Dodging the rain puddles rapidly rising along the footpath, as much as possible, we walked quickly, without an umbrella, towards the ferry. With little shelter available we were relieved when the ferry arrived on time. The rain continued steadily throughout the morning so after finding a luggage storage facility near Tower Bridge, in preparation for our departure on Thursday, we got a little wetter before relenting and buying a dodgy tourist umbrella. There was little choice but to board a bus and tour the city away from the continuous downpour. Our tour guide, Lizzy, was knowledgeable and displayed great patience dealing with the man from Rhode Island, USA who persisted in asking question after question after question, from politics to the state of homelessness and the number of tourists in London on any given day. Our bus journey took us past a range of interesting points including Big Ben, Harrods Department Store, Military of Defence, St. James’s Gardens and Palace and Tower of a London. Of interest was the location of Elton John’s private residence when he stays in London, the top two floors of a rather understated hotel. We learned that staff of Buckingham palace all live there rent free, except for the gardeners who are required to provide fresh flowers to the palace each Monday morning, in return of their board and lodgings. We went as near as possible to the palace however, no buses were able to pass in front of as the Queen is noted to have have said she found them ugly. Currently, Buckingham Palace has the Union Flag flying which indicates that the Queen is not in residence. When she is present the Royal Standard flies high. We didn’t fuss too much about the Royal residence as we will be touring there later.
Travelling along the Thames, it was interesting to learn that it once used the be the city’s toilet and was officially declared biologically dead in 1957 due to pollution level being so bad, that the oxygen levels in the water could not support any life. Now the river is a very different place, and is one of the cleanest city waterways in the world. Thankfully people no longer pass out from the fumes emitted from the river, as they once did, all thanks to a man named Joseph Bazalgette who designed the London sewage system way back in 1866. The same man tried to win the tender for the Tower Bridge but his design was not selected. Interestingly the London sewage system is now undergoing major expansion as it can no longer cope effectively with the nine million residents and the thousands of visitors to the city each day. We have walked many miles within London city and the smell wafting through the drain grates is definitely on the nose. Coupled with the rubbish piling up for collection on the pavement it isn’t the most pleasing sight or smell.
Back to the Thames which is much narrower now, after again Joseph determined that it would be more efficient if it was deeper and narrower, so a large width of land was reclaimed and achieved a number of advantages. One was that the river no longer froze over and boats were able to sail into port and provide Londoners with goods needed right on their doorstep. This made the merchant traders happy and in modern times allowed for the building of better roads and walkways. Our tour took us past a number of schools in the district, notably named after the coats the children wore to school, such as Blue coat and Grey coat. As many of the parents were illiterate the coat colour reference allowed them to know which group to send their children along with as they walked to school. Some of the schools no longer operate as educational premises and are now pubs, retaining the name to give a little extra historical appeal to the thirsty traveller.
At the other end of town we drove past some of the most expensive hotels in London, including the Lanesborough Hotel, the second most expensive establishment in London, where can stay for a princely sum of £26,000 a night and has a three night minimum stay, but breakfast will cost you extra. The most expensive hotel was just up the road and while we did not see it, our guide informed us that Ghandi used to stay there and as he only drank goats milk, the owner of the hotel kept one in the yard, just in case he decided to visit. We drove around Hyde Park, a former hunting ground for the royals and named after an old measurement for land. The ‘hide’ was an English unit of land measurement originally intended to represent the amount of land sufficient to support a household. Hyde park is 0.547 square miles.
Tired of travelling on the bus, which was crowded with fellow tourists, dripping and whiney, we decided to make our way to the famous Madame Tussaud’s and rub shoulders with the rich and famous or infamous in some cases.
Our experience was nothing short of entertaining in a twisted kind of way. Lining up to get our ticket we then had to line up again, around the corner, only to be told it was too early and too come back later. With time now to spare, we went to the nearest eatery and lined up again to eat some decidedly dodgy fare called lasagne and roast, watery hot chocolate and tasteless tea all for a healthy whack of pounds (in fact the only healthy item in the cafe was the cost!) At this stage Daryl was less than impressed with the system for gaining entry, the time wasted waiting and I hoped very much he would at least enjoy the museum, which he was not so excited about going to see, once inside. Finally, the moment arrived and it was hard to distinguish between the humans of flesh and those of wax. Despite the mass of people trying to get their photo we managed to get to all the models and admired the craftsmanship and attention to detail, very much. The highlight of the visit was indeed the The Spirit of London black cab tour, a bit like a very tame roller coaster ride. It was just fantastic and we both marvelled at the displays. We enjoyed the wax replicas for so many iconic shows and people including Star Wars, X-Men, Shrek, The Hulk, Justice League, Alien (me not so much), the Royals (past and present), The Beatles, and the politicians, inventors, peacemakers, artists, Justice League, a range of pop stars and finally her majesty with whom you could sit and have tea, if you so chose to. We really did leave the museum smiling and pleased we made the effort. I even forgave Daryl for tricking me into thinking I was blocking a photo shoot, only to discover the photographer was a little waxy. The history of Madame Tussaud’s is fascinating and now an international icon. First started in the late 1700’s by the history of this establishment is long and dramatic with fires, executed heads and imprisonments part of the story.
Determined to enjoy the West End, while in London, we had purchased tickets to the famous Agatha Christie murder mystery stage show “Mousetrap” which has been performed non stop for 67 years that night. With some time to fill until the opening curtain, we planned to hop back onto the tourist bus and make our way to Leicester Square. After waiting a good 20 minutes, we both got impatient (shocked, I’m sure you are) and decided to walk. Google said it was only a short walk - Google lied.
Contending with the end of day pedestrian traffic, uneven pavements, scaffolding encroaching onto the footpaths and more tourists than you can poke a proverbial stick at, the walk was a little tedious. Intermittent showers of rain, kept us cool, at least physically, but my legs were screaming and we needed to find a spot to rest. About three quarters of the way along we saw a bizarre little cafe/bar/restaurant on the corner of the road called Mr Fogg’s House of Botanicals. With ferns and flowers cascading down the shop walls and windows, it looked like a place we needed to visit. Upon opening the door, it was like stepping back in time onto the set of a peculiar movie with all manner of flora and fauna on display.The overwhelming scent of a spring garden, filled with exotic flowers of all colours assaulted your senses like the wind in a ferocious storm. You really did have to take a moment to catch your breath and take in the surroundings. When you do, you will notice the intriguing displays of fauna collected by Mr Fogg, including foxes, rabbits, roosters and birds. The menu is in-line with the theme of the premises, so when I couldn’t get my usual gin, I decide to try one of their signature drinks - Gully of Ferns. Made up of Bombay sapphire gin, Italicus bergamot liqueur, lemon verbena, Fentimans rose lemonade, and rhubarb bitters it was simply delicious. While we admired and enjoyed our surrounding the rain fell heavily outside, so we were thankful for the rest. I would have had another Gully of Ferns except the cost was a little prohibitive.
On time, we made our way to St Martin’s Theatre and prepared ourselves to be intrigued and entertained. And that we were. We now join the club of thousands of other theatre goers, who know ‘whodunnit’ but I am sworn to secrecy. The theatre at 103 years old, is small by modern standards and the rows are steep, the seats are narrow and everyone is a little cosy but it is charming, especially the sloping toilet floor. By the time we made it back to our hotel, via taxi, it was close to midnight and we were feeling the pains of burning the candle at both ends.
Portobello Road market and some high class window shopping along Oxford Street was on our agenda for Wednesday. We spent a significant amount of time waiting for transport, first on the ferry, then the bus, before walking to the market, eventually arriving around lunchtime. While we enjoyed a stroll, seeing the sites and admiring some of the houses, the market itself was a little underwhelming. I have no doubt it would be bubbling on weekends, but for us it was quite sedate. A highlight however, was the spotting (obsessed groupie style searching more like it) of key locations from the movie Notting Hill. We did locate the shop that inspired the Travel Bookstore, the location of the shop that was turned into the Travel Bookstore and most notably the blue door. Daryl loved every moment of it, be sure to ask him about it, next time you see him.
Going from the junk stalls full of souvenirs to the overpriced, pretentious halls of Oxford Street, we went to Selfridges, whose exterior building is quite magnificent and tea is worth queuing for, apparently. I did find a lovely watch that I considered buying, but when I found the identical item online for a sixth of the price, I figured I’d give it a miss. Early on we decided not to bother with Harrods and when we drove past it the previous day, noticed the chandeliers, and figured it was out of our league.
Clearly department store shopping, no matter how famous, is not our preference so we went in search of more favourable entertainment. Somehow we arrived back in Leicester Square at the ticket booth for last minute tickets. A musical in mind we bought seats to The Tina Turner Musical . Held at the Aldwych Theatre, this lovely centre opened in 1905 and in provided the perfect settings for this incredible show. Three hours of storytelling, through song and dance left us forever grateful to have the opportunity to see this show. The voices, the passion and the energy these actors displayed, were extraordinary. The story of Tina Turner’s musical career is both inspirational and heart wrenching. When we hear her songs in the future we will have a deeper appreciation of the meaning behind the words. Our trip home was via bus this time, and after finally going to the right side of the road ( picture me running across the road!) we travelled on the double decker all the way to Greenwich. Again, it was later than planned, after midnight when we dragged our weary legs up the stairs to our hotel foyer. The alarm was set for 5.30am, Thursday, our last day in London, was jam packed, so an early start was in order. But more of that adventure later.
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