Dr Nick & I left Brisbane for the big smoke of London early in March and arrived to find the hideous weather of winter had cleared into two perfect sunny days just in time to wander the streets of the city.
First stop was Buckingham Palace where I arrived to find the area overrun with police-cars & firetrucks. I thought there must have been some terrorist threat or someone storming the castle, but apparently it takes 3 police cars, two ambulances and two fire engines to remove one drunken idiot from the top of the gates leading into the garden. One would think the English emergency departments are as bored as their Kiwi counterparts!
I was very excited to see my first squirrel in ten years since leaving South Africa, and if there weren't so many people around would have attempted to catch it was it was so intent on burying its nuts that it didn't see me sneaking up behind it. One day little squirrel, one day...
Other obvious tourist sites visited included Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, number 10 Downing Street (wasn't invited in though how rude), St Paul's Cathedral & the Tower of London, where I was led around the complex by a strange man dressed in a funny suit. Turned out the Beefeaters aren't just overzealous tour guides dressed in ridiculous outfits, but also ex-marines. So no misbehaving on the tour if you know what's good for you! Got to have a good look at the Crown Jewels (the actual Crown Jewels, get your minds out of the gutter!) and a big pile of diamonds...sparkly! All I can say is thank goodness for Pink Batts insulation because those castles must have been bloody cold back in the day.
St Pauls was amazing with beautiful carvings and frescoes everywhere, and the view from the top of the 275 steps to the first balcony was pretty impressive. It allowed me a good look at the city, including the London Eye in the distance. Still haven't visited that yet as I've been waiting for another nice day...which could be a while
