Once upon a Monopoly board

Beefeater at the Tower of London

 Kings Cross, Trafalgar Square, Euston Road, Pentonville Road, Northumberland Avenue, Piccadilly, Fenchurch Station (to name a few) – all places we walked down, travelled through or saw signs to so it seemed like we were in a real life game of Monopoly as we made our way around London today. Fortunately we did not end up in jail (even visiting) and unfortunately we did not find free parking to earn any money (although we did get in to lots of places for free thanks to the London Pass – yes I know we have already paid for it but it feels like it is free).

Elizabeth's gun salute with
gunpowder flash

It has been a whirlwind time in London so far since our arrival. No sooner had we got back to London and returned the camper than after finding our little apartment in Notting Hill (doesn’t look anywhere near as attractive as the apartment in the movie) on Friday night we headed off to West End to see ’Matilda’. It was absolutely brilliant with so much evidence of Tim Minchin’s influence throughout – it was such that you kept expecting to see him make an appearance from the wings (he is exceptionally talented and creative and he managed to keep it clean seeing the majority of the cast were children). The kids were amazing not just for their talent but also their stamina and being able to fit this in their lives as kids. We did check the website and a rotating cast of children cover the parts (there are 4 Matildas) but it still an amazing effort given that there are 8 shows a week. Hats off to all involved – the writing, directing, choreography, performers and musicians – we just loved the whole thing. Thanks to our wonderful children for the Christmas present also – great idea. It also doubled as an early birthday present for Elizabeth so bonus.

Tower Bridge

The Saturday was Elizabeth’s birthday so a 62 gun salute (not sure how they got the wrong number – must have been a mix up in the emails) was fired outside the Tower of London at 1:00pm to celebrate the event. The lengths I go to ensuring that these special days are memorable! I also made sure we were busy sightseeing today – Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Greenwich, Big Ben and Westminster, cruise up the Thames so that we did not get a chance to go anywhere near Harrods or the like. I am sure that will come later so the credit card may not yet escape. Apart from finding that they close some of the underground stations (Tower Hill), meaning you have to walk to the next one (Aldgate) which we fortunately managed to find without too much fuss and was not that far away, the day went very smoothly and was yet another fascinating day. When you look over the Tower of London it really is quite a ‘hotchpotch’ of different buildings and fortifications that have been added from the days of William the Conqueror when in 1078 he started construction of the original Norman Keep known as the White Tower. Various rulers have added more walls, moats, towers and buildings and used it various purposes – many of them gruesome. While it is most infamous as a prison and place of execution it has also been the Royal Armoury, Mint, treasury, menagerie and public records office at various times. Most of the executions were not actually carried out in the Tower but rather out in a public venue on Tower Hill – great ‘entertainment’. It was only if you were a ‘friend’ or soon to be ex-wife of the King that you had the privilege of being executed inside the Tower. It is also quite amazing that the Tower was still used as a prison up to 1952.

Fountain in Trafalgar Square

After lunch at the ‘Hung Drawn and Quartered’ – don’t you just love that throughout history humanity has come up with supposedly more and more barbaric and gruesome ways of killing people to try and prolong the pain of death and create a spectacle. With some of the things happening in the world today it is almost as though nothing has really changed. On to more pleasant topics we headed off to Tower Bridge to get a look at one of the most famous bridges in the world. It was certainly a great view with some great engineering to ensure the two bascules raise safely in about 5 minutes about three times a day. It is about three times a day now, previously it was much more often. Even the glass part of the walkway was not too scary so it was a great time.

A cruise further down the Thames with some very entertaining commentary from a local ‘east-ender’ took us to Greenwich. Checking our calendars and watches we took a look around the maritime museum area. We certainly packed in our sightseeing and got a day’s worth from the London Pass before returning up the Thames and then back to the Notting Hill apartment.

Tomorrow we continue our tourist time in London with a visit to Lord’s and some time at Camden Markets.

Love to all

S&E