We had our first taxi ride in a traditional London Cab, they are the only purpose built taxis in the world and the cabbies are very proud of them ‘know what I mean’.
It took us to West End where we saw Les Mis and thoroughly enjoyed the performance, they are young amateurs but some exceeded performers we have seen in other more professional performances. We had seats 10 rows back smack in the middle, so as far as we were concerned the best seats in the house.
On our back we were hungry as we hadn’t had any dinner & stopped & got a sandwich. By the time we got back to our room it was close to midnight and we quickly went to bed.
This morning we had decided to got to Madame Toussards to see the original wax museum, so once again, up early and as it was reasonable close by we walked. We found it without any problems and then joined one of the many cues to get in, an hour later we were still in the queue and it looked like we had another hour to wait. This wasn’t something that we desperately wanted to see so jumped ship & walked out. So off to our next destination – Westminster Abbey, by underground, but first we needed a toilet and an ATM machine. Now in Oz these are easy things to find as they are everywhere, but not so in London, rubbish bins are as hard to find also. We ended up asking a bobby who directed us quite a long way down the way. But we found both, and then decided to have some lunch before going into the Abbey. We found yet another quaint little pub with an upstairs restaurant and enjoyed Irish Stew & Beef & Ale pie, with of course the obligatory ale for Marty and wine for myself.
So tummy’s full we headed to the Abbey. I really cant describe this building other than to say that you have to see it to believe it. They have an audio recording that you listen to as you walk around the massive & ancient structure, and this gives you a really good history of the building and all the people, including Kings, Queens, politicians, artists, poets etc that are buried there. The unknown soldier is the only crypt/tomb that you are not allowed to walk over.
This took us a couple of hours and we were getting a little foot sore, so back on the underground to our rooms. I was keen to do the Pub Walk of the Thames, so after a hour or so rest we headed out again to meet the guide. Once again on the underground and to Mansion House station, where we stood in the freezing cold wind until Kate (the guide) and others joined the group, this walk cost 8 pounds and lasted 2 ½ hours and took us up one side of the Thames, over the Millennium (otherwise known as the wobbly bridge), a walking bridge that doesn’t allow bicycles and is the newest bridge built to cross the Thames.
On the other side we went to various historical sites that were accompanied by an enjoyable commentary from Kate, but most interesting was the story of the 2nd pub we went to. IBM wanted to buy a large strip of the waterfront to develop it and all bar this pub agreed to sell. The pub flatly refused and stated that they liked it there and weren’t going to move. IBM had to go back to the drawing board & discuss their options. The returned and offered the pub owners the best site on the newly developed strip of waterfront and free rent for 1000 years. The pub owners thought about it and returned to agree but asked for an additional 1 million dollars for good luck, so IBM agreed.
The walk ended at a fine old pub, but we were too tired and way too cold to stop & enjoy another ale (Marty at this stage was wearing a jumper & a jacket, & beanie, but was still cold), so we headed back to our rooms. On the way back we decided we were hungry as once again we were just too busy to stop for dinner, so stopped at an Italian Restaurant and enjoyed some great pasta. We obviously crashed on our return to the room.
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