Cruising on the river

Today we had a very leisurely day but managed to fit in quite a bit of sightseeing.  We had good intentions of seeing Hampton Court Palace but as it was quite rainy we decided to take a cruise to Greenwich (at Ann's suggestion) and take in the views! We enjoyed a different commentary each way and despite the weather, the views of London from the boat were wonderful.  Seeing the Tower of London in gloomy weather seemed somewhat appropriate and hearing the history of the various wharves and areas of London was fascinating.  We loved the Tower Bridge.  Fran had packed a picnic lunch thinking that we'd be able to picnic in the palace grounds so we had a lovely gourmet lunch on board the boat.  I think everyone else was jealous as they ate their boat food (that's what I like to think anyway!!)

Being a rainy day, the boat wasn't full of tourists so it was very comfortable! The commentary on the way to Greenwich was reasonably informative and fairly casual but on the return trip it was a pre-recorded commentary which was much more informative and even had sound effects! We wondered why the captain who provided the first commentary couldn't have made the swishing noises of the water or the sound of horses' hooves on the cobblestones! Fairly slack really! 

When we arrived back at Westminster we found some band aids for Franny's feet! She decided to wear boots today as it was a bit cooler but her feet weren't used to being closed in so she had blisters.  Once that was all sorted (are you enjoying the detail?), we were back on the tube to visit the Burrough markets where we had a lovely cuppa and some wickedly delicious crepes.  I loved the old buildings in the market place and we got to taste some cheeses and fudge and turkish delights - all on tasting platters for our culinary delight. Jen decided that a visit to London wasn't complete without a trip on the top deck of a double decker bus so we caught the bus to Oval and then the tube back to Balham. We've just returned from having dinner with Fran and James at a lovely Italian restaurant just down the road from our accommodation in Balham. It sounds like we ate all day but I can assure you that there were times during the day when we weren't eating! 

It's hard to believe we only have three nights left here.  We're very excited about seeing The Lion King tomorrow and we discovered that there is an exhibition near the theatre which is displaying tube art from the last 150 years. The Covent Garden flea markets are also close by. I'm also hoping I might be able to surprise an ex student of mine who is now working in Covent Garden.  I'm not sure what her roster is but it'd be great to see her.  

Ann, we were inundated with people trying to sell us replicas of the Eiffel Tower! All for one euro! I think I'd forgotten to mention them because at that stage we had done so much walking that we thought we were never going to find the boat.  We later discovered that the closest metro station was literally across the road from where the boat was docked! It was another situation of misinformation! 

I've found an app for the iphone called snapseed which edits photos so I've had a go at editing and enhancing some of the photos I took today.  I actually like some of the photos which I took through the window of the boat - it demonstrates the gloominess of the day quite well. 

I'm getting excited about coming home again and seeing everyone - and the pets of course! Can't say I'm too excited about the plane trip though! 

Sam is due to land in Sydney very soon and will get a lovely surprise as Alex, Alan and Teddy will be there to meet her at the airport.  They felt it would be nice for Sam to see family when she arrives back in Australia.  I'm so pleased they've done that, especially after the hassles she had in Los Angeles. 

Last night at dinner 

Tower of London

Our picnic lunch!

The E stands for execution.  This is where pirates were hung and left to hang until three tides had covered them.  Lovely stuff! 

The gates to Westminster City

Egyptian gift to London of an Obelisk called Cleopatra's needle which is 3,500 years old

I love Big Ben! 

Westminster Cathedral in view while Fran applied her band aids!

Houses of Parliament

Burrough markets

Jen got to pat a cute dog on the double decker bus