It was cloudy, breezy, and in the fifties. But strangely, I enjoyed that, and P.J did too. Excellent walking weather. P.J could not have done this much walking two years ago before her knee operation.
We bought a London public transport day pass. First we went to Selfridge’s, looked at the overpriced merchandise, and instead just had some tea outside on their roof garden.
We walked along Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes never existed. On to Madame Tussaud’s where the long lines and the high admission prices made us pass it up. We walked through Regent’s Park, very enjoyable, and had lunch there. We hopped on a double-decker bus, hopped out again, and like commuters rushed ahead to catch the connecting bus in front of us. This way we gave ourselves a rush-hour tour of central London from high atop a city bus. We wrapped up the day walking around Westminster Abbey and Parliament buildings, and then had a wonderful dinner at Savoir Faire, a French restaurant.
Random impressions: In London, they really don’t want cars. Discounted parking near the London Zoo was $50 a day— without the discount, $75. The tube is even busier than the New York subway, where we were just 11 days earlier. On the busy Piccadilly line, trains are only one or two minutes apart. On the endless escalators, stand on the right and don’t block the left. P.J made the mistake of putting her suitcase on her left and people berated her for it. But otherwise, Londoners are extremely helpful. When it was obvious we were trying to figure something out, multiple times people came up and volunteered helpful information. Much friendlier than Paris, New York, or Boston.
Photographs © 2016 P.J. Gardner. All rights reserved.