touristy London day

Liesl slept from 9:30 pm - 11:30 am, winning the sleep queen award. About the rest of us, the less said the better...

 

Seb and I headed out around 11 to see what we could see. We walked across Blackfriars Bridge to Gail's bakery, home of excellent croissants and scones, and then followed the Thames toward the center of touristy London - the houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.

Steve and Liesl took the Tube and met us at the foot of Big Ben. We were surrounded by so many tourists -- it was a bit much -- as we strolled through St James Park en route to the palace. But it was a beautiful day, and we saw the sights.

 

The Canada Gate! No idea what was Canadian about it, but I took a picture to commemorate it anyway.

 

From there we crossed Green Park and headed to Fortnum and Mason, a famous foodie department store. They are most famous for tea and picnic hampers, so we bought a bunch of chocolates and biscuits and marmalade to be enjoyed later. After that, Hatchard's bookshop, where we rested our feet and browsed the shelves. A 300-year old book store! Bestill my heart.

 

We split up again, Seb and I heading back into Mayfair for some car-spotting and a picnic lunch in Berkeley Square, before we met up with Steve and Liesl at the apartment. Steve was asleep and Seb was falling asleep, so Liesl and I were alone in wanting to ride the London Eye. Back out, on the Tube, across the river, and up the giant gondola/ferris wheel. The pace was glacially slow, but the views were indeed spectacular.

 

We finished up our day with Indian food at this underground cave of a restaurant -- it was literally down two flights of steep steps, in an old cellar. You had to duck your head to get in, the walls were all sloped, and there was no cellphone service. But the food was tasty!