I'm back on Planet Oz and totally understand the Pope's urge to kiss the soil. The further I venture, the more Australian I become. Not in an ocker way, but in my desire to return as soon as possible.
At the moment, both Rob and myself are still battling jet lag. This, off course distorts everything. No amount of Bach Rescue Remedy has been able to fix it. I checked my blood pressure yesterday and it wasn't what I wanted to hear.
Rob is setting up a post on the subject of jet lag...he's actually trying to work out the hours we've slept or not slept, since we've been back. I've given up!
Our trip to London had it's highs and lows. Firstly our hotel, The Dover on Belgrave Road, Victoria...don't, unless totally desperate for a place to lay your head, give them your hard earned $$$! Our 'room' was on the third floor. That doesn't sound too bad, except the stairway was narrow, steep and like a switchback. It took 5 seperate sets of stairs to get there. No lifts and no help with the luggage. The breakfast room was down 2 flights from reception, in the basement. I feel totally exhausted just thinking about all the climbing we did. One night, I actually crawled up the last flight...and NO I wasn't drunk! The room itself was about the size of a breadbox. The double bed was jammed up against the wall with just enough room to walk next to it. In this space was crammed a clothes rack and a bedside table. At the foot of the bed was a dressing table. Facing the end of the bed was a tiny shower in a glass cubicle. It's just as well neither Rob or myself are particularly modest! Oh and yes, the loo was in the hall way! Ensuite in the UK means something totally different from the Australian version. If you want a shower and a loo in your room, you have to be specific.
We did, however, find a great place to eat and have a few drinks. The St.George's Tavern was just 2 blocks away and provided meals in three sizes, to cater for all appetites. Prices were reasonable and they had cheap drinks from a 3hr long happy session. This is one place we can recommend.
As we didn't have a heap of time in London, we decided to go for a bus tour with the Original Tour. It was a pretty good investment, as it gives 24hr travel on their buses and has 70 destinations where you can alight, sight see and then catch a bus that suites you, to continue your journey. We managed to see quite a bit without getting off the bus. London by night (well after 4pm) is still quite spectacular.
We did, however, get off the bus to visit 221B Baker Street. This, for those of you who don't recognize the address, is the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson. It's a really well put together, little museum of memorabilia and it's hard to remember that none of the events actually happened...especially after you've been greeted by Dr.Watson.<g> We gave it an A+ on the list of things to do...and we've the TShirts to prove it!
Oh...one special thing of note: We saw St.Paul's Cathederal - well we thought that's what we were looking at as the bus approached, but then we realized that the entire facade was actually a sketch of the building! It was covering the scaffolding that was in place while it was being cleaned. This must surely be the world record for Trompe-l'oeil. The rear of the Cathederal was still quite visible and yet to be cleaned. Rather like a Charles II virgin (if there was such a thing) showing a rather grubby pair of drawers.
On day 2, we were unfortunate enough to get caught up in the traffic mayhem connected with Rememberance Day at the Cenotaph. Our bus was 3/4hr late and we hung around getting more and more testy...along with a great many other tourists. Once underway, we actually saw the changing of the Horseguards on our way past. Our aim for the day was Oxford Street, Regents Street and a trip to Knightsbridge to Harrod's. We achieved all of those and managed a trip on the 'tube'...again held up, this time due to someone having fallen under a train. I'm now the proud owner of a zip top shopping tote from Harrod's with the name embroidered on the side. (I'm such a snob!LOL)
One of the things I make a habit of doing, is picking up ornaments for our Christmas tree and I scored very well in London.
Day three saw us on a coach again...this time to travel to Swindon and to visit our old mate Roger. I'll tell you all about that in my next post, which should be ready sometime tomorrow or Monday.
Vickie (Who is so very glad to be HOME!)
Posted by Midus at November 22, 2003 09:16 AM