St John's Wood

Monday 14th July: The old light bollards at St John's Wood were still operational, a typical entry exit to a tube station. It was a convenient place to park in London, next to this inner tube station, outside the congestion zone. We discovered that it was also used a car park for cricket visitors to Lords, which did slow us down slightly on the way out to Ruislip to visit family. Thank you to John and Dominique for a great dinner evening, complete with piano entertainment! We must do it again soon! When are you coming to Oz?

Big Ben

Monday 14th July: A much cheaper London activity is to simply walk past all the icons of the city. Lunch at the recommended Café in the crypt at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, followed by a leisurely walk from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, via the Houses of Parliament, was a pleasant way to discover London for ourseleves, and introduce it to our children. We could also audibly keep track of the time with the Big Ben Westminster chimes every 15 minutes. We also experienced the London wildlife in St James' Park, with very tame squirrels, as well as various waterbird species around the ponds.

Madame Tussauds

Monday 14th July: This is a waxwork of Shirley Bassey, which is amazingly lifelike and flattering, like many of the figures in this exhibition in London. We took many of the obligatory photos with well known contemporary and historic characters, celebrities, sportspeople, political figures, famous artists, etc; but it was so crowded, that it was almost a fight to get a clear shot, and even harder to get near the model. A suprising mini taxi cab ride at the end, is a great improvement. It was fun, albeit expensive, an extremely popular place to see in London!

The Jazz Café

Saturday 5th July: We had a day where we visited some friends and family to share meals, both near Swindon (thanks Trevor and Sue) and then in Ruislip (thanks John and Dominique), then finished with a memorable night out at London's premier jazz club, at the Jazz Café in Camden Town. There was a performance by Victor Wooten and his band, which was superb, and was our son's highlight of the trip. There was 2 and a half hours from his band, preceded by another hour from another excellent jazz trio, so we really got a great show, and some delicious food served to our balcony table with very intimate views of the band players and stars. Needless to say, we got photos and autographs afterwards, they are very amenable to their fans at this venue.

Tate Modern

Thursday 3rd July: Directly across the Thames from St Pauls is an old power station now houses the Tate Modern Art Gallery. To get there is a very pleasant walk across the Millenium Bridge, with views back to the rising cathedral, up and down the Thames and the imposing art gallery building ahead of us! Its a huge gallery with contemporary and art from this century, some is fairly challenging, but compelling to see. We were lucky to miss a torrential downpour as we were seated in the café behind the glass-protected views of the Thames.

St Pauls Steps

Thursday 3rd July: Found a great parking spot in London, at St John's Wood, one station away from Madame Tussauds :-) , but when we got there the queue to get in was way too long :-(. So, onwards on the tube Central Line, we visited the immense St Pauls' Cathedral, towering above everything near London's city. It is huge and serene inside, and there is plenty of light to see the monuments and art work under and around the dome. We climbed the 364 steps to the whispering gallery, then the 112 steps to the stone gallery, then the 156 steps to the golden gallery at the top of the dome. That's about 35 storeys. Phew! What views!

St Pancras to Euston

Saturday 28th June: Arrived at St Pancras, walked along Euston Road with all of our bags to pick up our hire car. Sunny again in London! Many red buses everywhere as usual, so you know where you are when emerging from the depths of the train stations. Almost a straight drive along the A40 and M40, to Benson in Oxfordshire, where we are staying with our very good friends for most of the week.

Gare Du Nord

Samedi 28eme Juin: Après un bizarre voyagé dans la voiture a traversé les rues de Paris, nous avons arrivé à le Gare du Nord pour l'Eurostar à Londres. Le voyagé de la train a pris 2.25 heures, et elle a allé à 300 km/h! Elle est très confortable, très agrèable. Nous avons arrivé en Londres, il a fait du soleil!