But it starts to come back to me - OMG I am in London! And with some much needed sleep we are both excited to be here.
Since neither of us has really spent much time in London before we wanted to just roam today and see where we ended up.
We had thought about taking a tour initially but in the end I am glad we did not as it was fun to just wander.
After a shower and dressing in layers (it is cold, 4c) we head downstairs for complimentary breakfast. It is quite a nice breakfast too. A variety of juices, coffees, teas. Eggs, sausages, bacon, fruit, yogurts, pastries. It helps to have a good meal to start our day.
Back to the tube line we head towards London Bridge station. We decide to head there for two reasons. First we want to visit Borough Market. Second this is the station we have to come to on Monday when we head to Gatwick and we decide it would be good to get an idea of where we have to go so we don't repeat what happened yesterday.
A short walk from the tube is the Borough market. Situated under the rail tracks the market has this amazing vibe. The sounds, the smells, oh and the cold! But it feels so right! Pretty much anything you would want to buy food/drink related is here. It makes me wish we had an apartment so we could buy some things and enjoy them there. The breads, the cheeses, the sweets! Oh and the wines!
As we wander we hear the sellers calling out what they have for sale "basket of avocados 1 pound" "try my paella". I really like the feeling here.
One coffee shop has a queue out the door and down the sidewalk. I am guessing it is worth it, and I was tempted to wait and try it but I really did not need more caffeine.
We did enjoy a prosecco spritz and that went down really well.
This would be a great place to come for a meal.
We walk across London Bridge. It is here that in June of 2017 3 terrorist drove across this bridge and rammed into pedestrians. The suspects fled to Borough market where they proceeded to stab people. In the end 8 were killed and 48 injured. We notice now that there are large barricades that block bridges, and main sites. We also notice a much larger presence of armed police patrolling many public areas.
We cross the River Thames and walk along the boardwalk towards the Tower of London. We then cross the Tower Bridge, but there are a lot of people, and it is hard to walk. Again, I like the tourist site and it is good to visit them but I really hate all the crowds.
So once back at London Bridge Station we hop on the tube and make our way to Green Park and walk through it and up into Hyde Park.
It is a beautiful day (crisp and cool, but nice) and many are out walking and riding bikes.
We walk up to Speaker's Corner but sadly no one is speaking.
It is time for lunch so we walk around Marble Arch area and find a nice little restaurant and enjoy a simple meal with a cider for me and a lager for Bernie.
It is around 3 pm and we both feel a rest is needed before we head out tonight so we hop back on the tube. It is easy as this is the Central line and we take it right back to Stratford and rest for a bit.
Tonight we are meeting up with Michael and his wife Vida. Michael is the Hotel General Manager on the Royal. We have known him for years and we have gotten very close in that time. We consider each other family now.
We know his wife and family and we even were lucky enough to have him and some of the crew to our home last month when the Royal was in Sydney.
Tonight they meet us at the tube station and we walk and enjoy catching up with them.
Supper is at a Brazilian restaurant where we chat about the upcoming South America cruise I will be lecturing on. We find out how Vida is doing and the kids. We end up having a wonderful time and are there until the place closes at 10 pm.
Micheal has just gotten home from his contract and will be back to work on the Royal just prior to Christmas.
We are now settled in the cabin (I mean room, but it really feels like a cabin) and we are planning our day tomorrow.
I say lets just play it by ear and see what tomorrow brings. I am learning more and more to just go with the flow and see what happens.
All I know is life is damn good and I am embracing every moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment