In Honour of the City of London - Day 4 and 5

We all enjoyed sleeping in this morning, then had a relaxing breakfast.  Tim again had to tie in to some work meetings, so Tim2, Ted and I decided to check out the London Zoo.  Located at the north end of Regent's Park, we figured it would be a quick trek from the Baker Street station.  We didn't realize just how big Regent's Park was.  It took us nearly an hour of walking once we left the tube.  It was a lovely, sunny day, but my pace slowed as we walked on - I appreciated my sons' patience with me.  Just when we thought we were close, signs indicated we had to walk all the way around the north end of the zoo to the only entrance on the far west side.

Another quite expensive entrance fee, then an awkward stop inside the entrance where they took your group's picture - one smiling, one making lion claws - really?  I could see it if I had a three-year-old with me.  And you know I was ready for a glam shot after walking an hour in the hot sun.  (An interesting phenomena here in the UK - the signs quote an entrance fee; then in small letters, it says this includes a donation of x pounds, and a quote for your entrance fee without the donation.  Very clever way to coax more money out of you - who would say, "No donation from me!"  Especially when you don't want to reinforce the image of rude Americans.  I think I'd feel better if they just told me the entrance fee without mentioning that part of it is an optional donation.  Maybe a law requires them to do this, but it feels uncomfortable to me.)

We were quite surprised at how small the zoo was - one would expect a major city zoo to be much bigger and better.  (I have since learned that the bigger, better zoo in just north of the city.)  Many of the enclosures were empty, but signs touted a new Lion Exhibit opening in 2016.  We did enjoy the few animals we saw - especially the gorilla family just inside the gates.  The silver back was a magnificent creature, and was being quite protective of mother and child up in the tree.

The one tiger we could see was majestic and beautiful, spider monkeys were amusing, and a "Bird of Prey" demonstration was interesting.

We stopped in the eatery on our way out for some sandwiches and drinks - fortification for the walk back.  We actually discovered that another tube station was a bit closer on our return trek, albeit not that much closer.  We made our way back to the flat where Tim was finishing up his work.

We thought we'd try to find a restaurant recommended to me by my friend's friend, Peter, who lives in London and is in-the-know about all things London.  I thought I had the location clear in my head, and even showed Tim2 for backup, but it wasn't where we expected it to be, so we opted for a Korean barbecue place near Little Venice called Gogi's.  It was quite delicious, probably the best meal I'd had since arriving in London.  It was my first time eating Korean barbecue, but it is one of Ted's favorites, so I let him do the ordering.  Mah-Sit-Sso-Yo (delicious in Korean).

We put a movie on when we got back to the flat, and all promptly fell asleep.  Looking forward to Michael's arrival tomorrow!!

Day 5

Ted and Dad (Tim) were up early and headed to the airport to collect our fifth.  Tim2 and I held the fort.  The big bedroom in the flat has a little balcony, but you have to climb out a window to get to it.  It was a deliciously cool morning, and we both enjoyed the down time.

Communications abroad can be a bit challenging.  To avoid having to purchase sim cards or whatever, most of us just opted for apps that allow calling or texting over wifi; works great when you have wifi, not so great when you're on the move.  Dad and Ted were having trouble locating Michael at the airport, and all three of them were in and out of wifi coverage.  It turns out there is more than one international terminal, and they were at different ones.  Working as intermediaries,  Tim2 and I tried to help get them connected.  They eventually found each other, but it was quite late in the morning by the time they made it back to the flat.  All together at last!

 The original plan was to catch the changing of the guards, but we missed that window.  Instead we decided to head for the Tower of London.  Our first stop was another post office where Mike and Tim changed currency.  While we waited (there was quite a line), Tim2 and Ted went in for food at the Pret A Manger sandwich shop next door.  This chain seems to be everywhere in London, just like the Coffee Nerds.

We realized that we were right across the street from the Borough Market, where Tim2, Ted and Ian had tried to go before, only to find it closed for the night.  This hip, artisan market is tucked in under the railway lines, and the street-facing facade of glass and greenery is quite impressive.  We enjoyed a walk through, sampling some food, coffee and sweets along the way.  Could have spent a lot more time here, with lots of unique vendors, baked goods, fresh fruit, vegetables, meats and fish.

Cute owl cookies

We walked through an open-air mall of sorts, which seem to be everywhere.  We admired some cool artwork and enjoyed these classic red phone booth shots (Tardis, anyone?)

We passed by the monument known as "The Monument."  Creative, don't you think?  It is a column commemorating the great London fire, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, who famously designed St. Paul's Cathedral.  I didn't realize it when we passed by, but it is possible to enter the column and climb 311 stairs to a viewing area at the top.  We enjoyed getting some pictures along the river as we neared the Tower of London.

The Monument

The Tower of London is much more developed since we were here in 1981.  Much of the outside is modernized and touristy.  We opted just to have a look from the outside, and stopped in the visitors' center for a broad overview of the place.  The men were not so keen to go view the crown jewels, and I had already seen them once.  The visitors' center did have a small display of jewels and armor that satisfied one's curiosity.  You don't get to see the Beefeaters, however, unless you pay the entry fee.  I like the fact that they wear the initials that were mine for the first 21 years of my life - ER - in their case it stands for "Elizabeth Regina"  (Latin for Queen Elizabeth).

The Tower of London dominates the north side of the Thames just west of the Tower Bridge, the iconic image familiar to the rest of the world.  It was awesome to walk across this historic structure.  You could also climb stairs to the top of the bridge and walk across the high-level walkways with glass floors, and see the inner-workings of the bridge lift that raises when tall ships pass through.

Across the bridge, we headed for an Italian restaurant, recommended by Ted's friend, in a modern glass structure called More London Place.  La Strada was on the ground floor with inviting outdoor seating.  Although the skies were darkening, we decided the view was worth the risk, as we could look across the river at the Tower and watch the boats passing by.  The unique design of City Hall next door also made for some fascinating viewing.   We were served by a red-headed waiter with a European accent we thought was Scandinavian, but he said he was Italian!  The food was delicious, and the rain was kind enough to hold off until we had finished our entrees.  We scurried inside for coffee and dessert as the rains came and went.

"whilst"

Back to the flat we trekked, and the youngsters went out to meet up with Ian while the "not-so-youngsters" hit the hay.