Day 23. London. Monday 10 October
Great sleep. Great bed. It is true that there is nothing like your own bed. There are some beds that whilst they do not resemble your own, will do quite nicely for a short period of time. So perhaps they should come with a rating. I would suggest a one star rating = 1 night. 2 stars = 2 nights. 3 stars = 3 nights. 4 stars = 4 nights. 5 stars = 5+ nights. Well this is a 5 star bed. The bed in Paris was a 5 star bed. The bed in Amsterdam 3 star, Berlin 1 star, Barcelona 3 star and Madrid 3 star. Pillows should also be rated accordingly.
We walk along the Thames to the Tower of London. Last time I was in London it was closed for the Christmas period so I missed out. Not this time. The Tower of London is over 18 acres so we decided on a few key items we wanted to see. We started with the Crown Jewels. I am amazed that these are the real jewels and not replicas. One of the maces holds the biggest diamond in the world. A whopping 105 carats. The diamonds, the sapphires, emeralds, rubies and pearly. Stunning. The crown that was placed on the head of Elizabeth II only has 2868 diamonds in it! The royal regalia is breathtaking. Photos do not do it justice because it cannot capture the reflection of light. We did a tour with a Yeoman of the Warder, or Beefeater. He was hilarious and very knowledgeable. A great way to learn a lot of history in a short space of time. We walked along the walls, visited the torture chamber and checked out the interiors of the some of the towers.
We made our way to Westminster Abbey. We have been there before but the wedding of Wills and Kate and caused me to visit here again. We take the audio tour which is expertly narrated by Jeremy Irons. It is a spectacular oration. The kids loved the audio tour as well and we all moved around taking in the history and admiring with awe this most beautiful of spaces. It doesn’t receive any funding by the government but uses the admission fee to assist with restoration. Surprising considering it is a place for royal occasions! Time for lunch now. All the sightseeing makes you hungry. We visit an old favourite Pret a Manger. I always think of the skit with Catherine Tate ‘A no bread sandwich’ when I eat there. The food is amazingly fresh and gourmet. Their carrot cake is still my favourite.
Harrods is the agenda for the afternoon. We start with high tea in the tea room. The scones with jam and clotted cream were to die for. We all had these big silver teapots, with a full silver service and royal china. Devine. An afternoon of shopping and then I decided to buy some exquisite food offerings from the food hall for dinner. Harrods is an experience and I really do believe that there isn’t anything you wouldn’t be able to buy there. The service is amazing, there is always someone to help you and you never have to wait for anything.
Home on the tube. It was armpit to armpit. I hope London solves its transport problems before the Olympics as it quite poor on world standards. I am sure someone is working on it.