Random London pictures

Walker brand - I guess they also make chips

driving from the wrong side of the vehicle

our room

Buckingham Palace

the eye

women's restroom

delicious looking macarons 

noses in Soho.  There are 10 of them on the walls in random places.  Encourage people to look up.

These direction maps are all over. Very helpful but it took a bit to realize that they are oriented to the direction you are looking, not North-South.

Food Tour and the Tate Britain

We went down to the hotel breakfast room for a very light breakfast since we would be having the food tour later.  We shuffled things around and changed the plan a bit for today

We headed off to meet Sarah for the food tour. It was only 2 stops on the Underground.  I think that she had gotten the word about the portion sizes.  We ended the tour full but not stuffed.  What a nice variety of foods and flavors.  So different from some of our other tours.  This was more international. Sarah was very upbeat and passionate about foods like she was in Rome.  It was just George, Nathan and me on the tour.

2 types of pancakes

chocolate tasting and drinking chocolate.  Nathan bought some chocolate to take home.

fish and chips and mushy peas.  The 3 of us split 2 orders along with the tasting of 3 ales.  This was much better than the last fish and chips Nathan had.  I liked it too.

Samosas, chutney and poppadum

prawn, pork and mushroom tacos.  We each had one.  We had 10 tastings in all.

We ended with cheesecake and wine. in a cool underground wine cellar that has been converted to a restaurant.

fun to relax by candle light.

After our final stop, Sarah left us and we relaxed a bit and finished our wine tasting.  Then instead of going to the Thames Circle Tour (we felt like we had gotten a tour of the Thames on our Clipper ship) we took the Underground from the Embankment to the Westminster stop.  Walked along the Thames.  Took pictures of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and many other buildings that were impressive.

Big Ben

St John's park

We ended at the Tate Britain. It was laid out in a very simple way.  Each room was a certain decade.  Flowed from one room to the next.  It was free to get it.  We stayed until 6 pm because that is when it was closing.

her face looked very 3 D.  impressive, Arthur Hacker

Moore

Then we had to decide about dinner.  We got on the Underground at Pimlico and got off one stop later at Victoria.  The restaurant we picked was close but do you think that we could get there??? There was so much constructor and road closures that we ended out going quite out of our way.   By that time I was near the end of my tolerance for being on my feet.  We went to the Sekara a Sri Lanka restaurant.  None of us had had Sri Lankan food.  It was quite good.  The main thing was that I could sit down and get a glass of wine.  I felt much better after dinner.

We ordered rice, vegetable curry, stuffed paratha and Egg Hopper & Two Plain Hoppers served with Devilled Potatoes, Seeni Sambola & Pol Sambola.  Hoppers are bowl-shaped crepes with soft fluffy centers and crispy rims, served with spicy potatoes (they were very spicy), sweet caramelized onion chutney, and freshly grated coconut mixed with sweet paprika, red chili, red onion and fresh lime juice.   All quite delicious.

I had the egg hopper.

We walked back to the hotel and relaxed. When I got in last night and checked my email we found that the Thames Circle Tour had been canceled due to some mechanical issue.

Cutty Sark, Prime Meridian and a Maze

Today was another full day.  It started with a nice complimentary breakfast.  I had the traditional English Breakfast.  Not sure that I need baked beans with my scrambled eggs.

We walked to Victoria Underground Station.  We bought 3 Oysters (metro system tickets).  They are re-loadable.  It was a good thing because we went on a lot of them today.  Circle line to Westminster, Jubilee line to Canary Wharf, DLR train to Island Gardens.  We then walked on the Thames Path that went under the Thames to Greenwich Village.

note the cyclist and the no cycling sign.

We toured the Cutty Sark, \

sailors quarters

Then walked to the Royal Observatory. Saw where the Prime Meridian line was.  Took our picture,

This is a sundial.  See where the shadows meet

We had a light lunch at the Maritime Museum. We toured it once we were through with lunch.

Then we had a boat ride that took us west on the Thames to the Eye stop where we caught the train to Hampton Court, actually 2 trains.

We got there in time to get lost in the Hampton Court maze.  That was fun.  We also wandered around the gardens some.

side gate

training a pear tree to grow up a wall

Then reversed the process back home.  After we got home and freshened up a bit we ask the hotel receptionist about restaurant recommendations.  We asked about a traditional English meal.  She suggested the Duke of Wellington.  It was very close.  I hate to say it but that is about the only thing good I could say about it.  Well, the beer was good.

I had a bacon cheeseburger, George had a veggie burger, and Nathan had the fish and chips.  Back to the hotel to relax.  It is a nice evening.  It was raining when we were on our way to Hampton Court but it stopped by the time we got there.  It was chillier today than I had expected.  Never seem to dress quite right.

London has its Duck Tours as well.

sunset view out the window.

addendum

Note added photos from last night.  I found morning a much better time for uploading pictures.  Maybe because no one else is up. Today we are heading off to Greenwich Village.