London

We've walked the pavements of London for the last 2 days and have seen many of the sights. Have all had to pinch ourselves to believe we are actually here. We are staying with Joy & Brian who have been our 'other home' in London when we've been here before and they are very hospitable and fun to be with. Friday we started at Covent Garden then Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, Portrait Gallery then along the road towards Big Ben & Houses of Parliament and Westminster Cathedral. Also saw Buckingham Palace, St James Park and the Mall before putting our weary selves on the bus to take us thru to Harrods for a quick look before heading over to Hyde Park and a sit in the cafe viewing the world while our feet recovered. Yesterday we had a slower start and made straight for our old haunt, Portobella Road markets where we were immediately told by a stall holder to watch our bags because she'd just seen a bunch of pick pockets wandering by. The sights, smells and crowds of the markets brought a smile to the face and lots of memories flooding back!! We were all a bit exhausted still so went to Starbucks for a frappacino fix (& sneaked our egg sammies out of our bags) and grinned at each other smugly while anticipating another day in London. The day then involved a walk thru Kensington Gardens, the round pond and then down to the road to catch a bus thru Oxford Street to then wander thru Bond Street along with the wave of humanity that was coming with or against us. Everywhere we went was full on crowded being the last weekend of their summer holidays. The remainder of the day was a no. 15 bus trip past St Pauls to Tower Bridge and Tower of London, perfect timing as it happened as the tower bridge was just lifting to let a boat thru. So refreshed after a take-out cuppa and a tunnocks wafer! ... we walked across the bridge and then back along the Thames Path to the millenium bridge and St Pauls where Evensong was in progress, before heading back to Piccadilly to meet Joy & Brian for dinner. Dinner was a half hour que at a chain restaurant called .... and then a night bus trip thru town. Lots of pictorial evidence to bore you all with when we return. Wanted to download some but we really need to get to the tube and pick up our rental car before a quick church service at All Souls and then on the motorway to Somerset where a roast dinner awaits us at Mary's place.