June 24, 2013

Met up with Noni and Dale for three days in London and now on the Eurostar to Paris. The pace of sightseeing coupled with the amount of walking was incredible. When we returned to our very corporate hotel in the evening for a respite before heading out I was more interested in running cool water over my steaming feet than trying to write a coherent entry to the travel journey. In my head, as I type these words, I have a British accent, quite a high class one at that. I will probably upload pictures more often and catch up with our travels as we go… Here, in brief, is a list of what we did while in London:

Half Day One: walked around, crossed bridges, ate dinner at a pub, saw “Top Hat” at the Aldwych Theatre, walked back to hotel (feet not bleeding yet)

Day Two: Visited Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Gardens and Palace, a pub, Victoria and Albert museum, ate dinner at Italian restaurant (we walked everywhere, including under much of London when looking for the right train)

Day Three: Mass at St. Patricks, long foray through London tube system looking for an alternate train line as ours was out of commission, Visited The Globe, The Tower of London, a pub, Harrods, Jack the Ripper WALKING tour, same Italian restaurant (no one serves food after 10:00 PM in the UK)

I don’t care what Noni says, I think we walked at least 12-15 miles over the last three days (she says less than 4). When Mike and I traveled around the US last fall, we had many delicious meals at places my sister Noni recommended based on her travels. We called the subsequent weight gain Noni pounds. Well, I think we will have to consider the walking distances Erin miles and that will based on the relative swelling of my feet as much as the distance covered.

Next a gallery of London photos, including several of the famous London Eye, which we elected not to ride for several reasons including, cost, speed, and claustrophobia. It would have cost us about $90 for two to ride the Eye and an extra $40 to not have to wait in line for hours for the privilege. The hop-on, hop-off bus, which sounded very good to us by Day Two was 22 GBP a day (approx. $33 a person). Hence the forced march, I mean walking tour.