Yoeman of the Guard Hampton Court Palace 
Ancient Yew Trees Hampton Court Palace
Entering a Thames Lock
London Routemaster BusTrip
My friend Dorothy and I had a great time in London, thankfully it was dry and sunny but a cold wind especially in the Thames area was rather chilling .
We where out all day finding our way around London on foot and on the bus. Last time we where in the city we used the Underground and really saw little of the place. So this time we decided to stay up top and explore every street and alley way. We soon found Trafalgar Square and the National Art Gallery. I am always blown a way by famous paintings, I could have stayed for hours but we had to limit our time. A bonus for me was, I stood next to William Hurt the actor for a few minutes appraising a painting, don’t ask me which one, I was to overcome to notice and he smiled at me. He is exactly the same as he is on screen hansom and charming, absolutely awesome
We took the river boat up to Hampton Court and spent the day looking around the palace and gardens. It was a long journey in which we negotiated two locks and it was interesting to see all the different communities along the river. Richmond was almost a resort with riverside restaurants , beautiful homes with manicured lawns rolling down to the waters edge. Some wonderful buildings and some quite surreal tower blocks, with apartments available at millionaire prices, another world.. I now know where many famous celebrities live. We sailed along gently, enjoying the views and sipping wine, what a great way to travel. Hampton Court was amazing and we met King Henry V111 and Kathryn Parr who where getting married that day.
It was to late to attempt the maze, as the ride home was the last on the river that day. We got back much faster than we went, the boat was a veteran of the Dunkirk Evacuation a wall full of memorabilia told her story, a solid old boat but with a new engine she ran well.
London`s West End is alive and kicking after 5pm we seem to gyrate towards that area each day it was an exciting place. We obtained discounted tickets for `Priscilla Queen of the Desert` from one of the Ticket booths and was delighted to find we had superb seats. It’s a brilliant show, a funny unique show with great music and songs with lots of audience participation, I was hoarse the day after from singing and shouting.
http://www.priscillathemusical.com/
. Greenwich was good except the Cutty Sark the ship was under wraps being renovated but the National Maritime Museum and the Queens House where very interesting. I didn`t fancy the climb up the grassy mound to see the Greenwich clock as the amount of walking we where doing was very tiring Also we where on the river where the wind was exceptionally keen, so we had a fish and chips dinner in a cosy café down in the town..
The Victoria and Albert Museum was delightful we could have spent all day there but again time was against us . I did manage to buy some designer jewellery that is very different to anything I have seen before, very special. Also found huge book shops where I bought four poetry books that I hadn’t seen up north, so that pleased me. We had an hour in the British Library a fabulous building, masses of books, I could have happily spent the day there. We took sightseeing bus rides, got lost often, but with the city map found our way home again exhausted. We eventually became more familiar with the bus routes and the city landmarks. It was a great week and I feel we will do it again, its really exciting to be surrounded by so much history, I think London is a terrific city.
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