Girls' Day in London

[Special editorial from Lynne]

It looks like it's my turn to try my hand at blogging. So far I have managed to sit back and let the writers in the family do their bit but Merrilyn is reading "e-motion", the south west trains magazine!! and Martin has headed out the door at the very mention of blogging!! They have both done a fantastic job at keeping us all in the loop over these first few weeks of their stint in the Mother Country and I know we all appreciate their persistance. It's not easy when you've been out all day exploring new places then coming home to put it all down in writing.

Today Merrilyn and I had a chance to have a girl's day in London. After dropping James at Nursery (day care for you Aussies) we caught the train from Windsor to Waterloo. A short walk across Westminster Bridge brought the memories flowing back of previous trips to London. A new feature for me though was the huge bicycle wheel (London Eye) with little people pods at the end of the spokes which dominated the skyline from many viewpoints.

A quick trip on the Tube brought us out to the Kensington High Street and we walked across to Kensington Palace to visit a unique exhibition "Diana, Princess of Wales" by photographer Mario Testino. Tragically, his images taken for an article in Vanity Fair, turned out to be the last official portrait photographs taken of Diana. Also on display were some beautiful gowns which we had only seen in photographs actually displayed right in front of us. A short audio commentary on our personal audio handsets mentioned the designer and the occasions at which each gown was worn.

Merrilyn bought some peonies from a flower seller outside St.Mary's church to leave on the Kensington Palace gates as her tribute in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. A bit emotional so we decided a coffee would be in order and made our way to The Orangery where we partook of a latte and carrot cake. Very civilised!!

On the way back to Waterloo we checked out the Diana memorial fountain then walked through Hyde Park and caught the number 9 red double decker bus to Trafalgar Square station via Piccadilly. We got the front seats upstairs which gave us a great view the streets of London. At a point close to gridlock, three fire engines needed to cross our path at Piccadilly Circus... and what a circus it was... but finally the traffic sorted itself out and we travelled on to Trafalgar Square. Nelson's column and the lions are under renovation and you're not allowed to feed the pigeons (or the lions!) anymore but the fountains were all still going. We then hopped the tube to Waterloo where we bought another coffee and caught the 3.58 train back to Windsor just in time to pick James up. He was still having "tea" when we arrived...fluffy cheese on toast, a chocolate brownie and milk. Yumm!!

Note to coffee-lovers: Always, always ask for a 'strong' coffee and don't be surprised when it isn't! Oh well, at least we can get a decent coffee at home!

Off to bed now. A more relaxed day in store tomorrow. Might check out those soldiers again...Hmmmm!!!!!!

See the photos from today here.