London

After Lisbon, we flew to London and spent a couple of days with Leigh and Nigel (on the left). I have known Leigh since we shared our first flat together when we were at college, far more years ago than either of us wants to remember! Thanks to you both for putting us up, taking us to lovely and unique pubs (The Sword Inn Hand, The Tally Ho! and The Old Cross Tavern (?)), out for curries, and of course, the Races at Newmarket...now I'm hooked!!!

Our first day in London the weather was atrocious (surprise, surprise!)...cold, grey and torrential rain. We vetoed going into central London for the day sight seeing and instead hung out and caught up with Leigh and visited a lovely pub for lunch...

The weather was forecast to be much better the next day, so we booked a "flight" on the London Eye and kept our fingers crossed. The "Eye" was built for the Millennium and stands on the south Bank of the Thames almost across from Whitehall and Big Ben. if the weather is good, the views over London are amazing.

Your flight is in a "pod". There were about 12 people on our flight, but there is still plenty of room to move around and take photos as you go around.

The weather still wasn't great (so much for clear skies and warm temperatures...) but as we reached the top of the wheel, the skies did clear a little and the sun shone. We got some pretty cool photos from up there, it is definitely worth going up if it's something you have never done before. We purchased the (American!) Tourist package when we landed...large photo, key ring and fridge magnet!

After the Eye, we hit the streets and did a walking tour I had found online which took us through some areas behind Westminster Abbey that we had never seen before. This is the lovely old square around which the buildings of the Church of England headquarters are located.

From there, we walked down to the Horse Guards barracks and were caught by surprise as they changed the guard, something neither of us had seen before. It was very impressive and the horses were unbelievably well controlled and calm. Afterwards, we both commented on how the soldiers looked about 13...guess that's a sign of our age!!!

In St James Park they had the deck chairs out...wasn't quite the weather for sitting and enjoying the view though...

We spent the afternoon wandering around the sights (including Trafalgar Square, right) and looking at some of the old arcades along Piccadilly. The longest, and perhaps most famous, is the Burlington Arcade. Built around 1819, it is the original "shopping mall". The arcades are still maintained in style, with exclusive shops and the Beadles, who still sport period dress, including top hats. Unfortunately the arcades weren't decorated for the Christmas season yet because when they are, they are just beautiful.

We even went out to Highgate. I had heard that the cemetery was very atmospheric. Unfortunately it was closed when we got there, and some areas are accessible only with a tour guide, but we will try again next time we are in London...it was misty, and growing dark, the crows were cawing and the cats were yowling and the gravestones and angels were tumble down and overgrown with brambles and ferns and rotting undergrowth...definitely worth scaring yourself over!!! http://www.highgate-cemetery.org/

All in all, lots of fun! There is always so much to do in London, and we just scraped the top. Things topping the list for our next visit are St Paul's, the British Museum, gaining access to the Temple (the inner and outer Temple area is lovely and well worth a visit for the buildings and their history, but I still haven't managed to get inside the Temple itself), and the National Portrait Gallery.

Hmm...Maybe we should just move there for 6 months...imagine all the places you could see...!