We landed at Heathrow and within half an hour, we were on the tube. It was incredibly smooth. The whole process was a breeze -- fast track immigration with a minimal queue, electronic passport gates, speedy luggage retrieval and a walk through customs.
Jet lag took a bit of a toll, but we walked the local streets of Kensington to get the blood pumping and get a few provisions. It was a great way to get a handle on the cost of living in London – not pleasant but educational! We are so fortunate to be able to use a friend’s flat while she is out of the country … thank you, Jane! Having such a central base to come back to is such a luxury.
Proper Day 1 was perfect. Sunshine, blue sky and a list of the tourist spots with the ‘memory lane’ side tours an added bonus. At risk of this being very listy, we wandered through Victoria to visit Wanda’s haunts, watched the Guards at Buckingham Palace, strolled St James; Park and The Mall, wondered where the pigeons were in Trafalgar Square, did the whole Whitehall walk to the Houses of Parliament. There was retail therapy in Sloane Square, a rewarding Guinness as well, and some more ‘memory lane’ in that area. The day was topped off with a wonderful evening catch up with Guy and Ann Protheroe, English Chamber Choir lynchpins, at their place and a nearby local pub.
Day 2 was more-to-be-expected grey, cold, may-reach-5-degrees but not raining. High Street Kensington beckoned, as we needed better gloves! A very long stroll down memory lane was the order of the day, with a visit to our old neighbourhood in central London. We visited Long Lane, St Bartholomew’s, wondered the streets of EC4, marvelled at the development around St Paul’s Cathedral and visited Alistair’s post-rehearsal choral haunts (The Cockpit and The Rising Sun). Over the Millenium Bridge to the South Bank introduced us to the Tate Modern (amazing), a stroll along the river’s edge, a ridiculously overcrowded barrelling through Borough Market (where the queues for food stalls were sooooo long, crazy long). A bit of calm then prevailed in our visit to Southwark Cathedral, where an evensong choral rehearsal reminded us of the performances Alistair did many years ago.
A new (for us) innovation is the river bus along the Thames. We crammed aboard and enjoyed the trip to Battersea Power Station, seeing some of the sites from a different, water-based perspective. And our destination was incredible. The re-development of the old building is brilliant. It is a shopping center, full of the normal big-brand places, but the care and preservation of the industrial site is excellent. Back on the tube, noisy, crowded and dirty, was another reconnect to the ‘old days’.
Two days down and so many lovely memories (revisited and made).
Add comment
Comments