"South Africa"
Stop over in London
On Tuesday, April 7th, we left Canada
for the long trip to our final destination of South Africa. The travel
time was not a problem as we were very excited to go to Africa, it
would be Richard's second time there and Wendy's first.
We had decided we would break up the trip with a three day layover
in London, England. This would also help us with the time change.
We arrived at 9am and caught the Underground to our hotel in Soho,
a very trendy and central part of the city. Our accommodations couldn't
be better located as we were within walking distance to the Underground,
bus system and all the attractions. Once we had checked in and settled,
we walked to Leicester Square, a bustling area where we bought theater
tickets high on our list. We had decided to see Billy Elliott that
night and Les Miserables the next. After our purchase at a discount
vendor we discovered, we strolled through the Square and surrounding
areas. We explored the areas of Mayfair and Westminster, had lunch
at an Irish Pub and saw the sights of Trafalgar Square, the Canadian
Embassy and many buildings of beautiful architecture. We returned
to our hotel for a quick nap and then got ready for the theater.
Billy Elliott was a great performance which we thoroughly enjoyed
and afterwards we ended our evening with a beer at a nearby pub.
Our second day in London started bright and early and we started with
a walk to Buckingham Palace, this followed with the houses of Parliament,
Horse Gardens,#10 Downing Street, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. We
walked for a long way along the Thames and saw the Eye of London,
a the largest ferris wheel in the world on which you can see all of
London. We had a traditional English lunch of fish and chips in a
traditional English Pub. In the evening we saw the fabulous "Les
Miserables" which we both agreed was one of the best productions
we had ever seen. We followed the theater with entrance into an exclusive
nightclub, The Funky Budda, and tasted a local favorite, strawberry
champagne a drink of pureed strawberry, champagne and a secret ingredient.
We danced well into the night and collapsed into bed after a wonderful
day.
The following day, the weather was not in our favour as it had been
our first few days and was overcast and rainy. We braved the weather
for one last trip to see the Tower of London. It was Good Friday and
there was a huge crowd that had decided they would see the Tower too.
It is an enormous structure that is made up of a wall surrounding
an entire compound of buildings each with its own tower. It has been
kept in excellent condition and tells a gruesome story of life within
its walls. The beheading of Anne Boelyn, the torture of its prisoners
and actual symbols, names and phrases scratched into the walls of
the towers by its prisoners as far back as 1700. Truely a sight to
see.
Our trip to London had come to an end and we once again took the Underground
to Heathrow airport where we would take an overnight flight to Cape
Town, South Africa.
 
 
 
 
 
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