This was the day that we got to catch up with Scott again…..he’s been very busy with work and finally it’s time to play!
We found a cafe called Pontis where Michele and I could use some free wifi and then discovered that they had Bloody Mary’s on the menu. Coffee and BMs were thoroughly enjoyed while we blogged and the waiter (cute) explained about the free Cloud wifi in London. They actually have red telephone booths in various areas of London (e.g. Bermondsey) where you can access the cloud wifi.
Then we braved Primark – a department store like our K-mart but with more people and lots of accents and languages. People were filling their baskets with clothing like we fill ours with food in Coles.
We decided to find a city tour bus to see other sights but found it was too expensive for what we wanted to do – £25 each for a 2 hour tour. But there was this lovely big park next to the bus station so we wandered into the vast open space that turned out to be Hyde Park. It was so green and the walking tracks are well defined and easy to negotiate with delightful squirrels, magnificent ducks and elegant swans. On the other side was Knightsbridge – the home to Harrods! So we took the chance and entered a foreign land – consumerism at its best! There were handbags and diamonds, snooty staff and lots of hijabs and full burkas but definitely out of our league! Some chocolate tasting in the food court plus takeaway lunch from the multicultural offerings gave us the refuel needed for the rest of the day!
Off to meet Scott in Fenchurch street…..catch the Tube to Bank (says it all) and emerge into a world of old architecture and the first banks and monuments! You could smell the money! Scott works in a building called Plantation Place which is next to the ‘Walky Scorchy’ building famous for melting cars parked in the street because of its glass facade, sun and angles. The glass face has been modified with sun deflecting panels but its still an impressive design.
So up we go to the Accenture foyer of the Plantation Place building to wait for Scott. There are interactive glass panels on the wall which visitors are invited to try……It felt like the future of the classroom. Very much like a computer on the wall….cool!
We need to use the bathrooms once Scott finished work and Michele managed to activate the emergency alarm in the toilet which sent the security guard running in to check if she’s OK…….too funny! Scott particularly enjoyed her embarrassment……but…..there is more!
So now we are three and follow Scott to the Shard. Up we go to the 32nd floor. London is laid out before us…..the Tower of London has a carpet of red poppies along its wall to commemorate 100 years since WW1. We missed Lizzy and Phil yesterday who were visiting the poppies and they forgot to tweet us!
So with the Tower of London and Tower Bridge as our backdrop it was time to sample the cocktails and finger foods on offer……yummo! The drinks even came with ‘shards’ of glass from a large block of ice behind the bar. Sharon Stone would be in her element! So back down to earth where Scott manages to activate the alarm in the elevator and Michele delighted in his embarrassment. Teresa just thought about how ‘special’ her children are! Despite this she is still proud of them!
Time to move on, so Scott takes us to Trafalgar Square…..whoa what a place! People everywhere, statues dominate the scenery and buskers are very busy trying to earn a living. Another journey on foot continues through the various areas of London, London Bridge, the Monument built in 1667 to commemorate the Great Fire of London 1666.
Dinner at Covent Garden was superb. The Mussels and Pork were delicious.
We then walked through back streets past pubs and bars with people spilling out onto the footpaths. Scott took us to a Vodka Shop (heaven?) in Soho. We are immediately offered shots of Polish vodka which was a product made by one of the men in the store called ‘Konik’s Tail’. It was smooth and we bought 2 bottles which were autographed by the maker himself. They then topped up our shot glasses and we realised that the place was closed when others tried to enter. We were then allowed behind the counter to have photos with these crazy characters. We couldn’t stop laughing about how we always seem to end up in these crazy situations. Pleurat (the maker) also advised us that in Poland we should not buy any commercial vodka because the locals make much better products!
It was a great day!