Aimée and Steve’s trip to London
by Aimée
Tuesday- In darkness we walked down our shiny cobblestone lane and then a few blocks on High Street to the train station for our 7 AM departure. After a relaxing 3 hour ride, we arrived at Paddington Station. The tube was shut down temporarily due to an accident so we strolled through Hyde Park where among other sights we saw the Princess Diana Children’s Park, then along Kensington Road. After an early hotel check in, we perused the tourist brochures (leaflets, as they call them) and decided to buy tickets for a show that evening. ‘Billy Elliot’ was our first choice. By then the tube was working and we rode to Victoria Station and the Victoria Palace Theater and were lucky enough to get the best seats we’ve ever had at any show (due to our age - yay!). We walked around London the rest of the day viewing all the famous sites in happy anticipation of the show, a musical based in a mining town in the north of England in the 1980s. Music by Elton John. We both had seen the movie a few years earlier and loved it.
For a late lunch we ate near Trafalgar Square at the Sherlock Holmes Pub, a good bet according to Rick Steves and not as touristy as it looked. The restroom key dangled from a large magnifying glass. A bit touristy, yes, but fun with great food. Stephen had baked salmon and I had cheese-stuffed mushrooms.
At the National Gallery we took in a couple of salons filled with 19th century European paintings before heading back to the hotel to get ready for our evening at the theater. We were packed into the tube as tightly as Stephen’s Scottish sardines.
The show was fantastic! Wonderful drama, a mix of lighthearted and teary moments punctuated by incredible dancing by sometimes unlikely characters (large, gruff old men, for example). Then we returned to our very nice hotel, the Park International on Cromwell Road.
Wednesday- A full English breakfast was served at our hotel which fueled us for the day of walking through a host of city streets surrounded by beautiful parks, fancy gates, many well dressed friendly folks. We walked along the Victoria Embankment from Westminster Abbey to the Tower of London. As the “mist” was getting quite heavy, we took a glass- sided tour boat back to Westminster Abbey where we encountered a a long parade of blind people (some with guide dogs or other helpers) protesting their conditions. We decided they were a very brave and/or determined lot to walk the streets of London without sight.
We, being less brave, but no less determined got to Paddington well before our 5:21 train to Ledbury so as to avoid the tube congestion. Since we couldn’t understand the train driver’s English, nor apparently could the locals, we struck up conversations with other passengers and learned quite a bit about our village area. One nice lady told us when we arrived at Ledbury station (her stop as well). Her 11 year old son met us as he raced along beside the train, while making silly faces.
Wednesday- A full English breakfast was served at our hotel which fueled us for the day of walking through a host of city streets surrounded by beautiful parks, fancy gates, many well dressed friendly folks. We walked along the Victoria Embankment from Westminster Abbey to the Tower of London. As the “mist” was getting quite heavy, we took a glass- sided tour boat back to Westminster Abbey where we encountered a a long parade of blind people (some with guide dogs or other helpers) protesting their conditions. We decided they were a very brave and/or determined lot to walk the streets of London without sight.
We, being less brave, but no less determined got to Paddington well before our 5:21 train to Ledbury so as to avoid the tube congestion. Since we couldn’t understand the train driver’s English, nor apparently could the locals, we struck up conversations with other passengers and learned quite a bit about our village area. One nice lady told us when we arrived at Ledbury station (her stop as well). Her 11 year old son met us as he raced along beside the train, while making silly faces.
Tuesday & Wednesday - October 14-15[Written by Aimée. Posted with a bit of assistance from Bruce, thus the misleading attribution below!]
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