London;out & about!

Friday & Saturday were spent in Central London, visiting places and attractions weaving throughout crowded streets and squares, under 20 degree sunshine. Faboulous days.

On Friday, our visits included Picadelli Circus; Trafalgar Square (Canadain Embassy is directly across the street); Covent Garden, with buskers, markets and more people; The Maple Leaf, the Canadian pub; Hemleys, a large multi story toy store. We ate a a place called Gourmet Burger, a New Zealand restaurant specializing in burgers. We also stood at the foot of Big Ben. We visited the grounds where the Queens (or at least of some royalty) horses are stabled. We also strolled in a large park, where we met an older english couple who regularly feed the squirrels in the park. The gentlemen was anxious to talk with us and provided some very interesting history about the area, the park, the animals and birds. He has been one of several we met who indicated, during conversation, their dislike for the current parliament of Tony Blair. We then took what seemed like a 10 mile walk along the River Thames and ended this day with a tour of "The Clinc", an early prison in London.

Our Saturday visits were to Westminster Abbey and The Tower of London. The Abbey is a wonderful building, so full of history. It was interesting to learn that it apparently does not receive any public funding, but is sustained from admission fees and donations. The structure is quite well maintained however it must be an enormous cost to keep it in repair. Our tour of Tower of London was very interesting and informative. We spent an hour with one of the 32 Beefeaters who actually live at the tower who conducted a tour with commentary. The Tower grounds are closed every night at midnight and no one can enter or exit. For this purpose, a doctor and a chaplain live within the Tower grounds, in the case of illness or death of one of the residents. A few soldires are housed here in addition to the Beefeaters. The Tower is used for some training purposes, and is the home of the crown jewels, which we saw. Military and those using the Tower must use a password to access the grounds and areas. This password is changed every day and the same word has never been used ever, in the history of the Tower. At the Tower we heard of the horific executitions and torchure of royalty, religous leaders and the occasional real criminal. The British were a very gory lot indeed! This day ended with us waiting for a delayed train which was eventually cancelled, and then scurrying off to a bus stop or two, and then an unexpected walk to the flat.