Playing Tourist
Posted by Rick - 19/12/07 at 11:12:18 pm
Our first full day in London we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather by taking in some sites. More specifically the London Eye, which offers a great view of many of the sites of the city. Being the off-season there was no one queued for the attraction, so after a quick security pat-down we we were on our way! Wow! The views are amazing from The Eye, and I highly recommend it to anyone. I was somewhat concerned about my fear of heights kicking in, but for some reason—unlike the Eiffel Tower in 2000—it didn’t.
As I said, the weather was clear, but there was still a slight smoggy haze surrounding London. It didn’t interfere too much with the view; however, and from our perch in the sky we could see the Clock Tower (Big Ben), Parliament, St. Paul’s, Buckingham Palace (according to the flying flag, The Queen was home), and many other buildings.
When our trip around The Eye was completed we hopped on a river cruise boat to take in the sights from the Thames. This trip is my third to the city, but this was the first time I had seen it from the great river. It was nice to take in the sights from a different point of view. The Tower Bridge from below was especially interesting. It was a chilly day and the boat we were on offered a free glass of mulled wine which made it easier to stand on the deck. The tour guide was amusing as well as informative, and I am glad we went.
When we had finished our boat tour, we crossed back over the river via the Jubilee walking bridge and made our way over to Covent Garden for a little snack and liquid refreshment. We found both at a little corner pub that serves Cornish pasties. We grabbed our beers and made our way to the balcony overlooking the square in front of St. Paul’s church where a cheeky street performer was still winding up his audience. His schtick was apparently juggling sharp knives while tight-rope talking on a rope he had strung between two pillars of the church. Sarah made me laugh as she semi-shouted “Less chat, more splat!” The guy eventually performed his trick successfully and we made our way back to north London to hook up with the Mears.
For dinner we had take away from the local chippie place. We had fish, batter dipped and fried sausages, and, of course, chips. The choice was a good one for dinner because afterward Sarah, Chris, David and I went out to a pub to help celebrate a friend of Chris’ birthday. The pub was packed with people participating in a Christmas-themed pub quiz, so we had to stand for the first two rounds. By the time the last bell rang we were filled with holiday cheer and negotiated our way to the bus stop to find our way home. Once there we played a few hour hours of drunken Wii before heading off to bed.
Next: Meeting the London MeFites
Similar Posts
1 Comment »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Powered by WordPress. Theme based on GimpStyle.
© 2009 Terrapin Gardens
Any more entries? I am dying to hear more about spooky Cambridge…
Comment by Steph — January 14, 2008 #