LONDON

We landed at Heathrow at around 4 in the afternoon, putting our watches back 7 hours from Hong Kong time. I can’t remember ever having to walk so far after getting off a plane and then the line-up to get through immigration went for miles.

The line up to get through immigration at Heathrow.

After about a 45 minute wait we finally got through and then it was off to find our luggage. Naturally, because of the long wait at immigration, our bags had spent a lovely time riding round and round the carousel at baggage collection, so at least we didn’t have to wait for them.

After the huge queue at immigration we were expecting something similar at customs but it was anything but. Going through customs was a non-event. Because we didn’t have anything to declare we just walked straight through. We then made our way to the rail station where we were directed to the underground rather than the airport express to central London, as although the express was faster, the underground would take us straight to Blackfriars Station, which was just around the corner from our hotel and it would cost less. We were also advised to get an ‘Oyster Card’ which you can load with any sum you like and then just swipe on both buses and trains throughout London. This is definitely the way to go as each trip on the bus and is only £1.75 regardless of how far you are going. This is for up to 3 trips per day after which it gets cheaper. We discovered when we paid cash for our last bus ride when the money on our cards had run out that the fare if you just pay cash is well over £2. Apparently they are phasing out cash all together very soon so it will prove interesting for tourists who seem to make up a large share of the bus travellers here.

Travelling by train and bus is definitely the way to go around London. I personally prefer the bus as you get to see lots and you can usually get off closer to your destination. We were also lucky enough to meet a guy who we think must be the son of the original ‘Blakey’ from ‘On the Buses’. This guy was a supervisor and obviously thought the buses were his own little kingdom and he was happy to make sure everyone knew he was in charge. What a wanker!!!! Gave us a laugh though!

Anyway, by the time we got to our hotel it was almost dark so we immediately set off to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub up around the corner off Fleet Street. We had found it on the net and friends Marg and Pav had visited it when they were in London. When we got there we couldn’t believe how crowded it was – standing room only and very pokey - not our idea of a pub at all. As we were to learn, the pubs around Blackfriars are usually chockers on week nights as the area is close to the Old Bailey and the law courts, so all the young up and coming legal eagles frequent the pubs after work. We had one drink at the Cheese then moved down the road to The Old Bell where we did manage to find somewhere to sit down.

Fleet street at Blackfriars with the dome of St Paul's in the background.

Next we needed something to eat and we were really lucky to get the last two burritos at the local Chilango store before they shut up at 9 pm. The burritos were so big we could hardly eat them.

A Chilango burrito.

We certainly were beat by the time we got back to the hotel but neither of us slept well. Must have been the old jet lag because we were totally shagged after hardly sleeping at all on the flight over. Anyway we were both up and at ‘em by 8 next morning and after a lovely breakfast at the hotel we hit the road on foot to explore Covent Garden and beyond.

On our walk to Covent Garden we passed Temple Court, Blackfriars



The Royal Courts of Justice



Australia House

First stop was the National Portrait Gallery then the National Gallery which is right at Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately, I seem to have issues with the air in art galleries as my breathing was becoming an issue after only about 15 minutes in the galleries. John pointed out that the air in them is probably de-humidified and I think he might be right. Anyway I have decided that I need to avoid art galleries which is a real bummer. John saw some beautiful Impressionist works, Constables, Turners etc. I was really disappointed.



The beautiful foyer of the National Gallery



Our photos of Trafalgar Square were somewhat spoilt because they were in the middle of constructing a stage etc for a free classical music concert of on the Sunday night.



Trafalgar Square from the National Gallery




This blue rooster sits on one of the corner pedestals in Trafalgar Square.
New art pieces are featured here each year usually with a fun theme.

We managed to track down the office to buy a London pass next. The pass gives you free entry to lots of the local attractions and can be a 1, 2 or 3 day pass. The two day pass costs around £65 and you can go to attractions until you have clocked up a total of £180 for the two days. It is probably a good way to go and you can add transport to all the attractions as well if you don’t have an Oyster card.

From the Square we headed back toward Covent Garden and the Lyceum Theatre where we bought tickets for the evening performance of the Lion King. If you want tickets it isn’t always cheaper to go to the ½ price outlets, especially for the long-running shows like Lion and Phantom etc. Check out the theatre box offices as well.

The grand old Theatre Royal, just off Drury Lane.

 A fairly short walk up Drury Lane got us to the British Museum, the oldest public museum in the world. It was established in 1753 If there is one place you visit while in London, this is the one to go to. It is amazing and it is free.

Outside the British Museum

The Great Court of the Museum has a truly impressive glass roof
and houses the Reading Room, toilets and museum shop.

The place has an absolute buzz about it and why wouldn’t it with the Rosetta Stone, metres of friezes from the Parthenon and heaps of Assyrian, Egyptian and Middle Eastern art? All we could think of was that the people of Egypt and Greece must get really pissed off that all this stuff is over here.

The Rosetta Stone - because it contains the same information in three totally different scripts, held the key to unlocking the meaning of several ancient scripts which were previously indecipherable.

Here are just some of the amazing artefacts on show in the
western side of the museum.

We also enjoyed the ancient England exhibits and there was a Viking exhibition on too which we were too tired to see – much to our dismay.

This is Lindow Man, a 2 000 year old human body preserved by the acids of a peat bog in Cheshire. It is believed he was killed in an elaborate ritual.

We were glad to get back to our room for some rest before heading off again to the theatre. This tourist stuff is tiring.

We got the bus back to Covent Garden around 6, had dinner at a “Byron Burger” joint and then headed to the theatre. The show was fantastic. The puppetry, the costumes, the actors, everything was amazing. In other words we loved the show and were so glad that we had decided to go. It was a perfect way to end our first day in London. I must say that good live theatre always seems to be so uplifting – it is great for the soul.



Inside the theatre was very ornate.

We decided to do breakfast every day at our hotel. It wasn’t cheap but it was all you can eat with both cooked and continental style. We loaded up and then didn’t really need to eat again ‘til dinner. On Saturday morning we got the bus straight down to Westminster where we arrived just in time to be first in line for Westminster Abbey. The London Pass gave us fast track entry so we didn’t have to line up with those needing to buy tickets which was great, as that line was about 100 metres long when we got there. Westminster Abbey is truly impressive. It is huge, with endless chapels, tombs niches etc and the age of the place is mind-blowing. Unfortunately photography inside is not allowed but just the outside is impressive enough.

 

 


The cloisters

Outside the Abbey a group of Morris dancers were performing. Morris dancing is traditional dance off   and performed by men. Although it is obviously physically demanding, it does make them look like a bunch of ‘fairies’ prancing around. However, the member of their group we met in St James Park a little later was anything but a “fairy”. He was quite obviously a typical bloke who likes a pint and a joke or two. In fact he seemed a bit of a wag.

From Westminster Abbey it is a very short stroll to the Houses of Parliament which are also impressive in size. Couldn’t resist having my photo taken with one of the on duty ‘bobbies’.

 


The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben



Not far away again is Downing Street. Of course we didn’t get anywhere near number 10.

The heavy police presence at Downing Street.

We then went round the corner and down into the Churchill War Rooms. These are a series of underground rooms which were used by Churchill and his Generals during the war. I didn’t think I would get much out of them but it was really interesting to wander through them as they have been left just as they were when the war ended. It was a great insight into things we had heard about and seen in old WWII movies.

 

This map had thousands of pinholes in it, marking the position of
planes, troops etc throughout the war.

 

 

St James Park is a lovely oasis of trees, lakes etc in the middle of Westminster and it is well used by both locals and tourists. The resident pigeons, ducks and squirrels look very well fed and are quite tame.

 

 

 

 

This little guy came right up to my hand when I
pretended to hand him some food.

We walked through the Park and called in at the Guards Museum before continuing around to Buckingham Palace to say hello to Liz. It was a surprise to discover the “Australia Gate” as we approached but apparently there is also a “Canada Gate” and probably others for various Commonwealth countries. The fountain outside the palace was crowded with a real ‘League of Nations’. People just seem to enjoy "hangin’ out” outside the Palace.

The Australia Gate

The Victoria Memorial at the front of Buckingham Palace.

Liz's place

Next stop was a visit to the Royal Mews, responsible for all of the royal family’s road transport, including horses, carriages and automobiles. We took a guided tour with a lovely young Canadian girl called Jamilla, who was a student of African origin living and working in London and loving it. The tour was surprisingly informative and enjoyable. For example, we discovered that with the horses, the Windsor Greys can only pull the carriage of the Queen (with the exception of Santa at Christmas), while the Cleveland Bays pull all the other carriages. The staff who care for the horses etc also live at the mews.

 

 

The Australian State Coach was a gift to the Queen and includes central heating, electric windows and air-conditioning.

 

The Royal Wheelbarrow

 

The Gold State Coach complete with horses and riders. It has used at every coronation since that of George IV in 1821.

After visiting so many spots we were getting a bit tired but we still wanted to visit Hyde Park which wasn’t too far away. We managed to reach Hyde Park Corner but not the next one up where the speakers do their thing on boxes. We would have loved to see them but we were ready for home so jumped on the first bus we could find that took us back to Blackfriars. We had had a great day!!!

Dinner, however, was a disappointment. Unbeknown to us, the local pubs of a weekend are generally very quiet and many don’t do dinner. We checked out a few in the area and ended up at the Blackfriars Inn which looked OK. We did not choose well though and the seafood platters we had were very, very ordinary. I guess we should have realised that we are spoilt for seafood in Aus. and stuck with more traditional fare such as the steak and kidney pie etc. We were very much unimpressed by the skinny pieces of fish which were drowned in four centimetres of batter. I’m sure the staff thought we were just a pair of whinging Aussies.

Friday and Saturday had been rather hectic for us so we slowed down a bit on Sunday and took the bus up to the Tower of London. There are several interesting exhibits there, probably the most interesting of which are the Crown Jewels of course and the display of armoury in the White Tower. Most people think of the Tower as a prison but it was in fact a fortress and palace to Kings and Queens throughout its 1000 year history. It was also home to the Royal Mint for over 500 years and more recently, a prison for Rudolph Hess, second in command to Hitler before he was transferred to Spandau prison for his trial. The last execution took place here in 1941.

There are lots of wire netting sculptures of wild animals scattered throughout the Tower, as it was the site of the Royal Menagerie for over 600 years.



The Yoemen Guard and their families live at the Tower in these residences.

The famous Tower ravens are kept here still because a legend says that if they ever leave the Tower the fortress and kingdom would fall. This one was pretending to be dead in the middle of the courtyard, trying to entice an unwitting sparrow to come near for a look.

The lifting mechanism for one of several portcullises that cover the entrances to the Tower. Note also the height of the door I am standing in. John's head was a good three inches above the top lintel.

Waterloo Block - home to the Crown Jewels. Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside but they certainly were impressive.

Guarding the Crown Jewels

The White Tower houses a vast display of weapons, armoury etc from medieval to present day items.



Don't say it ladies!!!



This combined battle axe and wheel-lock pistol fr0m the time of James I had 5 concealed gun barrels with two different ignition systems.

Jousting lance and armour pieces.



An "over and under" double-barrelled wheellock pistol.




This customised Magnum was ordered from a London jeweller but when it was unclaimed it was handed in to police  under the 1997 buy-back scheme. 

Modern day dragon sculpture

Off with his head!!!



Traitors' Gate - most criminals would have entered
the Tower via this gate from the river.

The weather was not so nice on Sunday with rain and wind so our ferry ride back to Westminster Pier was not so pleasant although the totally enclosed ferry was warm and dry. On the way we passed a couple of boat loads of Crystal Palace soccer fans partying hard. Don’t know whether they were celebrating or drowning their sorrows but you could hear their chanting from a long distance.

The Shard - a striking example of modern British
architecture seen from the river.



Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.




London Eye

Back at Westminster we got a good look at the Houses of Parliament from the river side.

We then jumped on a bus back to the markets at Covent Garden. Here we found the usual array or useless and unusual junk that you find at most markets, although some of it was lovely. The most enjoyable thing here was the buskers. We watched one called “Spike” whose claim to fame was doing ‘really dangerous’ stuff. He was very entertaining, juggling, joking and finally sandwiching himself between two beds of nails while someone stood on top of him. Spike reckoned he was only the second person ever to attempt this. I didn't have the heart to tell him I had seen the same thing at the Bowen Show when I was a kid. Anyway, he had quite a crowd by the end and I’m sure he would have done very well out of the day there.

Spike

It was dinner at our hotel then a fairly early night for us. This playing tourist stuff is very tiring! We also wanted to get up early enough to walk up to St Paul’s Cathedral before we checked out and got a taxi to Marble Arch to pick up our hire car. We were of two minds as to whether to actually pay the extra money to get into St Paul’s but once we got inside we were more than happy to have done so. It is a totally different type of building to Westminster Abbey. Of course it isn’t as old but it is also a much lighter and more open structure and the dome really is amazing. You can also walk all the way up to the higher levels of the dome (if you are keen on climbing up to 528 steps!). We were surprised to learn that Charles and Diana were married here in a Catholic church as we assumed that like most royals they would have used Westminster.

St Paul's Cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who was not a catholic himself. The site has hosted several cathedrals dedicated to St Paul over the past 1400 years however.

St Paul's Cathedral

 

The view down Fleet Street from the front of St Paul's.

Passed this interestingly named restaurant near St Paul's.
Don't think it would go over too well back in Oz!!

After such a hectic weekend of sightseeing, we were glad to be leaving London at last, although we were rather apprehensive about navigating out of the city without the aid of a GPS. We were also hoping that the price of basics would drop, as we found the price of most things in London very expensive, especially after just coming from Hong Kong.