LONDON ENGLAND
Today was a day when not everything went right. We left early to go to the Sandeman's free walking tour (you tip the guide at the end). We have been using public transportation, the Tube. We use google maps to guide us to the stop and to tell us which train/bus to take. All of that went fabulous and we boarded our train with time to spare. Until..... the train stopped in the middle of the underground tunnel. Sitting in a packed train (shoulder to shoulder packed) underground, while it is warm is not fun! Also not fun is when the conductor doesn't tell you why you are stopped. After a 15 min delay with a bunch of sweaty people, we finally moved along. We made it to our tour (huffing and puffing) and as with previous experiences, we had a very knowledgeable guide and a great tour. We highly recommend these tours.
Our next stop was the Charles Dickens Museum, but we got side tracked when we stopped for a quick tea. Bud was able to watch the last hour of the Olympic marathon. The marathon ended with American track athlete, Galen Rupp, taking the bronze medal. Once it ended we realized that we would not be done with the museum in time to catch the Eversong at the Westminster Abbey. If you are curious as to why two non religious travelers are going to a Eversong, well we could then see the beautiful Westminster Abbey with out paying the $30 per person tourist fee. Our plan was sound until we realized on Sundays it began at 3pm and not 5pm like the other 6 days of the week. By the time we realized this, the Charles Dickens Museum had closed.
With our heads held high and our frustration higher we decided to make a quick stop at the famous Harrods Department store and then call it a early night and take the Tube back home. Since we were getting home early we decided to walk the opposite direction of our flat to go to the 24 hour (that what the signs say) Asda store. The Asda store which is similar to our US Walmart was closed at 5pm! We still don't know why a 24hr store closes at 5pm but by then we just decided we needed to retreat faster to our humble, cozy (code word for small) apartment by the Tube tracks that sound like the ocean every 3 minutes the train passes by.
With all that said, we did really have a great day! We saw the Queens guards marching, the outside of the Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, St. James park and some street entertainers hovering in thin air. Even a not perfect day can be a great day. Beth
