Day 3 in London

Sunday, May 7, London

Day 3 consists of a boat trip on the Thames from Westminster pier to Greenwich. The boat trip is a bit touristy, but it yields a spectacular and unique view of London. Lots of photos below.

Greenwich is both a quaint little place and the location of the prime meridian - the place where the longitude is defined as zero. We finally make it to a pub (the Gipsy Moth) for a pint and some proper fish and chips. A modest uphill hike takes us to the royal observatory where all the work connecting time and longitude began. The same principles are still used in our current GPS systems.

Carol and I are accompanied by the three B's - Bill, Bev, and Bonnie.

Carol and Dr. Bob - Tower bridge growing out of our heads

Tower bridge without the foreground clutter

 



Tower of Big Ben and parliament from boat

 

The London Eye - super touristy

St. Paul's Cathedral - super fine

The Shard - cause it looks like a piece of broken glass apparently

 

A bird named River?

Another odd piece of London architecture

A view of Greenwich with London in the background

Gypsy Moth pub in Greenwich, ale and pub food, yum 

Bonnie, Carol's niece

Our friends, Bev and Bill doing their favorite thing

Day 2 in London

Saturday, May 6, London

Our day starts with a walk through Harrods, the great London department store. They have everything from vegetables to 'millionaire' toys. Great people watching.

We then walk down to the nearby Victoria and Albert museum, known affectionately as the V and A. This place is a hidden treasure of London. It is dedicated to 'decorative arts'. The fun part of a visit is moving from one space with ancient Indian art to another with wrought iron objects and then to a display of glass art over the centuries. The place is huge - I have been there three times and still not seen it all.

Pictures are just a small sample of what we saw on this visit.

Carol at Harrods - let there be chocolate

Glass art at V&A

Glass art at V&A

Glass art at V&A

Glass art at V&A

Sculpture at V&A

Mid-eastern art at V&A - not quite sure what it represents

Mid-eastern musical instrument at V&A

 

Wrought iron art at V&A

 

 

Buddha at V&A

Day 1 in London

Friday, May 5, London

We wake at a reasonable hour, have some continental breakfast and then are off to Westminster Abbey. The abbey is famous for being the site of coronations and royal weddings. Just as important, it is the burial place of numerous royalty and notable people in English history. The markers range from simple plates in the floor to highly ornate carvings. My favorites are the physicists such as Faraday, Maxwell and the big guy, Isaac Newton. They do not allow photography inside, so please go to their website to get a feel for the place.

We have a fabulous lunch at the Sale E Pepe (Italian for salt and pepper) with Bev and Bill. The four of us are then off on the Hop On/Hop Off bus for a tourist's view of London. Kind of fun actually, but a cold wind makes sitting on the open top deck a bit bracing.

Dinner is with Carol's niece, Bonnie. She has been traveling and working at various places around the world, but is soon to return to her hometown of Toronto. Dinner was good and the company even better.

 

Big Ben - the clock, not the tower

A typical pub - British ale, yum

So London

The Thames

 

View of Westminster Abbey with Tower of Big Ben

A popular place to visit, but the line moves rapidly.

Where in the world is Dr. Bob?

Off to London

Thursday, May 4 - Off to London

We leave on the 3rd to arrive in London on the 4th. Iceland Air is our carrier with a transfer in Reykjavik. All goes well, despite a late start out of SeaTac.

As usual we get little sleep on the airplane. A quick ride from Heathrow to our hotel allows us to get an afternoon nap. Dinner is with our friends Bev and Bill, then off to bed for some for some more sleep.

Traveling woman

May 2017 and we are off to England, Scotland, and Iceland

It all started with a plan to meet up with our cruise buddies Bev and Bill in London. Then we added on taking the train to Scotland with a stop in York along the way. As we were booking the trip, my research on ancestry.com was leading me back to immigrant ancestors from both England and Scotland. They came to America in the 1600's - I had no idea. Our vacation break has expanded into an expedition into the past with a surprise or two for my dear readers to be revealed along the way.

 

A surprise to come

 

 

Note: This trip was initially posted on a travel blog site that shut down. This is a repost.