First day trip to London

Today we had an opportunity to meet Doug (Grandad) and Muriel (Nana) in London. They are on the final leg of a European holiday that's taken them on an exciting tour of countries such as France, Italy, Amsterdam, and of course England.

So at 9:30am we left for the Windsor-Eton station for the train to Waterloo. After buying our tickets and heading for the platform we bumped into one of my colleagues and his family. Seems they had the same idea of a day in London. James was thrilled as he loves spending time with "the boys".

We arrived in Waterloo at 11:10am and disembarked to meet Doug and Muriel. We weren't sure of the exact exit we were to meet and, of course, ended up having to walk a bit to find them. It was wonderful to meet family in this "overseas" location.

We decided on the spot to head for the Thames and grab a coffee and some lunch. Heading north we basically headed for the London Eye. This is a very popular attraction; the full circuit takes about 30mins. By my reackoning I think the queue was somewhere between 1 and 2 hours wait. This weekend is not only a bank holiday (long weekend) but is also the start of the school holidays. So most places are busy at the moment. We found a lovely little Italian restaurant on the Thames and ordered a wood fired pizza and coffee. (At 3.50GBP per coffee I think this is what people refer to as "London prices"!)

Over lunch we got to hear about some of the places Doug and Muriel had visited. Turns out that they left no stone unturned. Some favourites were Pompei, and the Moulin Rouge.

Walking back to Westminster we said our goodbyes. Doug and Muriel, in wanting to pack as much sightseeing into the last few days, headed off to the Tower of London. Merrilyn and I had decided on a path that would see us heading to Westminster Abbey, on through St James Park to Buckingham Palace, on to Kensignton Gardens and then perhaps finishing off at Covent Garden.

Crossing over Westminster Bridge with throngs of people we stopped for the obligatory photo at St Stephen's Tower (Big Ben). I guess it was about 1pm and James was completely exhausted. I picked him out of the stroller and he was asleep in my arms in minutes.

Being Sunday the Abbey is closed to tourists. We were able to wander about the grounds and I know that Merrilyn felt a few tingles. She's looking forward to revisiting London with Lynne. So I'm sure a visit to the Abbey is on the cards.

We then made our way to St James Park. Again - its a lovely time to enjoy these spaces. They trees are vibrant with new leaves and the flower beds are full of annuals. It was very pleasant just to wander down the paths along the lake. Ducks and geese followed many children hoping for tasty morsels. We even managed to see a few squirrels.

On we went to Buckingham Palace. James was able to peer through the gates to see a Guardsman marching and stomping in his routine. "Does he have a drum?", James asked (with reference to the Guardsmen he's seen marching en-route to Windsor Castle. "No. But he has a red coat and big black hat like the ones back home."

We then headed for Kensington. James hopped out of the stroller and just wanted to climb the fences. When we couldn't do that he decided he had to touch each black bar. I think we ran out of patience by about the 20th and I lifted him onto my shoulders and off we set.

Of course the walk go the better of us so at Victoria Station we jumped on the tube for a train ride to High St Kensington station. There are many top shelf shops around here but today wasn't the day to sample them (phew!). Its only about a 10 minute walk to Kensignton Palace and Gardens. Last time we visited was about 9 years ago and in October. Today was a completely different atmosphere. It was warm(-ish!) and people were out enjoying themselves in the Gardens. We didn't stop long at the Palace (another trip I know Merrilyn will enjoy with Lynne) but instead wandered down the paths eastward towards Hyde Park. James just had to stop to play and was fascinated by a man flying a huge kite.

We managed to locate the Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park. So we wandered amonst the granite channels and James played with the flowing water. It was a nice break. From there we headed to Knightsbridge tube station and decided to head straight for Waterloo where we arrived at 4:15pm just in time to catch the train back to Windsor. As luck would have it my colleague and his family were also on this train. On the way back we talked about our adventures but I could see James was again exhaused. I have to say my legs are tired too. In the tube we had to carry James and the stroller up and down many flights of stairs. Something to remember if Merrilyn had any ideas of travelling into London by herself.

James and Merrilyn are in the bath at the moment. Its and early night for all and then another adventure tomorrow...

Here are the photos from our day in London.