Yesterday we undertook our own walking tour of London. The first train into the station was going to London Bridge and we hadn't taken that one before so that is where we started. It was a very cool day with low flying cloud. The newest icon of the skyline, the "Shard" was not useful as a viewing spot as we couldn't see the top. It had stood out two days ago when we had seen it from the other side of the river but today it was wrapped in mystery.
We set off across London Bridge and found the memorial to the Great Fire of London. It was very impressive. From there we headed north into the area around the Bank Underground Station. It is not named for grassy mounds but for the keepers of money. There are many here. Ambling along we found Threadneedle Street then LondonWall Street which is named for the remnants of the mediaeval fortress wall built upon the Roman Wall. Most of this area was detroyed by the bombing inflicted by "the King's enemies". A quaint way of not naming the Germans. No doubt in the interests of tourism. Then past the Old Bailey and on into the business district. Walking down Holborn we transitioned into Oxford Street at which stage it became all to commercial and crowded for Bob. After making use of Marks and Spencer's loos and buying bread in their deli area we headed on toward the West End. Taking a stroll down Regent Street admiring the Victorian era (?) buildings we found Waterloo Place with a statue to the "Grand Old Duke of York". We skirted St James Park and avoided the Palace once again. We took a photo of the statue of Captain James Cook and walked under the Admiralty Arch.
The next goal was Trafalgar Square for a nostalgic visit to the lions and to photograph them for Hannah and Eleanor. We told them to ask Elise about climbing up to sit on them. There is an impressive new statue there by an artist who is recreating the historic work from Iraq that has been destryed by ISAS to remind us of what has been lost.
By then we were ready for home. After a bit of a lie down we caught the bus up to Crystal Palace for dinner and so ended another day.
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