LONDON--DAY 2

Day 2 began as a typical London day—cold, damp, and overcast.  After layering our clothing and packing snacks, we set out to ride the double-decker buses and get a little more familiar with the city.  After much consultation with our Rick Steves guide book plus the recommendation of our hotel concierge, we felt that the Big Red Bus line would be  the one that would best suit us.  After freezing at the bus stop for half an hour waiting on the Big Bus Line to pick us up, we chose the other bus line, The Original.

Our first Original Bus tour guide spoke with such a strong British accent that we hadn’t a clue what he was saying and could only pick out certain things like …….. Margaret Thatcher ………… city hall ………… Ian Fleming, so we chose to get off that bus and visit the Tower of London, including the Crown Jewels.

Before we could visit the Tower, I had to take a quick potty break, or as the British say, “spend a penny.”  We found a KFC that had a toilet, but if you didn’t purchase food, you had to purchase your loo visit (50 pence) which turned out to be a tad more than a penny.  Anyway, we shared a chicken sandwich and chips (fries) to fund my potty break.  This was actually one of our favorite meals.  By the way, bathrooms (or toilets, as they are called) are built into very tight spaces, generally up or down very steep stairs, and are usually accompanied by this sign:

The Tower of London was amazing, but unfortunately while there Glenn was the victim of a bird attack.  Luckily, I had a tissue in my bag so I quickly cleaned off the bird poop from his hat and brand-new green jacket.

Glenn loved the moat at the Tower—originally the sewer system—designed with a dual purpose in mind:  for protection from enemies and for waste disposal.  Double protection, you might say.  What enemy would want to swim through sewage to get to you? 

At the Tower we saw suits of armor, canons, rifles,

and the Queen’s Crown Jewels (unfortunately, no pics of the jewels).  You step on to a people-mover which takes you quickly past the jewels.  No one spends too much time there.  

I particularly enjoyed seeing the part of The Tower where people lived.  Here is what the throne looked like:

and one of the stained-glass windows.

We also had our first glimpse of the Buckingham Palace Guards.

About the time I was wiping bird poo off of Glenn, we began to hear canon fire—a twenty-one gun salute--from across the street—later we found out this was the beginning of the Queen’s Jubilee Celebration.

Our last stop at The Tower was the torture chamber.  We saw the "chopping block" where many lost their heads.  They also had other lovely objects on display that were used on some of their most unfavorite fellows.

After several hours at The Tower, we left, rejoined our Original Bus Tour, and ended up on Fleet Street, where we found Ye Old Cheshire Cheese pub, which Glenn had heard about on The Ticket, his favorite sports radio station.  This pub was frequented by Samuel Johnson, who wrote the first dictionary, and who we discovered lived just a short walk from the pub.  Others who once were regulars were Charles Dickens and Mark Twain.  This was evidently the "Cheers" of London.  The original pub was destroyed by the great fire of London in 1666 and was rebuilt in 1667.  Here are some pictures:

As you can see, there is little head room at Ye Old Cheshire Cheese,

 and women have not always been welcomed there:

Exhausted, we returned to our hotel and decided to eat dinner at the Island Restaurant.  Our breakfast that morning had been really nice, and it was such a beautiful place.  This turned out to be a meal we regretted getting.  My London hamburger was nothing like the hamburgers we get here, so Glenn offered to exchange plates with me.  His fish and chips with mushy peas were nothing like what we had eaten the night before at The Swan, so we made the decision to not eat again at The Island.

We were really happy that we had taken peanut butter crackers and trail mix on our London trip.  No more white table cloth meals for us--it would be pub food from now on!