London Architecture

These buildings are great.  They were so striking as we turned the corner in Soho.

We could see "The Shard" from just about everywhere!

We also got a good glimpse of the "Cheese Grater" building and the "Walkie Talkie" building.

London Underground - in the underbelly of the city!

From the time Amy and I got on the underground or "Tube" at London Bridge we loved it!

Our cousin had arranged for us to get a lend of Oyster Cards (like the Irish Leap Travel card) from her parents so all we had to do was top them up and away we went!

A fun, fast convenient way to travel all over the city.

Great picture of Amy with the Henry Beck conceived map of the underground.

London's underground is the oldest in the world and I think the best - even better than New York and Paris!

Standing to the right as per Amy's advice!

By the end of the trip we were like locals we were so au fait with the tube! 

Mo the cat

My cousin was cat sitting Mo in London.

Mo was quite the character!

Mo slept in the bed with Amy and I.  Sleep really is a loose term for the activity she got up to at night.  She slept on my face and on top of Amy's head. Springboarded on to my face at one point and tapped Amy's pendant off the nightstand with her paw for fun - you get the idea - the cat was mad - really hyper!

London - Day 3

We had a slow start and made our way to the very nice Borough Market - foodie heaven.  There was so much to choose from and lots of great bread, chocolate, cheese and produce.

I had Udon noodles with chicken, prawn & veg.  Kasey had a chorizo burger (think that was the nicest) while Amy had boar tortellini (Mmmm!).

I loved the atmosphere at this market.  We also saw Monmouth Coffee Shop with its mammoth queue.  Seemingly it's the best coffee in London.  

Here's a few more pics of the market

Look what we happened upon!!  

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

From the Globe we sauntered along the streets of London and arrived at the Tate Modern - wow what a building!!

We went in to the Tate and had a look at some art, stopping off in the gift shop as we we left.

From there we walked across a particular bridge a la Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones while taking in the sight of St Paul's.

Given that this was our last day and we were prepping for our flight that evening I felt we did a lot.  We even managed to get a bite to eat in Oaka in Kennington, before we got the underground to London Bridge to get a train to Gatwick Airport.

London - Day 2

We started out in Covent Garden where we visited the London Transport Museum. We expected it to be brilliant but were disappointed - it really is more so for children. 

Recruitment "drive" (geddit!) for women drivers in the 1970's - still paid less than men tho 

One man bomb shelter

Here's Amy outside Covent Garden

We walked around China Town and Soho - very cool!

Later that day we went to the musical Rock of Ages.  All I can say is Wow Wow Wow! It was an amazing show - the singing and dancing was high energy. It was funny, charming and had a great love story. If you love the 80's you will adore this show. If you get the chance you should go!

After Rock of Ages we went home and changed quickly and met Kasey and her friends in the Soho Hotel for some delicious cocktails - this is a great spot!

Amy and I had caipirosca

For dinner we went to Burger & Lobster.  There are only 3 choices on the menu Burger, Lobster or Lobster Roll. What fun! There was a gang of 7 of us and we all really enjoyed the food and super atmosphere.

Then after dinner it was time for another drink in a nice bar/restaurant across the road. What a lovely end to a fabulous day in London Town!

London - Day 1

We got the tube to Southbank and then walked to Trafalgar Square and visited the National Museum.

Along the way we asked directions and chatted to locals (the policemen outside Downing Street are possibly the friendliest policemen in the world!)

Afterwards we made our way to Downing Street where we saw the changing of the Cavalry by chance.

From there it was a lovely walk along Birdcage and on to a park which took us to Buckingham Palace.  The changing of the Guards was not taking place today as the Navy were (very unusually) on duty.

The palace was amazing, particularly the special exhibition about the Queens Coronation.  The Queen's dress was the highlight of the exhibit and was stunning - an incredible creation that has to be seen to be believed!

We then went to Knightsbridge to visit Harrods.  This department store is quite something - in particular the memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed.

It was about 32 degrees celcius in London so we were very hot and sweaty after our day so we went home and showered before dinner in Shake Shack, Covent Garden. This place has only opened so there was a large queue outside - but it was worth the wait!

We have been getting the Tube everywhere which we just love!