UK TRIP 2022 – PART II

 May 7, 2022

London

Our travel agent, Julie, wisely booked a day tour of London for our first day in town.

We had left a wakeup request for six a.m. with the desk. Larry also set the alarm on his iPad. Good thing because the call came about six-twenty after we were already up. (We used the iPad alarm each day thereafter.)

After we showered and dressed, we went down to the breakfast room. Our reservations included the “Full English Breakfast” each day. This consisted of eggs, prepared to order, bacon, English sausage (which I loathe), blood pudding (same), toast, and lots of other choices, all cooked to order. It also included the continental breakfast. We chose this by itself instead.

I adore Greek yogurt. This was offered along with two other kinds: plain regular yogurt and fruit-flavored. Alongside were several fruit compotes. (The mixed-berry one was divine!)

I added fresh fruit on top for a delicious and satisfying meal. Larry also had a couple of sweet rolls and a fruit smoothie.

The coffee was terrific.

Meals were served on tables with fresh, starched, white linen cloths and napkins, lovely porcelain china, and silver flatware. My kind of dining!

One of the reasons the hotel garnered a five-star rating was for the number of staff in attendance at all times. They are uniformed, gracious, and very formal, fulfilling the English archetype.

We made our way to the Victoria Coach Station (as opposed to Victoria Station where the trains arrive and depart). We located the representative from Evan Evans Tours and checked in. Finally, we received instructions to board our “coach,” a lovely, large, modern bus.

Sheila, our guide, was funny and very informative. As we drove around the city, she provided a running commentary about English history and architecture.

We couldn’t go to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was only done every other day. The palace itself was also closed in preparation for the queen’s platinum jubilee. We walked to the gates and took pictures.

Yep, we were there

Connie and Dave, with whom we shared the tour

Then the bus tour continued. It stopped at several different locations, including the Natural History Museum, Royal Albert Hall, and the Prince Albert monument, where Larry jumped off to take photos.

Next we went to the changing of the horse guard, where we saw the guards in their red uniforms atop beautiful horses.

From there, we walked through St. James Park and Green Park. Larry’s hay fever started acting up badly, so we left the park and walked back along the road. He was sneezing, and his eyes ran.

While we were waiting for the rest to catch us with us, a large group of horse carts came racing by—perhaps four or five dozen. It appeared they were out for a Saturday run. So much fun to see.

Back on the bus to St. Paul’s Cathedral. We entered and were able to see most of the inside. (The front—the American Chapel—was blocked off in preparation for the jubilee.) Sheila led us down into the crypt where the tombs of famous people are located.

After a stop at the gift shop, where I bought a few items, we took the bus to a location near the Evan Evans offices. Here were many small restaurants as well as a food court.

We had spent our wait time as well as time on the tour with Dave and Connie from New York. The four of us decided to go to Market Hall, the food court. We got our lunch at Cappadocia Kebab and Sandwich Bar. Larry ordered lamb, and I ordered chicken and a falafel to split. They were each served atop a great salad. We had diet sodas to drink.

Dave ended up with a plate of huge ribs and fries, while Connie had a burger, also with fries. Both got beer to drink. We enjoyed our lunch and the company.

When we finished, we walked the two blocks or so to the Evan Evans offices, where we used their restrooms. Then back on the bus and over Waterloo Bridge to see various sites on the south side of the river. We drove back to town via Blackfriars Bridge.

On the way to the Tower of London, we saw the London Bridge. This is the current one. Various others have occupied the same location since the Roman days. The previous one now sits in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

At the Tower, we saw the Traitor’s Gate and the Bloody Tower. As usual, Sheila provided the details of these locations and the origins of their names. At this point, she left us on our own to explore the complex. We were exhausted, so we only climbed the tower to see the crown jewels. Astounding!

Queen’s Guards at the Tower of London

We had been moving since early in the morning, and we were fading rapidly. Our ticket included a boat ride down the Thames, but we were so exhausted, we discussed taking a cab back to the hotel and saving the boat ticket for another day.

On the way out, we spotted the Armouries Café and decided a rest in a cool place was just the ticket. We ordered two diet cokes and a cookie to split. I think we were probably a bit dehydrated, because after cool drinks—and a bit of sugar—we felt refreshed.

We walked over to the Tower Pier and caught our boat. What a fun ride! We had a running monologue during the whole trip. The “captain” probably moonlighted as a standup comic. He was hilarious.

The boat docked at Westminster Pier, about a fifteen-minute walk from our hotel.

We visited the New York Bar again for soft drinks before returning to our room. We decided to watch a little TV. We discovered there was a last season of our favorite British TV show, The Vicar of Dibley. This show always makes me laugh out loud. I immediately went to Amazon (US) and ordered the DVD to add to our collection. Can’t wait to watch the whole season when we get home.

We were more than ready for sleep, so we called it a night.