Mr Hoot

Today my feet had a rest.  I bought a ticket on one of those open-top double-decker buses.  I jumped on right outside the hotel and sat down inside.  I sat inside because it was very cold; cold but again, clear.  I must say that the weather has been great so far.  Only some rain on the day that I arrived and then cold clear days with only the occasional cloudy period.

We went on a long roundabout route and there was a recorded commentary.  The ‘Original Tour’ company runs six routes and you can change routes where they cross each other.  I ended up at St Paul’s again because I wanted to have a look at the Museum of London which is nearby.  The museum is very interesting, tracing the history of London from way back in the stone age, through the Roman period, Saxons, etc.  There is also an interesting  display on the Great Fire of London.

After the Museum I caught another of the buses to the Tower of London.  The price of the ticket also includes river travel from the Tower of London, Greenwich or Westminster.  The cruise boat took me to Greenwich where I had a look at the meridian line where the western and eastern hemispheres meet.  I walked around the Maritime Museum as well.  This is housed in buildings that used to be the Naval Academy.

Then it was back on the river cruise up the Thames until I got to Westminster.  I sat on the top of the boat and it was still cold.  The Thames was muddy but it wasn’t smelly like it was when Michael and Justine visited last September.

Then I walked to Trafalgar Square where I caught the bus again back to the hotel.  My feet were not aching when I got back for once.

Tomorrow is my last full day on London so I think I will use it to see all the odds and ends that I have missed during this week.  It looks like I won’t be able to get to see the terracotta warriors at the British Museum but it wasn’t that high on my list of things to do.  Hopefully the weather will hold.