Friday 22nd April:
Cyclists are riding everywhere in between cars & taxis & Buses - no helmets! We hate to think what Glenn was ,like when he was riding around here in London. Not a good day for the two old gits. Decided to use our London Pass & visit supposedly Lords but ended up at the Oval instead. We had taken a bus then tube to the Oval & guess what the Oval do not do tours. So back onto the tube to Westminster Station & caught a river cruise down the Thames. We had commentary along the way highlighting various buildings & points of significance such as the 3rd London Bridge, the bridge built by the ladies during WW2, St Paul's Cathedral, Houses of Parliament - both Lords & Commons, HMS Belfast moored now in the Thames as a tourist attraction - a naval vessel that saw service during WW3 & Korea. We also discovered that the Union Flag is only referred to as the "Jack" when flown on a ship of the Royal Navy, otherwise it is the Union Flag - bit of a surprise for us. WHARF stands for Ware House At River Front!! New London Mayor's offices - glass domed city hall, and many other old and new places. Reached the Tower Bridge & left the ferry to visit the Tower of London along with many thousands of other tourists. The warm weather, Easter Friday & The Wedding all contributed to London overflowing - we think so anyway. Wanted to see the Crown Jewels but the queue for this was at least 300mts long. We sadly gave it a miss as it is just time wasted & it was moving very slowly. In time returned to the ferry & returned to Westminster Pier, walked up to Trafalger Square to collect gthe bus no.91 which brings us home to Russell Square. Temperatures today were pretty warm, in fact we were told ' the warmest Easter ever'. Bubbles we have seen a number of tuk tuks operating here - just short of rickshaws with the leaping Zulu! These guys are of a paler shade. Pub dinner tonight but think we will return to our usual wander in the evening & eventually finding a 'restaurant' that meets our fancy & budget.