All Around the Town

Friday December 21, 2007

A cloudy, chilly day today, but undaunted, Mike and I set out at our usual time, a little before 9 a.m. for our walk to the rail station. I took pictures today of the route so as to later recall the charming look and feel to the streets.



Our first stop upon arriving in London, was to return to Harrods department store. On Monday it had been later in the day and the store was quite crowded. We wanted to really see the famous Food Halls where just about everything from the mundane to the ultra exotic can be purchased. It was a fun place to poke around without the jostling shoppers. We picked up a bit of lunch for later while there. The Egyptian escalator and enclosed hall are really fascinating to see, with elaborately carved and embossed ceilings, walls, flooring etc. Unfortunately no picture taking is permitted in Harrods, so no chance for a photo op. While there, we looked around a couple of the seasonal sections of the store as well.

Realizing that the time was right to try for another chance at viewing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham, we hied back to the appropriate tube stop, walked through Green Park and fortuitiously found places along the side fence of the palace grounds! Thus we were able to see what we had missed transpiring when there on Monday.





Thrilled to have had the opportunity to see the whole ritual, we walked back through Green Park, munching on our baguettes as we went along. Today Green Park tube station was the site for the random display of Metropolitan Police security with sniffing dogs and heavily armed personnel. Our next destination was Covent Garden.
This was our first encounter with having to use lifts to return to street level, as the tube station is 15 stories below ground level! Exiting, we found the streets abuzz with holiday shoppers and yes, more of the "living statues" and street entertainers. Gone are the flower marts of Eliza Doolittle's day, now covered arcades contain vendors selling from tables as well as lovely shops and restaurants along the walls.





After a quick look at this fascinating scene (no lingering to buy anything--Harrods had done us in!), we returned to the tube and the lift, heading for Russell Square.
Not doing the British Museum justice (one could spend days exploring it all), we made our way to some of the highlights offered for viewing, including the Rosetta Stone.





Continuing on our marathon day, we returned to the tube and headed for Leicester Square, a bit like New York City's Time Square, with the bustle of theater ticket sellers. We walked down Charing Cross Rd for a couple of blocks and then into the National Gallery. Not having alot of time left, we chose to view the 18th-early 20th century paintings. Took a late day shot of Trafalgar Square from the perspective of the portico of the Gallery.



Still had one more place to get to for a possible photo op and so from the Gallery, we headed up Haymarket St, past some theaters, to Piccadilly Circus. Mike succeeded in capturing the famous Eros statue in the center of the circle, but unfortunately some blue construction wall obscured the full effect.



By 7 p.m. we had arrived home, having walked through the fog (cool), only to discover that we were unable to get the front door lock to work! Knowing that Cora and CW were not too far behind us (whatever did we do before mobiles!), with packages from the day in hand, we proceeded to the Six Bells pub, the one close pub we had not frequented yet. As always, the place was packed with local citizenry.
Once CW came for us, we settled into an evening of dinner and conversation--lovely!