Stardate 2010.017 London England

Sunday, January 17 2010

Located and checked into the Euston Hotel. The website indicated that it was somewhat small but that was an understatement. It was quite compact although it will work for what we need as I expect to be out and about most of the time. It had a double bed with only a small aisle o each side, a small TV on the wall and a small hutch for a closet.

We took what was to be a short walk but ended in Trafalgar Square where we spent quite a bit of time in the National Gallery. I had to visit the lou and thought I took mental notes to return to where Wendy was studding the paintings. Well that did not work so well, the Gallery is made up of many rooms and all look similar. I was lost for a while but managed to find my way back to hook up with Wendy. Our stomachs were complaining so we found a small pub that had great Fish and Chips and a Pint of Beer. We then walked back to the hotel for the evening. We managed to put on much more than our recommended 1,000 steps this day. Went to bed bushed!

Monday, January 18 2010

Since we went to bed early we woke at 5:30 in the morning. We had some coffee and a bit of TV to see what the weather held for us this day. Coffee in the London Hotels is instant and not brewed as we are accustomed to in the US. Tea is proper Bags and I found myself drinking a bit more tea than usual.

Today we tackled the "TUBE" and successfully navigated our way to the Tower of London. We ended up spending virtually all day there. We purchased the audio equipment which did an excellent job of explaining the history of each segment of the Tower. We also joined a guided tour by one of the Beefeaters. The Crown Jewels were all on display and were they magnificent. Our 1,000 steps today were mostly straight up and down more than 1,000 stone stairs. We again caught the TUBE back to Trafalgar Square to check out some of the shops that were closed last evening. We had dinner in Piccadilly Square then back on the tube to the hotel and some much needed rest.

Tuesday, January 19 2010

Last day in London and good news! Upon checking out of the hotel I received a message that the Milton Keynes hotel had found my walking stick. I called Chris and he will have his daughter pick it up and bring it with him to Concord in June. We left our luggage at the hotel's storage room and set out for our last day in London. We wanted to get an overview of the rest of the city of London as well as having to walk as much so we went to the bus terminal for a tour bus.

We were surprised by just how much of the city we covered by foot yesterday although there were a few new sights for us to experience. This was an on and off bus so we disembarked at Buckingham Palace, took some photos but were unable to take a tour as they are not available in the Wintertime. We decided to walk back to Big Ben and Parliament building and Westminster Abby. We re boarded the bus and got off at the London Hard Rock, where they all began, for lunch.

It was getting a bit late so we headed back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to our starting point. We took a quick albeit long walk back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage. For an unexpectedly easy day of minimal walking we were quite tired and still managed over 1,000 steps again.

We left the hotel an caught our train to Manchester where we caught a cab to our hotel for the night. We went down to the coffee shop and each had a small pot of tea before bed. I shall not complain about the cost of coffee or tea in the US again - 8 pounds 20 pennies or about $13 US dollars FOR TEA!!!

Wednesday January 20 2010

We were up at 5:30, packed and had an excellent breakfast, which was included in the cost of the room, then caught a cab to the airport for our flight back to the US and the BOD in Kissimmee. There was only a small queue for ticketing and security went smoothly so we arrived at the gate with time to spare.

There were a couple of groups of Brits on the plane obviously heading to Mickeys world and they were up and down constantly talking to each other while the kids were having foot races down the aisles - quite distracting when all I wanted to do is snooze. There were plenty of movies and I took short naps here and there so the 8 hour flight went by quickly. Immigration and customs went well so Wendy and I had about 45 minutes before Denise arrived. We picked up our rental car and made it to the hotel without incident.

We met a few early arrivals including Sandy McManus who joined us for a quick dinner then it was time for bed having been up for 21 hours.