Hello London !!

Our trip to Europe included stops in London, Paris, and Amsterdam. We came fully prepared for any medical emergency.

The stash included Tamiflu, several antibiotics, cold remedies, wound care products, laxatives and antihistamines. We did see a few people with pretty bad colds, especially in Amsterdam.

Pandi spent her days at the spa - Beach Boulevard Animal Hospital. She got herself all packed for her therapeutic treatments.

We landed at Heathrow and were met by our driver, who took us to our hotel, the Melia White House.
It was a nice hotel with a kind of Victorian theme. It included a daily English breakfast with omelets, pancakes, eggs, rashers, sausage, breads and pastries, tomatoes, mushrooms, yogurt, oatmeal, porridge, fruit, juices, mediterranean specialties, Asian specialties, and basically everything else that a Sunday brunch would include. It was a fantastic spread.

The first night, we arrived about 6 PM, so off we went to find the pub. We passed this art gallery, where all the local transportation picked us up for our adventures.

Right across the street was the Greene Man. We bellied up to the counter and had Swedish cider, fish and chips, and onion rings. The crowd was friendly, especially once they saw Doc's Led Zeppelin T shirt.

 The next day, we boarded the Hop On Hop Off bus for a complete tour of the city. After passing Saint Pancras Station (where we would catch the Eurostar to Paris in a few days),

we passed down Euston Road to Upper Woburn Place. This area is called King's Cross.

We passed the British Library. It has a copy of every book ever published in the British Empire, as well as every newspaper since the 1880s.

Behind the British Museum is a chapel guarded by four statue pillars.

It also has a haunted garden. I don't know who or what haunts it.

The large buildings in this area are all covered by various kinds of ornamental stone work.

We then cruised along Fleet Street, the publishing and newspaper area, and home of the London College of Economics. It's alumni include Sir Richard Branson and Mick Jagger, as well as a couple of the Kennedys. Then we passed the gigantic St Paul's Cathedral.

After that, we passed by the old Bailey and the Supreme Court building. We had to get pictures for our son, who is a labor law attorney here in California.

Next to it was the Royal College of Justice.

After that came Ludgate Hill.

This is the area  most affected by the Blitz of World War II. This 13th century chapel bears the scars of that brutal attack to this day.

We passed by Cannon Street, a typical downtown London high street.

We then approached the famous Tower of London.

This fortress was built on the north bank of the Thames River by William the Conqueror in 1078.

It has been used as a palace and a prison, and is now the home of the Crown Jewels. I would love to see those someday.

Our trip included a cruise down the River Thames. It was a perfect day, weather-wise. The cruise was called the Circular Cruise, since it went up and down the Thames, and there were several piers where you could disembark and have a snack or a libation. This sign particularly interested me, due to my profession in Epidemiology.

We passed the Coca Cola London Eye. More on this 443 foot Ferris wheel tomorrow.

Big Ben was undergoing renovations. He was covered in scaffolding. The bridge that crosses the Thames to the site is the London Bridge. It was not falling down.

Here is the renowned Tower Bridge.

London has quite a few contemporary high rise buildings, including the Shard and the Gherkin.

They house multi-million dollar apartments. A little bit out of our price range.

This walking bridge is called the Millennium Bridge.

Southwark Cathedral is a working church with peaceful gardens in which visitors can escape the noise and bustle of the city. New Scotland Yard was right next door. My fascination with British crime mysteries made the building into a siren song for me, but I was uncomfortable taking a photo.

Many of the old buildings that served as wharves are also now converted into apartments. The cruise guide joked that the Thames is the only river from which you can both drink and chew the water.

This is Charing Cross Bridge. It served as a pretty distinct marker for us as we tried to figure out where we were.

After our cruise, we got back on the bus and headed up to Trafalgar Square.

 Since it was bright and sunny, there were a lot of people kicking back and listening to the buskers.

 We noticed a street filled with bookstores, so of course, we hopped off at Charing Cross Road.

It's a huge shopping, dining and theater district. There was something for everyone, including Harry Potter fans.

Of course, Doc found yet another creepy bookstore where we had to descend into the bowels of hell to find an antique chemistry book for his expansive collection.

At least we can stay warm if we were to be trapped inside through winter.

We then made our way back to the Regent's Park area, where our hotel was located.

We passed this cool dragon statue in the middle of the street near Fleet Street.

This pub was called the Old Cock. I will leave the jokes to your imagination.

We had dinner at another pub called the Garrick Arms.

We had hard cider, fish and chips, and pulled duck fries. Delicious !!!

The next day, we had deluxe tickets to the London Eye. We bypassed the huge line. There is a story about an 18k gold ring that I must tell in person. That was an interesting experience. Let's just say that I now have a wide band of 18k gold in my possession due to a large undocumented Polish gentleman.

The London Eye has many capsules, each of which holds 22 patrons.

You can sit or stand, and there are markers for you to pose upon for the maximum photographic effect.

There is a 360 degree view of the entire greater London area from the Eye.

I am quite afraid of heights, so this was a little disconcerting for me. I only experienced vertigo a couple of times, and it was corrected by taking a seat on the bench.

After that, we crossed the Westminster Bridge to get to Westminster Abbey.

This 12th century cathedral had the standard Rose Window.

Across the street were the Houses of Parliament.

When you entered the massive carved door, you were given an audio tour head set to follow along. Photographs were not allowed in many of the areas of the Abbey. Monks still live there, and we were asked not to disturb them.

We were allowed to take a picture of the huge nave.

Many kings, queens and nobility were buried there. All of the crypts were very elaborate.

Stephen Hawking was also buried there.

We left a candle and offering for my mom at the altar. You wrote out a vocation and dropped it into a box.

After about an hour and a half of viewing the antiquities, we exited through a beautiful courtyard.

Two of the fattest doves that we have ever seen were grazing there.

Photography was allowed in this chapel - it was floor to ceiling stained glass windows.

This is the pyx - all the treasures and gold, silver, and other precious items were stored there. It had two thick wooden doors, each with three double locks.

The flag of Parliament flies in the distance.

Doc wanted to go back to Charing Cross to visit a metaphysical book store. Jimmie Page is one of their clientele. Doc saw a Qabbalah book that he wanted to get.


On the way, we just happened upon Her Majesty's Horse Guard.

Boy, was that enclosure stinky !!! But the horse and the guard were simply magnificent.

Then we took the tube to Oxford Street. This is the main shopping district. We spent some time in Selfridges's, a luxury department store. I didn't want to waste time shopping (since I can do that at home), so I got all my goodies there and had them shipped back to California.

After that, we came back to the hotel and kicked it. We had some snacks that we had picked up along the way. The big breakfast was really enough food to tide us over with just some booze and snacks for the evening. We had one more breakfast feast and were picked up by the driver in the morning and boarded the Eurostar for Paris. On the three hour ride, we were served lunch and cocktails, and arrived in Paris, ready to explore the City of Light. I had some anxiety about going through the Chunnel, just because I knew we were going to be under water. But the train goes around 200 mph, so it was over before I even realized that we were going through the Chunnel. It is a very nice train ride, through the beautiful English and French countrysides.