible and
great fun. Using our ‘local knowledge’ we went to a café close to Victoria
Station and next to where her airport bus left from. GREAT chats with delicious
coffee and croissant for a remarkably un-London price! It’s the place we found
when waiting for our Cardiff bus in the early AM some time ago…
After
photos, chats and many hugs she boarded her bus to the airport and we set off
on foot toward Hyde Park.
Harrod’s was our first stop…we got in
and wandered amongst the fantastically priced accessories, artworks and
everything you could possibly want to purchase! Through the fragrances and up
the Egyptian Elevator we went to the technology (Bray a happy man), books and
ancient maps (Roni having fun), art gallery (some cool sculpture) and to the
Christmas store. Here we made a wee purchase to enrich our Christmas Day
celebrations and surprise Lara & Clare.
Photos of
the extravagantly dressed windows and Christmas lights-ed up exterior then off
we went. Past the Victoria and Albert museum – to be frequented another day –
and next to the Tower of London.
We scampered
all over Tower Hill, around the Tower of London, across Tower Bridge while
taking many photos of everything – including taking photos of other tourists for
them! Epic times, SO big and old and hard to believe we are actually in amongst
it all.
A few
mandarins in Trinity Square gardens to keep us going and off again…St Olave’s
Church provided aesthetic and historical interest. Until Roni inadvertently entered
a concert in progress and we scarpered! Down Seething Street (some great names) and toward our next goal – The Gherkin
(a.k.a 30 St Mary Axe).
On arrival
we touched it, took pics then Bray did a full circuit in their rotating glass
door. This sparked a security flurry…not because he had entered the building!!
The guard was more concerned that Roni had taken a photo showing the inside of
the building…STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. His superior was yelling in his earpiece and
he came bustling over to sort us out. After seeing that we had no pics of the
inside he got quite chatty and we yarned with him for a while before carrying
on our merry way along London Wall. We met a whole bunch of Santas outside St
Paul’s Cathedral and took pics of the magnificence which it is – along with a Cheapside sign…A Knight’s Tale anyone?
Photos
galore of St Paul’s and the Firemen Memorial before we decided to call it a day
– getting cold, hungry and in need of a bathroom. Spotted the Tate Modern
across the river but want to return when we can devote some real time and
attention to it!
Along Knightrider Street and off to the Tube
we went. A brief visit to the local shops and we were home in time for Bray to
cook up some delicious chicken and roast vegetables. Clare came around for
dinner and over a Kiwi vino and chips we caught up on all the latest before
dinner, dessert and walking Clare to the Tube (she isn’t finished work yet and
it was a school night so earlyish). No school for us tomorrow so Bray had NBA
time online and emails etc needed writing and a late night was had.
