Loitering in London

March 23 - 25, 2017

A Picture of the Tower Bridge on the way back from
breakfast

The sad fact was that we had to leave the Seychelles - and so we did. Gym wanted to stay there but it wasn't possible. A calculation was made as to how much time the intrepid couple could stay on that beautiful island if they were to liquidate all of Gym's savings, and sadly, it was a shorter period of time then Gym would have liked. Hence, the intrepid couple found themselves winging on up through the Middle East and across Europe on the first part of the homeward journey. The return to YYC would be punctuated by a short stop in London to visit friends and to break up the trip a little bit.

We landed in Heathrow the day after Keith Palmer, 48, a brave London policeman was stabbed by a Islamic terrorist. The brave officer who died in front of the Parliament, was killed after the same terrorist had driven across the Westminster Bridge at high speed and deliberately ploughed through throngs of pedestrians, killing 3 and injuring 40 others. On our way into our hotel at Ten Trinity Square, we passed Trafalgar Square where the police were present in great numbers preparing that very iconic public space for a candlelight vigil that would be held there that night in honour of those poor pedestrians and that brave officer.

We would be staying at the new Four Seasons Hotel in London which was built into part of the former London Port Authority Building. It looks across the Trinity Square Gardens to The Tower of London. The building can be seen in the James Bond movie, Skyfall. In one scene, Daniel Craig is running down the street and he ducks into the hotel lobby. And the hotel must have been built with James Bond in mind because our room was filled with all kinds of modern electronic gadgets, including a remote-controlled TV, in the mirror. It was a very cool hotel room and although they were still working out the kinks when we were there in March, it was still a very impressive accommodation, managed by the very professional Four Seasons staff.

On our arrival, we were allowed to check-in early and the plan was to have a nap and then get out and start exploring. Unfortunately, our nap turned into a longer term project than we had intended and we ended up saving all our energy for our only full day in London, which was the next day.

The next day, we woke up to a cool and overcast London morning and planned to try out a breakfast place that Gym had found on Tripadvisor. The Table Cafe was the target and we set off across The London bridge and into Southwark, where we found the desired venue which was crowded, almost to capacity. They squeezed us in between groups of British businessmen having breakfast meetings. For some reason Gym's breakfast sandwich really hit the spot. It was toasted sourdough bread, laden with guacamole and bacon. It was great! Perhaps it was the combination of our long power-nap and/or the 1.3 mile hike from our hotel but Gym had been happily satiated. Gym's dear wife's oatmeal with fruit, nuts and honey was also highly rated. We would return to the hotel passing through The Borough Market and walking past the very modern London City Hall, then crossing the Thames on the Tower Bridge.

Later that afternoon, we met up with our friends the Anderson's who had come in to Central London to meet us. They had taken the train up from Southend-on-Sea. We first met them in Viet Nam in 2011 and have kept up with them since that time. Over the past 6 years we have arranged to meet 3 times in England, once in Ireland and they have even come over to Calgary to spend time with us at home. This summer, we plan to meet them again at our summer cottage. We would return to Southwark with the Anderson's to have a late lunch at the Founders Arms Pub. The food wasn't that good but the company and the river views were wonderful. After lunch, we walked down the Thames, past the hotel and beyond.

The Anderson's took us on a walking tour of St. Katharine's Docks. This is a very successful urban re-development of an area that originally was the site of a run-down, waterfront-warehouse complex that was badly damaged by bombing in WWII. Today, it is a popular high-end community that includes upscale boutique office space, hotels, restaurants and trendy, high-priced residential units that surround a yachting marina. One of the only buildings to survive from before the recent re-development is The Dickens Inn which in some form existed prior to the turn of the 18th Century. St. Katharine's Docks is where the Queen's royal barge, Gloriana is moored.

After the stroll, we left the Anderson's at the entrance to the Tower Hill Station and they would take the train nonstop, back to their home station of Shoeburyness, about an hour and 20 minutes down the Thames.

It was a full day and we had walked over 9 miles. The activity on that day made up for the lack of activity the day before. In the morning, we would take a taxi (pre-arranged, 50-pound deal) to the airport and finish the last leg of our journey home.

Arriving in Calgary, we were tired and it was time to get home and do the laundry.  However, there was an unplanned hiccup after we picked up our car and started driving home on Deerfoot Trail. We had a flat tire! It was a real letdown. I wasn't about to change it on the freeway so we phoned a tow truck and had the car towed home. The perfect holiday had ended in a fuzzy and not-so-perfect manner. They say bad things happen in threes and they are right because when we finally got home I had a photo radar speeding ticket in the mail on the kitchen counter and after getting the spare on the vehicle and taking it to the shop, I learned I would have to replace all 4 tires. We should have stayed in the Seychelles!

Things have settled down now and we are already planning our next trip. We will be back in Europe in the fall. It should be a very good blogging because both of the Gym children will be accompanying us on part of the trip, as well as our daughter's significant other. Stay tuned!

The is the former London Port Authority Building,
once the tallest building in London.
Now, the first two floors house the Four Seasons Hotel

Now the second Four Season's hotel in London
is located at Ten Trinity Square. Inside the entrance is a plaque
that reveals that the hotel entrance was within longbow range
of the walls of the Tower of London which you face as you come out of the hotel.

The Tower of London, an arrow shot from Ten Triinity

On the way after breakfast we visited The Borough Market

So much colour and variety 

......beautiful display 

and happy merchants.

On the way back to the hotel we walked beside the HMS Belfast, WW2 British
Battleship that has been retired on the Thames and can now be rented for corporate functions.

We met our friends Roland and Brenda for lunch
on the Thames and after we crossed the "Wobbly Bridge" with them
on our way to explore St. Katharine's Docks. This is a cool picture of the
British Duo with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background.

St. Katherine's Docks with the Queen's Barge, Gloriana
parked along the trendy quay.