Sunday, July 13, 2014

Hotel Tour of 2014 -- night 70

I walked my feet off in London today.  I remembered to "Mind the Gap" and to "Look Left" and to "Look Right" and made it safely home.  Phew!

Oh, the places I've been:

After I ran the London 10K (or at least avoided the traffic delays), I took a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich.  I get a lot of blog comments asking how I get so much done.  I travel all around the globe, logging 37,000 miles in April alone and being in the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western hemispheres all in the same month.

Today, however, I was in the Eastern and Western hemispheres AT THE SAME TIME!


After I pulled myself back together, I took another boat ride to the Tower of London and then walked the Tower Bridge:


This city is forcing me, a petrified-of-heights gal, to walk across a bunch of glorious bridges, just to say I did it.  Extra chocolate is required.

I walked around Buckingham Palace:


GORGEOUS!

I spent some time walking through St. James's Park.  It was a perfect afternoon!  The ducks here were showing their... um.... better (?) sides:


I am not a flower child.  I have no idea what plants are called or what they are supposed to look like, but...

... this was One.  Gorgeous.  Flower:


Future quilt alert?

They grown swans big here:


This swan's neck was as big around as my arm and its head could have reached my chin.  HUGE!

At the end of the park, I saw this:


I was waiting for Cinderella to show up, but then I learned that it was the Whitehall Facade of the Horse Guard and maybe Cinderella didn't live there after all.

I walked on to Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus and took all of the appropriate photos.  Before I took the train back to my hotel, I ended my search for chocolate.

Carpo.  Wow.

I had a grande hot chocolate:


This is liquid love.  Pure bliss.  Dark, dark, dark, dark, and DARK!

Since I am a guest in the UK, I try to conform to all traditions and customs once I learn what they are.  Is it considered rude here to jump into a cup of hot chocolate and lick it clean?


Since I wasn't certain, I refrained.

Back at the hotel again, I had a disagreement to solve.  Do you see the bar at the top of the shower?


One of us thinks it is for a missing shower curtain, but the other one of us thinks (knows) that it is simply a brace to hold the glass wall in place.  Now that we both know I am right...

The shower dials were different than I've seen in the States:


Top knob is for volume and the bottom knob is for temperature.

Several weeks ago I mentioned how difficult the paperwork for a visa to the UK was.  It was; I meant that.  I know now, however, that it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!  My students at The Cotton Patch were amazing and I'm having so much fun on my holiday!

I need to rest up for tomorrow's adventures.  Stay tuned!

1 comment:

Kim said...

That is a dahlia.
If you grow one in a pot you have to bring it in out of the cold every year.

Looks like a great time in London, I loved the place too.

Happy and safe travels