Travelling to Rome Equals a Bumpy Ride

After a good breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and made our way to the tube.

In the end we enjoyed the hotel.  It was basic, but met all our needs. The staff were wonderful and very attentive.  Not sure if I would go back.  Just a bit too basic and the sound of the hall way door slamming every time someone came in from the elevator did get to us after a while.

We stopped at the Pound Store (Dollar store UK style) and bought some pipe cleaners.  Well actually I was looking for anything that I could put on Bernie's new suitcase to help identify it but was having no luck with the normal type of bag tag so I bought a package of pipe cleaners.  We put a one on each of his zippers and twisted them and hey it worked.

The tube was busy.  Normal I guess for a weekday but we managed to get on and stay at the side.  Also we had no issues at all with getting to where we needed to go.  We have mastered the London Underground.

Once at London Bridge we transferred to the train and a half hour later we were at Gatwick.

I am always impress at how Europe handles security clearance.  Airports in North America could learn a thing or two from airports here.   

You scan your boarding pass at a turnstile and that lets you into security.  At security there are numerous stations at the security belt. You place all your items in the bin to be scanned and then once thru the scanner you take your bin to a table where you can reorganize yourself.  Very civilized.

Also here at Gatwick at least -- once you clear security it is a bill hall with shops, restaurants, bars, sitting area, washrooms etc.  You wait here until your flight has been assigned a gate.  Then you proceed to that gate.  There are no seats at the gates, just the gate.  Once at the gate you board the plane.  No large mass of people at the gates, no long queues to get on the plane.  Again very civilized.

Our flight to Rome was with Easyjet.  A real discount airline.  We paid 150 Canadian for our flight including our bags for both of us.  But it is a snug flight.  Not a lot of leg room.  I felt like a sardine.  Thankfully it is a short flight.

We knew Italy was experiencing a big storm and the Captain did warn us it would be a bumpy ride, and it was.

We later found out that strong winds, heavy rain has caused five deaths and lots of damage.  For us we barely were affected.

We had arranged for a shuttle with Civitavecchia cab service prior and our driver was there as soon as we exited.

Quite a bit of heavy traffic due to two accidents.  Driver says that the rains and winds have caused havoc, but it sure looks nice now.  Warm too.

We arrive at our Airbnb and are greet by Gabriella who does not speak English but we manage to communicate with signals. 

The place will work for us.  It is in Trastevere area and close to everything.  It is a basic one bedroom apartment that will work.  Just so happy to not be stuck in a small hotel room anymore.  Here is a link to our Airbnb.  Remember if you are thinking about using Airbnb, click on this link and you will save money off your first booking. 

We head out for some supper - lots to choose from in the area.

Just a block away we spot a cute spot where we are sat at a nice table and we breath in and realize yeah we are back in Italy.

We order a salad and a main entree with some sides and share it all.  It was just enough.  Of course we also got a litre of house red wine.  Definitely choose the house wine to save money.  

Oh and while I am talking about restaurants.  Take note, most areas of Italy have some added fee that will be added onto your bill.  Sometimes it says service charge, sometimes it will be a fee for bread (even if you did not order the bread).  It is usually a nominal fee.  No use arguing with them about it, just pay.  But take note that you do not normally tip here.  So we just accept that the fee is the what we would of paid as a tip.  Note this fee is probably not charged to locals.  Oh well cost of travel I say.

Of course we had to stop for some gelato on the way back home.  Also bought cereal and milk but that was not picture worthy.

Back at the apartment we crash.  Woke to a few thundershowers and some street noise and not sure where the heck I was. 

Sunday in London

For some reason I am having trouble sleeping, or more exact, getting rid of this jet lag.

I did not actually sleep until 3 am.  So when I woke up at 10 I was really annoyed.  But I have to take my own advice "let things happen the way they are suppose to".  

Bernie was up very early (but he fell asleep around midnight) and has been reading for the past few hours.

I get moving and we are up and dressed and downstairs for breakfast to get the day going.

We get on the tube and head to Leicester Square as per the great advice from fans on my facebook page.  Our goal is to get some tickets for a play this afternoon.

You have to make sure you get tickets from the authentic ticket booth in the square. There are many booths that do sell tickets but they don't always have the real discounted price and not as big a selection.  Here is their website.

We bought tickets for The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. 

But the show is not until 3 pm and we have a few hours till it starts.

We wander around the square.  Check out the Lego square and Big Ben made of Lego blocks.

Thought of my sister here

Walk thru China Town. Loved the names of the stores/restaurants.

So cool to be at Piccadilly Square - feels like Times Square.  Lots of people, shops, electric signs. Kind of sad that a huge billboard is put up over a stunning facade of a building.

The shops along Regent Street are very nice but neither of us are really shoppers. But I did want to stop in at Crabtree and Evelyn but the store that Google says is here is not.  Closed permanently I guess.

The next nearest location is Covent Gardens so we head there.  Of course when we arrive we immediately recognize that this is the place we came the last time we were in London.  

Live street performers are all over and we watch two guys perform - too funny.  But damn it is cold!   And there is a large cloud overhead.  It soon opens up and the rain comes down.  But it passes quickly as we take cover in the market.

Oh and I did get to buy my favorite La Source lotion at Crabtree and Evelyn.

The show starts at 3 pm and it is a beautiful venue.  We have good seats but unfortunately the seats are not offset enough so you have to constantly sway side to side to see the stage. 

We laughed our heads off.  Lots of physical humor too.  But it could of been done a half hour earlier, it seemed to go on for a long time.  We are glad we did it though and both commented that if we spend more time here we would definitely see a lot more shows.

We walk up to Oxford Circus to catch the Central line back to Stratford. 

For supper we head to a Thai restaurant at Stratford Shopping Center called Busaba Westfield.  I wish I could say it was great, but it was not, it was just okay.  Service was really lacking.  We had to keep calling someone over for service.  Then our starters came with our entrees.  The rice was ice cold.  The other dishes were good though.  Really enjoyed the pot stickers, and phad thai.  The bill included a 15% service charge that we actually told them to remove - they did - and we tipped accordingly.  Being Canadian I felt bad about that, but it was justified to us.

A short walk back to the hotel and we hope to have a restful night tonight.

We really loved London.  Wish we could be here a few more days.  But we know we will be back.  I especially loved the diversity of the people, the languages, the cultures. The architecture, the history, the gardens, the monuments, and the parks were all highlights.  

I found it very easy to get around with the Metro.  There were lots of taxis and Uber is an option - but we did not use either. We walked a lot.  Yesterday we walked over 17,000 steps, today 12,000 steps.

I won't miss the traffic, the crowds on the sidewalks. I am really over everyone on their cell phones while walking, and all over the noise.  But I have a feeling it is just the beginning.

Tomorrow we are off to Rome. 

Saturday in London

After falling back to sleep at 5 am I wake around 9 am and am totally confused.  Where the heck am I?  What time is it anyways?  

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.  

I like the tourist sites, but I really LOVE the places the locals go to too (however there are a lot of tourist here too).

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.

Afternoon In London

After a short nap we wake feeling - well sort of rested - but ready to go.  Sure we so easily could of rolled over and slept some more but we knew that we would be out for quite a few hours and would probably wake up at 3 am.  Plus we had arranged to meet up with friends.

Last August when we were on the Caribbean Princess we met, Luke, Neil and Robert who are from London.  Like you do you hand out your card and say "if you are ever in (fill in your city) make sure to let me know". 

Well Neil did just that!  Neil works as a Senior Doorkeeper at the House of Commons and promised us a tour if we ever made it to London.  

So guess what!  We were planning on being in London so we emailed and arranged to meet him and his brother Robert, along with Luke for a tour and a drink.

We walked back to the Stratford Station, purchased our Oyster cards at one of the machines loaded with enough money to last us the three days.  So much easier and less expensive to have an Oyster Card than to pay each time.

Big Ben is under all that - getting a face lift

We took the Jubilee line right to Westminster and walked around for a half hour before our 3:30 meeting time at the House of Commons.

Westminster Abbey

The city is full of an energy.  It is something we have missed since we moved to a smaller community.  But I know we also get tired for the crowds/noise too. 

It is definitely fall. It is cool out and thankfully we brought layers to wear for this exact occasion.

House of Commons

We meet up with Neil at 3:30 and clear through security and are given our visitor's pass.  Luke and Robert are there too and Neil leads us a private tour.  

Both Bernie and I are blown away.  Just the fact that we are here, where so much history has happened.  The people who have walked these halls.  The Royalty that have been in these rooms.  We got to see the dressing room where the Queen arrives and is dressed in her regalia, you know her crown and all.  

To see the marks in the door where the Mace is struck to open parliament.  To actually get to touch the table in the House where MPs and Prime Ministers have spoken.  Wow.

We so appreciated this, and thank you Neil for doing this (I know you are reading). 

After the tour we headed to the pub that is part of the grounds that the staff go to.  We enjoy a few drinks and some good times.  

Dinner was at a yummy Italian restaurant at Waterloo Station.  Again a good time, good food, and great company.

It is so wonderful when you make connections like this on a cruise and you get to follow up and see them again.

We hop back on the tube and head home.  

I think we barely got changed for bed when we were both fast asleep.

However I woke at 1:45 and was wide awake.  Darn jet lag - and stayed awake until 5 am when I finally fell back asleep.