London

Well, last but certainly not least - we returned to London and our stay in beautiful Bloomsbury - we were on a crescent with a number of other hotels...but it was quiet and convenient - the Georgian style townhouses kind of reminding me of that scene in "Oliver" and the song "Who Will Buy?"

Here I am in our room - descriptively titled "Studios 2 Let"...

We were quite pleased with our rooms - looking out onto the lovely green park across the street. We were on Cartwright Gardens - a short walk from St. Pancras Station - which is gorgeous and many restaurants and shops in the area including a fabulous health food store and even a mall en route to Russell Square station - Russell Square being a short hop away...a lovely park and fountain and even a little Italian cafe in it. The British Museum was also about a 10 - 15 minute walk from there..

The elegant St. Pancras Station

Our first night back in London was mostly settling into the hotel and getting ready to visit the Tower of London the next morning...I was really excited about going there having heard great things about the tours and having read so much historical fiction about the place - a lot of Philippa Gregory!

In no danger of losing our heads or any other body parts or rearranging of those body parts, thank goodness

It is a spooky place to enter, knowing its terrifying history...



One of the very entertaining Beefeater guides - they actually live in the Tower grounds and are not permitted to leave after midnight - there is therefore a resident doctor. He was quite funny, joking about the happy stories full of sunshine he would regale us with....a that dry British sense of humour!

And of course there are the famous Ravens - the legend is that if they ever leave the Tower, London will fall...in reality their wings are clipped - so there is a bit of cheating...that being said London is still here and the Tower survived the Second World War.

Feeling a little tense? Need to get the kinks out? Why not try the rack?
You'll never complain about aches and pains again.

I felt a strange sense of deja vu in the area..I'm hoping a past life didn't involved being imprisoned or executed there.

Leaving our fascinating tour we crossed the Tower bridge to the other side of river to check out the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern...

In our travels and feeling hungry - it was around lunchtime we came across the Borough Market - a true market with tons of food for sale...including juices and salads..

 We discovered a yummy veggie burger after purchasing our juice and salads..so we had to eat that too..we were just compelled to eat that burger, people and it was good! (We assumed it must be good because they also had a line up)!

Then after me grabbing a quick latte we strolled along the Thames and arrived at the Tate Modern...

Oh, and here is the Globe Theatre which we walked past en route to the Tate...

A view from the Tate across to St. Paul's - we enjoyed a beautiful Evensong service there - you must go if you've never been. It is absolutely divine - pun intended.

Some wacky art work...


A little Picasso, a little Dali...

After a full day of sightseeing it was again time to re-fuel and we chose "Food for Thought" for a delicious and hearty meal...sustenance after wandering around in the rain.

It was a delicious Middle Eastern style stew..yumm. No hiding out in the corner..communal tables...

Back to Studios 2 Let and a rest before our next day's itinerary - Portobello Market, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Churchill War Rooms...