O - London

Day 29. July 13  London

London was the next stop. A quick trip on the Eurostar train under the English Channel and into London 90 minutes after leaving Paris. Although we had booked a taxi the night before, no one would come and get us as the trip was only across the city. We walked about 1 km (with out 17 items of luggage) until we finally found one. The Eurostar station was very futuristic and more like an airport then a railway station. 

Our hotel was unbelievably nice (County Hall). We were put into a Junior Suite with two bedrooms, a kitchenette and a huge bathroom. Views over the Thames, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben made it pretty sweet. 

We went out and ate some awesome fish and chips at the nearby Waterloo Pub then went back for a nanna nap. We hadn't had one since the cruise ship and needed it!

A taxi ride to the West End for a wonderful Vietnamese meal then Les Miserables! Les Mis was in it's 25 consecutive year at the same theatre. The longest running musical anywhere, ever! And it was super. Spine tingling. Tear making.

Day 30. July 14  London

We started off the morning travelling around London on another HOHO. As was expected it was spectacular. We were in London after all and there was just a bit to see!

We saw many of the places we could see for the bedroom, as well as the first hospital, the Thames. we saw London buses, red phone boxes and 'city loos'. 

We made a call home to Andy from a red public phone box. A phone box decorated with adds for sex lines and prostitutes, even a pre-op transvestite.

The British Museum.

We didn't make it very far on the first loop of the HOHO as we hopped off to visit the British Museum. 

This museum houses over seven million items, Objects like the Rosetta Stone, 75 metres of the Parthenon Freese, one million coins and medal, many items of pre-history as well as art and history from every continent (well not Antarctica).. 

The Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities was of particular interest because of the unrivalled collection of ancient artefacts and large art works. And in particular the frieze from the Parthenon, something that had captivated Sarah for a very long time. Particularly the carvings of the battle between the centaurs and the lapiths. In her opinion the best representation of what centaurs may have looked like. 

The Egyptian Exhibition was also spectacular. The British sure knew how to steal and pillage. 

The collection of scientific instruments included items that we could play with - sextant, a Mesopotamia pillow (made of wood) and some stone tools.

After the museum we wandered the streets and looked at some souvenir shops (which were owned by the Royal family), then wandered back to the HOHO. 

We found a great coffee shop. It was called the Cinnamon Bar and had glass topped tables with kilos of cinnamon in each case. Many thousands of dollars worth.  

Back on the HOHO we saw many more iconic London sights including the Marble Arch. Oh and the Marble Arch. We also saw the Marble Arch. And the Marble Arch. 

We saw Hyde Park, Speakers Corner, The Horse Guards, No 10 Dowling St, Buckingham Palace, Nelson's Column. And some great graffiti  One was a sigh saying "William loves Kate". And a genuine Banks piece - "Made you Look".

One unexpected sight , across from Hyde Park, on a residential second floor balcony, was a fox. 

Harrods

Next we ventured into Harrods, and Oh, What an experience!

The world's most famous luxury department store. The store covers a five acre site and has over one million square feet of space in 330 different departments. The motto of the shop is "Ominia Omnibus Ubique" - "All things for all people". And there did seems to be all things for all people, although it appeared they no longer sell lions. The store was sold in 2010 to Qatar Holding (ie the country of Qatar), The sale was such a big deal that the Qatari Prime Minister flew out to finalise the deal.  

There were floors and floors packed with things we couldn't afford.The stand out parts would have been the toy section with near life sized rocking horses (or ponies) and huge stuffed hipp and lion toys. Staff wandered around playing with toys and just showing them to shoppers. The other section that got our attention was the art section, silver table sculptures for a couple of thousand pounds and other objects that belonged in art galleries. 












We then went to the food court, the first place we found anything that we could afford, and got some chocolates and then decided to have a quick bite of sushi. It was a classy little joint, where chefs from Japan made sushi in front of you. It was much like some of the places we went to in Japan. Though not quite as good. We had four individual pieces and a roll each, and a coke and a water, just enough to enjoy but without being full. So it was a huge shock when we got the bill, in fact we nearly chocked. It all added up to a whooping 75 pounds ad ninety pence. About $130 Australian.

Next was a trip up the Thames to Greenwich. We had to go to "The first and last place on earth", Greenwich has two claims to fame. The Prime Meridian ie 0 degrees longitude - thus being the first  and last place on earth. The meridian passes through the Royal Observatory.
And Greenwich Mean Time or Mean Solar Time also at the Royal Observatory. The mean time does not correspond to anything obvious like the movement of the sun across the meridian.

But is was the journey not the destination that was amazing. The architecture along the river was sensational - London Tower to ultra modern buildings and all in between. And the house apartments were seriously nice. 

From there we headed back to the hotel worth our wallets substantially lighter thanks to the sushi bar. The out to a cheap dinner and bed!