Jolly old London

Another early day, this time after a late night. Somehow we managed to polish off 4 bottles of wine and some old port and stay up until 2 then get up again at 6:30. Cristian was on his way to London city airport so we figured we'd get to chat a bit more and also save the train fare if we just took a cab into the city from there. It was really sad leaving the old barn and Sara and Cristian and Josh. We know we'll be back though and that they'll be over soon enough. Plans are also in the works for a meeting in NYC or out west for some skiing.
From the city airport we took a cab with 'steven'. Anyone heading to London any time soon, ask me for his number. He was extremely helpful and a good tour guide too. He also offered us a flat rate to the airport tomorrow and we gladly took him up on that, arranging to meet outside our hotel at 11:30 am.
Speaking of hotels, ours was the Novotel tower bridge. What a great location. We were right BEHIND the tower!! It was also a very high end European style hotel. The tv screen behind the desk said a basic room was £300!! I had gotten a queen room with a pullout for £125 on lastminute.com (I love a good bargain)
We headed to the tower and completely by chance ran into carolyn and heather and their friends as we waited for our tour.


It was a great tour with another amazing guide. That Henry the VIII sure was a character!
On Cristian's recommendation w went to the London library and it may be one of my favorite venues of our trip. There they have some truly amazing original manuscripts including stuff from over 1500 years ago, the Magna Carta, the original handwritten manuscript of alice in wonderland, the music for Handel's messiah, writings from Leonardo DaVinci and original handwritten lyrics from the Beatles.
Next stop was the palace although aunt Betty did NOT invite us in, how rude!
Dinner was next at Dicken's pub, yes, THAT Dickens!


While we couldn't get pub food, too late, we did get some really good pizza with some really crappy service.


Our last stop was Covent Garden upon the recommendation of our fave london cabbie Steven. While it was a bit of a challenge actually getting there (late buses and crummy directions) it certainly was worth. Lots of sites to see and entertainment everywhere. We were back to the hotel by 11, planning our last few hours in London.


How does time pass soooo fast? Seems like we just landed at heathrow and here we are, ready to head home. All the more reason to plan another adventure!!


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