Day 4? London City Tour

Began with A dishevelled Money Penny, trench coat flapping, socks oversized, crumpling around ankles, orders barking who officiously ushered usnonto a courtesy bus at 7.30. She was of the ilk of a dorm monitor, bus monitor, the student who loves to boss. She took us back to our school days, as she chided us for our disorganization with tickets, even though she was the tardy one and grimaced when we were slow to respond to her seat belt instructions and the grimace of disapproval she shot at Mary Ann who rather facetiously quoted her line about procedure, which we had held for the umpteenth time at every hotel we had picked up from, was enough to censure our behaviour for at least ten seconds. But undaunted we retained a little of our defiant nature and chose not to wear our seatbelt on the next day regardless of her sage and stern advice and glances.

Fortunately, she was not our guide for the day.
But Heather, a Glaswegian, who fearlessly lead us through the crowded streets of London with a tartan umbrella unfurled above her head. And we followed!

The bus drove the congested streets of the West End - Priscilla, Educating Rita, the Phantom, Mousetrap ...... Narrow lane ways ran higgledypickledy from the major clogged arteries. We would have loved to wonder at leisure but as with all tours we were on a schedule.
First stop:
A visit to buckingham Palace, who would have thought. Though we had hoped for a reception with those in high office, we felt less slighted when we learnt the queen had not even remained for the pope, whose papal visit was to play havoc with streets of London during the weekend. We were running ahead of road closures but police presence was high. We felt like paparazzi standing outside the gates of the palace. From the park side the palace had a graceful elegance, softened by the parkland, water and autumnal flowers.
Second Stop

Albert Hall.
Throughout, as we travelled narrow roads and byways through the city, Heather related interesting tidbits of history and although I would like to retell some here - two days and countries have passed and so to my memory. But maybe - we heard : about the tax on daylight which was measured by the number of windows a house had, thus the term daylight robbery and how the only people who died in the great fire, did not die of burns or smoke inhalation but of drowning, fleeing the fire they had jumped into the water of the Thames, only to drown. And of course the history of Victoria and Albert, their commitment and how interested he was in progress and architecture. And so we stood before the Albert Hall and the monument which honoured him. In need of coffee and a short break we were shown the horse guard, which did not change for us but stood in regal formation adjacent to admiralty house.

We crisscrossed the Parliamentary and Financial Districts of London
Did you know:
The Ministry of Defence, known as the iceberg has far more floors underground than above and houses a nuclear bomb shelter.
And that it is not the clock tower of Westminster that is known as Big Ben but the bell inside which was named after its creator.

And it is thought that Piccadilly Circus, formally was an area where daffodils abounded and people would come to pick them, thus its name.

And then we stopped at Covent Gardens which was once a convent. And the name shifted slightly in response to the inner London pronunciation to Covent.

Covent Garden
Cuisine, markets, quaint curiosity stores, opera singers and bustle. We loved it and once more there was the opportunity to shop. New to the currency, Mary Ann stung me for a pound as she short paid for her souvenirs. Having given up in frustration, the shop keeper waited until she left and then said very distinctly to me, "your friend owes me a pound" given the shopping zeal that was consuming her, I thought it easier to quietly pay and simply followed in her wake.
Wilkinson coasters, magnets, postcards, mint fudge and the quest for the hidden signs of the Templar drove her on.

Our last stop with the guide was the tower
Built by William as a fortress, it has of course housed throughout history many deemed as traitors to the state. The last nefarious visitor, was Herman Hess. The traitors Gate and formidable walls were grim reminders of its past. Footsore we queued for the crown jewels, yet a hidden benefit of a tour group is that you walk past those who patiently wait.
Surprisingly, it was the smallest of the crowns that attracted our attention. Queen Victoria had, had one specially designed - light and small to suit her stature, it appeared child sized beside the other traditional once, which gleamed with the stolen gems from the empire days. Thus the reference to India as 'jewel of the crown'.


As the day drew to a close, and we faltered in energy we came to rest on The Thames Cruise. The tide was, after having dropped eleven feet, now rapidly returning. kayakers were enjoying being carried by the rushing flow of water, but still in places the sands of The thames were visible, as were the steps (39?) which descended from the stone wall which ran the course. We decided to call our Captain, Captain Moonlight, who. Rather than navigating the ship provided us with a commentary (for a small gratuity) as we passed the more famous sights of Westminster, The Eye, Tower bridge, London Bridge, the pirate ship,the London University, and others
This time given our low energy levels was much needed. Returning to the tower, after yet another shop for shot glasses, we sought directions ( note to men: we have had great success in finding our way, surprisingly, if one asks for directions and help, it is given) to the nearest tube station, Monument, and were whisked to Angel Station, only a short walk from our hotel. Exhausted we returned having gathered a lovely salmon quiche and an Italian pinot gris along the way.