Pounding The Pavement
We were so relieved that it was finally the weekend and Rossco could join us in our sightseeing adventures. We had a big day planned and had a few London sights we wanted to cross off our to-do list, including St Paul’s Cathedral where we set off for first. We decided to connect our shoes to the cobblestones instead of taking the Tube so we wouldn’t miss the sights along the way. Ross led us along the river path – the way he’d been walking to work – and looking down the river towards the Tower Bridge there was a gorgeous view!
We found a fantastic café nestled at the bottom of a stone staircase behind a church that boasted having had parishioners worshipping there since 606! It was a Mediterranean-style café with all the seats out on the cobblestones (it would have been fantastic in summer) and two tables set up, complete with red and white checked tablecloths – one with chefs madly stirring their huge seafood and tomato paellas and the other with two giant vats of mulled wine. I’ve actually taken a bit of a shine to the mulled wine. It is a bit strange at first, drinking piping hot wine but in this weather, it’s just nice to have another alternative hot drink to tea and coffee. It has a distinct citrusy taste, usually with a piece of orange floating in the top. It tastes more like lemon and honey than actual wine. Having said that, I did think breakfast was a bit early to indulge in a hot wine and thought I’d better stick to a cappuccino instead! We had delicious chorizo and egg rolls on crusty warm focaccias. Mmmmmm. Just the thing to warm us up and energise us for the walk ahead.
Across the bridge we could see the magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral, with its famous dome but you don’t realise how huge it actually is until you’re up close! Unfortunately it wasn’t open inside today but we were happy just walking around the grounds and checking it out! We took a detour up Fleet Street and then strolled along the Thames, next to the Temple and up to Cleopatra’s Needle. This little pointy monument was made around 1500BC!! Wow! Covered in hieroglyphics and bookended by two impressive looking sphinxes, it was a stark contrast to some of the glittery high rises on the horizon.
As we continued our marathon walk along the river we suddenly had the feeling of being in the thick of an English premier league match as we heard the roaring crowd recite English football songs and anthems at astounding decibals. But how could this be? One look out towards the river revealed that the tuneful, booming voices were coming from a large boat motoring down the Thames, hired by the CAFC, whoever they may be, for what we assume may have been a start of season celebration! They were so loud! Their songs were echoing around the city and arousing the curiosity of thousands of onlookers, peering over the bridges and lining the river bank. The boat was absolutely packed and it was such a sight seeing all their fists pumping above their heads in perfect unison and in time with their rousing anthems! We saw some concerned faces amongst the local constabulary and Ross thought they were probably wondering what was going to happen when they came ashore!
Next stop was Westminster Abbey and again, it’s just so much bigger and more impressive (if that’s possible!) when you’re up close. We were cracking up at all the cheesy Wills and Kate souvenirs on sale. You can buy coffee mugs wrapped in images of them kissing, holding hands or just gazing into each other’s eyes; framed photographs of the whole family (can you seriously imagine putting one of these on your wall?) or just a stand-alone plaque with a little stand for your mantelpiece. There were printed plates, bowls, teatowels and aprons and Kate, Wills and little George’s faces on just about every kind of surface imaginable! The shop was doing a roaring trade! There were noticeably more people around the city because it was the weekend and a particularly big crowd was gathered around the Abbey. It was one of those times when you see a crowd of people and think “ooh, something must be on” but actually, there was nothing on at all. It was just the usual Saturday tourist crowd having a sticky at Westminster Abbey. The tourists here seem predominantly European as you’d expect but there are very few Asian tourists we’ve noticed. I guess it’s a long way to come. We’ve also noticed that hardly any British people work around London, aside from the cabbies of course, which is the opposite to Sydney! The commentators on the open-topped bus tours are English too but every shop you walk into, restaurant you eat at or tourist attraction you visit has mostly European staff. We haven’t come across one English person working in any of the hotels we’ve stayed at yet.
Our final destination for the day was the famous Harrods. It’s safe to say that Toby wasn’t brimming with enthusiasm over the prospect of going to Harrods. He wasn’t quite as excited as I was to visit this must-see tourist stop and was fairly vocal about his disinterest indeed. He gave us “an hour to look around” – not that we felt bound in any way by his self-imposed restrictions but he kept a countdown as we browsed amongst all the designer shoes, handbags and jewellery. The concept of browsing is a bit lost on the two men I am here with! I know I’ve previously mentioned their lack of interest In shopping but it’s browsing that they really don’t get. “Why are you looking if you’re not going to buy anything?’ was the repeated cry from our youngest son. His interest did spark a little when we passed the icecream parlour and he saw mountainous servings of multiple flavours in colourful parfait glasses. Oh well, pity we only had 4 minutes left on his imaginary countdown! I must admit, I’d always thought of Harrods as just being a fairly accessible department store, a bit like an upmarket David Jones but realised after spending time walking through its gilded corridors and sparkling showrooms (not to mention riding on the “Egyptian Escalator”!) that it is actually a little out of reach of the common folk! Ross found a golf bag –nothing special to look at but we think it may have had a gold lining – and the price tag read £27,000!!! What?!!! Surely not? The guys at the next golf weekend would be pretty impressed with that! I had been keen to check out the Harrods toilets ever since Hannah Mackenzie had told me about the choice of complimentary perfumes found in there, available for a quick spray! Sure enough, right next to the sinks, was a little table with about three or four bottles of designer perfumes, ready for anyone to indulge in! How cool is that?
Along the way to Harrods we inadvertently strolled up the High Street of Kensington and took in the shops and restaurants of the fashionable Chelsea. It reminded me a little bit of Woollahra or Double Bay with lots of exclusive shops and the feeling that any moment you were going to run into a celebrity. Tobes had fun ogling the Lamborghinis through the window of the showroom (you had to buzz on the intercom to be allowed in!) and I thought I saw Posh Spice more than once! Our dinner tonight was at the Dickens Inn, down under the Tower Bridge in the St Katharine Docks area, which is really nice, with some great pub food. Toby sampled the fish and chips, Ross opted for a steak and chips and I had bangers and mash and it was totally scrumptious!
