At long last...London

I did a trip out of the city to see where the Queen lives when not in London...she had me in for tea...yeah..right.
The tour included a few other stops, one in a small village that had the most amazing Cathedral (name has totally escaped me and I’m too lazy to look it up). One of the neat stores in the little town was ‘Poundland’ the London version of the dollarama.
Narrow roadway. You can see where the original wall that protected the village is and how the homes continued to grow. The cobbled stone lanes were very narrow and at times I wondered how our bus would get around the next turn.



Amazing cathedral. The inside was very nice. They had a manager scene set up and angels hanging from the ceiling...not a single good photo from the interior. There were renovations going on outside the building or I guess maybe restorations, which was nice to see. I kept being over whelmed by how old everything was. Imagine...hundreds of years old.



Stonehenge. Yep. Another fantastic tour outside of the city. I didn’t have any mystical experience during my visit, but I was certainly impressed with the work that went into creating Stonehenge.



Swan. Yep...it’s a swam.


‘Coronation Street’ Not really, but it does have that look about it. The Queen’s home is in the back at the top of the hill. I didn’t get to the Coronation Street set. I actually didn’t realize until I was there that the show is filmed outside of London. I watched the annual Corrie xmas special on tv. It was fantastic. A musical Cinderella with all the regulars from the show, some in character, some not. And I got to jump ahead in the story line, which was good at the time, but also spoiled it a bit.


Crooked house. It apparently was built this crooked. Hmmm. Someone needs a level.



Door hinge. Yet another one of my European door knobs/hinges.



Tea with the Queen. Well, she does apparently live here...but of course I never got a glimpse.


London street. Just one of the many typical neighbourhoods that I saw. You’d really want to memorize your house number cause you’d never be able to find it otherwise.


Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Not as tasty as I had expected, but definitely something I had to try.



Some doctors claim our high heels may cause irreparable damage to marriages, hearts and wallets. I really liked this poster. Wonder why?


Parliament. No, that isn’t Big Ben on the right side. It is the clock tower and inside is a bell named Big Ben.



Everyone needs a place to think. What a wonderful bench for sitting and thinking on.



The City of London (proper) is defined by these dragons. They mark the entrance/exit to the city proper.


London bridge....interesting that no one thinks of this as London Bridge.



This is what they think of as London Bridge.



River view...city scape.


Another view of the Bridge. I walked across on Christmas day, walked along one side of the river, crossed over at the parliament buildings and then attempted to find somewhere to eat lunch. The entire city basically shuts down for the day...which is only proper, but it did leave a lot of tourists roaming around looking for a place to eat. I believe I had pasta.



London Eye. It was a wonderful ride. Ride isn’t quite the correct word. I mean yes, you get on the ‘pod’ and it moves around in a circle, but the movement is so slow you hardly know you are moving. The view was great. I can only imagine how far you could see if it wasn’t raining. Tickets are purchased ahead of time, you can walk up and just buy one, but it was suggested to pre-purchase. Your pre-purchase means you pick a day and time that you will visit...and don’t be late!


Pod. One of the pods on the London Eye. If you are ever in London make sure you get on board.


Clifton Restaurant. I had supper here on the 24th and again on the 25th. I walked in the first night looked at the nice man who wanted to seat me and said...I want an appetizer, a main dish, a rice and a veggie dish. You choose. He asked how spicy I said medium and he picked for me. Excellent choices. When I went back in the second night and ordered that way again he was very happy. In fact all the kitchen staff had to turn around have a look, smile and say thanks. I again thanked them for last nights supper while waiting for my “Christmas dinner”. They presented me with a t-shirt before I left. It actually brought tears to my eyes. My first xmas away from home and the only gift I received on the actual day. Sentimental.