I started off the day with a walk through Hyde Park - not realizing it is about 630 acres. It looks much smaller on the map.
After a stop along the way for something to eat I came out on the other side right at a stop for the hop on/hop off bus tour. So I bought a ticket and boarded a few minutes later for the main line tour. It takes you around all of the major sites and should have lasted a little over 2 hours. I think it was closer to 3 1/2. It took so long and traffic was so bad we had to make an unscheduled bio break for the tour guide.
I was hoping to catch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace this afternoon. It had been rescheduled from this morning, but after hanging around for about an hour waiting I gave up. I was just too cold and hungry to stick around (it is FREEZing here). The original Hard Rock Cafe was just up the street and I was craving a burger so I headed in that direction for an early dinner. The burger was fantastic and the guy sitting at the bar next to me gave me some more siteseeing tips (he was from London). He said to make sure I check out Camden Market. He said it's a little bit of a hike north but worth it. And he said both the National Gallery and the Tate Modern are great museums.
After dinner I headed towards Oxford Street where the stores are in search of a better map of London. The one from the hotel just wasn't cutting it. I also wanted to pick up some toiletries. I was going to try to make do until I get home, but it's best for everyone if I don't. After picking up my map and supplies I window shopped until the stores closed before walking back to the hotel.
The plan for tomorrow is to catch a couple more of the tour lines in the morning, head for the London Eye after lunch, maybe walk around for part of the afternoon and finish with the National Gallery. It's open until 9pm tomorrow and I really should take advantage of the late hours. We'll see how close I manage to stick to the plan.
6 comments:
The Tate Gallery is well worth it, certainly rivals the Louvre or Uffizi. I also liked the Imperial War Museum across the river, if you like war/plane/tank stuff.
Is that the one with the HMS Belfast? That looked pretty interesting.
Nope, the HMS Belfast sits on the river still afloat. I didn't go on the ship, but it did look interesting. The Imperial War Museum sits inland in a stand alone building.
After Chris finishes touring Europe, there's going to be a new stereotype-the angry, smelly American. People in France are like, "Mon Dieu, I sat next to this American tourist with dirty hair. Evidemment, they never bathe in America! Quelle horreur!"
She couldn't smell that badly if she's got people reciting poetry to her!!
Of course, maybe that's what the "aura" was...
love you, Chris!!!!
I miss my washing machine. And I think my jeans could get up and walk on their own at this point. I'm just too stubborn to pay the $12 to get them laundered.
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