Letter 2 – The last of London

The rest of my time in London: After visiting Derek and Helen I took the train back to Waterloo, got an eat-on-the-go lunch, dumped my stuff in Louise’s flat then made my way to Green Park station where I was meeting Alice for HER Big Bus Tour. I was most impressed! A solid 2h30min tour, and so interesting. Alice had told me to bring my iPod, food and things to do as I would get board. This was not the case, and Alice was impressed by the amount of information I retained. The tour passed: Marble Arch, Madam Tussauds, Houses of Parliament, the Eye, Royal Courts of Justice, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, and much more. I was particularly amused by the bricked in windows. Back in the day, taxes were paid based on the number of windows you had in your house. So to avert paying high taxes the wealthy, with many windows, would brick in the ones that weren’t needed. Hence the term ‘daylight robbery’. 

Another interesting fact: Portland Place, the street down which the Langham Hotel faces, is exceptionally wide for central London. This is because the only way to please the tenant (of the Langham building) was to make sure the views from his home were uninterrupted to the north (towards Regents Park). The street is about the width of the building.

After the tour Alice and I met Louise for some soccer celebrations. We had passed Trafalgar Square on the tour and it was packed with soccer supporters watching on a big screen so we decided that would be a good place to go. When we got there later on (about 10 minutes before the second game would begin) the square was empty. Security told us the celebrations were over and the square was closed. So much for that. In the end we found a little pub and enjoyed a drink together – with no soccer on in the background.

 Hamleys

The weekend was full of treats. On Saturday evening Louise and I met one of her friends Haley in the west end for a show. We saw Jersey Boys – The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It was excellent! Great music! On Sunday afternoon Louise and I met another of her friends Heike for high tea at the Langham (the hotel I mentioned earlier). We had the G and Tea option which included a beautiful looking gin and tonic, followed by sandwiches, scones and other sweet treats. Delicious!

My last morning in London was spent looking at buildings. I took the bus with Louise to her work then walked a block further to look at the Lloyds Bank and Gherkin building, where I enjoyed a nice hot chocolate – it was a bit chilly outside.

All in all, a great time in London.
xxx