Day Nine - London

Photos:

Top left - Arriving in London

Top right - Tower Bridge

Middle left - Tower Bridge Open

Middle right - Charlie and Lloyds Security Guard

Bottom left - The Lloyds Building

Bottom right - Saint Paul's Cathedral

Very Bottom - Millenium Bridge

Today it was off to the big city. We boarded the train at a nearby town for the forty minute ride which was quite comfortable. We got off at London Bridge station and walked across the bridge and along the Thames River to the Tower Bridge about a mile away. They offer a tour of the bridge where you can walk up to the top and across the catwalk (enclosed) and down the other side to the “engine room” below where the original hydraulics are meticulously displayed. It was very impressive. But let me tell you, the walk to the top was 248 steps straight up a series of staircases. Good thing it was our first tour. We were fortunate in that we got to see the bridge open while we were there.

From the bridge we walked to Lloyds of London. I had heard about this formidable insurance company for years and wanted to see its building. I know I use the word impressive a lot but there really is no other word to describe this building. It looks like no other building. It is massive and appears to be made out of stainless steel. It is not square, but rather a collection of square boxes and large tubes all connected with glass. We were not allowed in but a very friendly security guard dressed in top hat, white gloves and formal coat took a liking to us and told us about the inside of the building.

Our next stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral. I was going to take the tube but our security guard said it was “just down the road apiece” so we headed off on foot. Apiece turned out to be at least two miles. By now it was lunchtime and the cathedral appeared to have a very nice café in its basement and we were ready to sit down. As you would imagine the cathedral was magnificent. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and is lavish and colorful with lots of mosaic work and stained glass windows. Princess Diana was married in this church and our tour guide suggested that each of us ladies stand on the altar and look down the church nave to get an idea of how she must have felt looking down this massive structure. You could actually walk to the dome of this church by way of a series of spiral staircases. I believe it was 254 steps to the first level and 119 to the second – we decided to pass.

Just outside the church was the Millennium Bridge which takes you across the river to the Tate Modern Museum where we spent about an hour. I realize that we were looking at the work of masters but somehow I like to know what I am looking at when I view a painting.

Next door to the Tate was Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. We were just in time for the 3:30 tour and found the place to be quite charming. Our tour guide was a very “English” lady who was able to put us back in Shakespeare’s time. The theater is actually open to the sky and 700 people will stand in this area to watch a play. Bleachers under a thatched roof will hold another 1,100. This is not the original Globe which burned down in 1599 from a torch during a production that came in contact with the thatched roof. We were told that today’s thatch is really fiberglass – you could have fooled us.

My next stop would have been the London Eye which is a huge Ferris wheel on the South Bank however the weather had turned cold and nasty with spitting rain so instead we headed for the nearest tube (another mile) and headed to Harrod’s. What better way to get out of the weather. This is one gigantic store. It fills at least one entire block and maybe more. We strolled past handbags with price tags in the thousands and shoes that I would hate to put on the ground. They sell meat and produce and cheese and wine and all the niceties that go with them. I had the distinct impression that if you had the money to buy something they would be able to sell it to you.

Our feet were really telling us it was time to sit down again plus we were ready for wine and food. We really didn’t see anything around Harrods so we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and found ourselves in Chinatown. Wow, was this ever a colorful area. So many attractive restaurants to choose from. We settled into one, ordered a bottle of wine, and had a fantastic dinner. Now we were ready for the trip home.

We wound our way back through two subway changes and were just in time for our train ride back to the country. Unfortunately due to a problem on the line we were diverted to another train but with only a slight delay we were back in Kent. Arrived home about 10:30 very tired, with very sore feet but very happy with our London adventure. For those who count steps – this was a 15,000+ day!