Today I spent the majority of my day sitting on my butt on a tour bus, listening to facts that I cannot now remember, but will assuredly pull out of my head at random times over the next few weeks. Just a warning to all of you who will have to deal with me!
I hopped on the bus at 9:30ish and rode around for an hour and a half learning about the “famous places” of London. When we got to Trafalgar Square, I hopped off and immediately went into a bookstore. This was an expensive little diversion… After that, I had lunch (and a cider – drinking at noon! I could get used to this!!) at the Sherlock Holmes pub. Next was the National Gallery of Art. It rained while I was in gazing at Monet’s rendition of the Parliament building in the background of the Thames and at Gainsborough, Van Gogh and many, many other masterpieces. I then went to the shop. This too was an expensive visit…
After I’d spent most of my daily budget at Trafalgar, I hopped back on the bus and then got right back off at Piccadily Circus. I wandered around that area for a while – not spending any money – until it was time for afternoon tea, which I had in a slightly frenchified manner – with a tartlet instead of scones. It was satisfying, though and that got me back on the bus for more sightseeing!
After I had taken a million pictures and walked around the spots I wasn’t planning on visiting later, I headed back to the hotel for a brief siesta. I uploaded pics, checked email and searched for a restaurant that was close. I settled on the Blue Jade – thai food, of course – and headed there at about 7pm. It was wonderful!! Excellent food and service!
Now I’m back to my hotel and ready to call everyone and see how they are doing, assure them that I’m still kicking and the like. I was going to do the Tower of London tomorrow, but it looks like it will be nice tomorrow and rainy Sunday and Monday, so I may do Hyde Park tomorrow instead!
