Tourist in London

We arrived in London late last night for the final two days of our European adventure.  We left Gare du Nord in Paris at 8:15 p.m. on the Eurostar through the “chunnel” into England, arriving at 9:30 p.m. London time (you lose an hour between Paris and London).  The trip through the chunnel itself was almost exactly twenty minutes.  The trip was smooth and the scenery unremarkable, save for the number of modern windmills I saw dotting the French countryside through northern France.

Last night’s drama involved the hotel.  Hotels in London are very expensive, and Shelley had found a reasonably priced option through booking.com.  We gave the cab driver the address near the Hyde Park section of London, but when we arrived at Prince’s Gardens we were not at a hotel but rather on a college campus.  It turns out that Imperial College in London rents out its facilities not only for summer school students but also for travelers, and that was where we were booked.  I was skeptical, not to mention hot and tired and grumpy, but the room is fine, and in fact I slept the best I have in the past week.

Given that we were unable to do a bus tour of Paris yesterday, we decided that we would go that route today, given that we didn’t have specific things we wanted to see and do.  Some former British Prime Minister is reported to have said that the best way to see and experience London is by double-decker bus, and we decided to take him up on it.

Because we arrived late last night we had no idea exactly where we were, but it turns out that Imperial College is close to a number of museums and the Royal Albert Hall.  This morning we went to South Kensington station to take the underground downtown, and as we headed for the “tube” we were travelling against the bulk of the traffic in the tunnel leading to the station.  As we walked I noted that the street musician instrument of choice in London is the accordion, although I did see a street musician playing champagne glasses later in the day.  Before getting on the train we bought Oysters, which in London don’t denote seafood but rather the recommended flexible ticket that works like a debit card.  You swipe it entering and leaving the station, and it can also be used on buses.

Arriving at Victoria Station, we found the ticket office for The Original Tour bus company, and bought a day pass, which gave us unlimited use of their four bus lines plus a half-hour boat cruise on the Thames, and got on the Yellow Line that passes most of London’s best-known downtown attractions.  There are approximately 30 stops, and you can get on and off at will, but we decided to take the full circuit.  As we drove past Buckingham Palace, we could see the guards lined up for the ceremonial Changing of the Guard, which takes place at 11:30 a.m. each morning during the summer.  The bus trip also gave Shelley great views to take pictures of famous sites including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge (which may people think of as London Bridge), and the London Eye, the giant Ferris Wheel that looks like a bike tire that was built to celebrate the Millenium.

Once we had done the full circuit, we stopped to have lunch and a pub experience at the Shakespeare pub, but we might have chosen differently had we seen the magnificently named “Slug and Lettuce.”  We then got back on the bus and did the river tour from the Westminster Bridge to the Tower Bridge.  It was cloudy and cool, but being on the river gave us a different view of the development of London.  As we got off the boat we passed a mother telling her young son, “Just stop it.”  In true boy fashion, he was much more engaged by the opportunity to terrify pigeons than visit the Tower of London or take a river cruise, both of which the mom had obviously paid for.

The Blue Line of the Original Tour passes close to where we are staying, so we thought we would transfer to that line in order to head back.  At the bus stop right outside the entrance to Hyde Park it looked like there would not be another bus for 40 minutes, so Shelley had the brilliant idea to find a local bus covering the same route, and that’s just what we did.

I’m not sure I’d want to do the bus tour in every city, but it was a good way for us to get to know London, and I’m glad we did it.  Tomorrow’s our final day before heading home, and our “must-do” is seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.  Because the Queen’s away on holiday recovering from the stresses of her regular job, parts of Buckingham Palace are open for public viewing, and Shelley said she might like to do that.  We are also thinking about seeing Westminster Abbey and checking out a few of London’s famous bookstores.