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We arrived in London on Wednesday, the 24th of April and checked in at the Hotel Park Court. The hotel was across the street from Kensington Gardens [and Princess Di's home], and adjacent to Hyde Park. This location was beautiful and the London Underground/Metro system made everything reachable within minutes. We walked both Kensington Gardens [many flowers and nice] and Hyde Park [rather plain and centers more around the lake, The Serpentine]. The evening was started with dinner at a great French restaurant and ended with a cruise on the Thames River, where extensive lighting revealed the night time beauty of London. The Tower Bridge, London Tower, and the Parliament were exceptional sights.
Thursday, April 25th - During the morning, we took a half-day city sightseeing tour that included Buckingham Palace with the changing of the guard, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc.. Our guide, Alan, not only pointed out Benny Hill's home but reminded us of Benny's style of comedy and humor. He was great and kept the show on the road. The afternoon was consumed with leisure walks throughout the nearby community, and an occasional stop at a pub for coffee, tea and or a brew. Jo enjoyed a traditional lunch of fish and chips. The evening commenced with an Old London Black Cab ride to the Drury Lane Theater and the evening performance of "Miss Saigon", which we both enjoyed very much. Our early purchase of tickets was a good idea as the Theater was sold out. We returned to the hotel via the London Subway and Jo was a bit uncomfortable as we were dressed for the Theater and were very visible in that late night crowd.
Friday, April 26th - Jo, being a shop-till-Vern-drops type, had to buy something at London's famous Harrods, so we walked across Kensington Gardens and on to this megga department store. Had a good view of Princess Di's house along the way and ended up with some items to partially fill the spare bag that we take for purchases. Some leisure strolling, and a return walk through Hyde Park, made for a relaxing morning. After lunch, we took the Metro Bus down to Trafalgar Square, which is beautiful but could do with fewer pigeons. After some photo shots, we strolled through Piccadilly Circus and the Coventry Gardens area, which is a nice place to spend some leisure time [and eat ice cream]. A metro ride to Regents Park, then back to our hotel, completed our daytime activity. The evening was at leisure in the local area and preparations were made for our departure to Paris.
Saturday, April 27th - We boarded a bus for Dover and a HoverCraft ride across the English Channel to France. The White Cliffs of Dover are something to see, as is the entire area near them. Along the way, we were passed by one of France's super speed trains and we can believe their claim to speeds of up to 168mph. The HoverCraft ride was smooth and took a mere 35 minutes. With no immigration/customs check, we were back on a bus for Paris and some pretty country along the way. |
