Thursday May 31, 2007
We begin our day with leftovers from last night’s Indian restaurant, along with grits cooked in the microwave, an orange for the Tate Gallery, and 2 of the 4 mangosteens that I bought last night. Then for dessert we had our Indian balls warmed in the microware.
We head out for the Tower of London and scout out the Tube station we will need for tomorrow's trip to Gatwick Airport. The Tower is a short 30 minute walk from the hotel. We arrive around 10:30. The tickets are £45.00 total.
As we walk in, there is a Yeoman Warren beginning an hour tour. He is a portly gentleman dressed in his beefeater uniform. He invites the little people up front including Rhonda, so for the first talk Rhonda is right up front. He is a little bossy but this is part of the show. The crown jewels are in newer and better display cases than they were last time we saw them 20 years ago. We tour the White Tower then decide we have had enough. This is hte day for Sam to bonk. RJ & I have already had our days.
“Let’s go to
Jason's Trip.” The next ride that we can catch leaves at 14:30 it is now 12:30. By the time we arrive it is 14:10 so we don’t have time to grab a bit to eat. The boat dock is quite fancy now there is a Boat Dock Restaurant. I get a take away menu. There is a disk with Pan Seared fish with a celeriac sauce with shaved fennel, and mango tout. Sounded good, maybe I can duplicate it at home.
The cannel trip was very peaceful and quite as our guide says, “It is hard to believe that we are in the middle on London.” She explains the cannels and how the cannel people lived until around the 1960’s. One horse originally pulled the boats. Diesel motors now power the boats. The maximum speed is 4 mph this is to keep the waves from eroding the banks of the canals. We must go even slower if we are passing where another boat is parked. The guide tells us that the trip to Birmingham would take three weeks by cannel instead of two hours by car. Some of the boats we passed cost £100,000.00.
The trip was 45 minutes long we arrive at Camden Lock a bustling place filled with little shops. Rhonda say it is just like the Sanford flea market except there are lots of punk shops here. We spotted a girl we saw in the tube. She was unmistakable bright pink hair mid back length. The ends were black and she had the same color pink eyebrows. There were lots of food stalls, brightly colored sights and smells. Rhonda and I get food from a Indian stall which turns out to be a bad choice. I decide half way thought that the rice has eggs in it (I am allergic to eggs) so I did not eat any more. The food was rather bland for Indian food. Sam had a Chinese dish that he said was good.
Sam bought two tee shirts and I bought a blue and white Middle Eastern scarf. Then we headed off the Leicester Square via the tube. Up on exiting the station we ended up heading to China town. From here we passed thought Piccadilly Circus. On our way to the Embankment we stopped at Green Park and rested for about 30 minutes in the grass.
I dozed off for a few minutes. We all agree that after Paris it was hard coming back to London. It just does not have the same appeal. Except for the language barrier Paris is much more apealling. Maybe the language barrier adds to the appeal.
We pass the London Eye. It is a hopping place. I had noticed on one of the tube cars that we could catch a train from the Blackfriars station to Gatwick, so I crossed the river to the station to check on the times of the trains in the mornings. There are trains at 06:50, 07:10, and 07:32. They arrive about 35 minutes later. The cost is £24.50 for the three of us. I go ahead a purchase the tickets for tomorrow.
Once on the other side of the river again I catch up with Rhonda and Sam. They have scouted out a place for supper.
Pizza Express- a restaurant chain that is everywhere in London. We got two small pizza’s a Margarita and a Venetian (olives, capers, onions, and sultans). The Venetian was rather sweet, they both were good although the crust could have been a bit more crusty.
We check at the desk about getting a cab in the morning at 06:30. The desk clerk orders us a taxi on the phone. Sam is up in the lounge using the Internet PC. It is too smoky up there for me tonight. I have the alarm set for 05:45. CSI is on at five tonight.
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