London 2023 - Day 9 / London

Steps today: 24 361 / 16.06km

This morning for a change, we decided to have a "real" breakfast instead of just a pastry on the go so we went to (you guessed it) Caffé Concerto.  Frank had a Full English, while I had another of their terrific Egg Salad Sandwiches.  It was nice to drink coffee out of a non-paper cup for once!

As is our routine, we started in Hyde Park again, this time through the Rose Garden, and there were still a few hardy blooms. It was a little drizzly, but nothing much.

...we even spotted a parrot! What excellent camouflage! we thought he was the only one when suddenly an entire flock erupted from the tree!

Then, we visited the 7 / 7 Memorial

And the rest of the morning was just spent wandering

A little after 11, we stopped in at Shakespeare's Head and this time in my gin experimentation I tried an orange gin. It looks like an Aperol Spritz and tasted like Tang. That was it for me with the experiments, from then on it was Pink Gin all the way.

I wanted to visit the Brunel Museum today, and since we had a hearty breakfast we weren't hungry at all for lunch, so we got on the tube and made our way out there.  Who is Brunel? Like I was saying about the Thames Barrier, if you are a Discovery Channel fan of engineering and construction programming then you already know.  Google "Thames Tunnel" if you want to know more.

We were able to go down into one of the shafts, but the picture gives no sense of scale or context.... It's kind of a lousy shot.

After the museum, we took the Overground which I have never done, and it was a great idea since we'd be riding through the Thames Tunnel after learning more about it at the museum!

We took it to Shoreditch which I almost instantly regretted because when you get off the train the area feels super sketchy.  It was a short walk from there to main road and while it was nothing special, it didn't feel as ominous any more. (We were on the eastern border of Central London)

My idea was to go to Ten Bells Pub.  Frank and I saw it waaay back in 2005 on a Jack the Ripper Tour but didn't go in. In 2019 did go in for a drink because in addition to it's grizzly Ripper reputation, it also has original floor to ceiling Victoria Tiling which is worth a look. On that day in 2019 with my mom, it was so packed that we saw nothing. We sat at the bar, had 2 Aperol Spritz because it was such a hot day, and it was so loud in there we joked we'd probably suffer permanent hearing damage if we stayed any longer.  Today, same. It was so packed that people spilled out into the street so we didn't even bother trying. 

Right across the street is the Spitalfields Market, we walked around a bit but markets generally are not my thing and it was pretty boring.

It was just after 2:30, and we stopped in a nearby restaurant for late lunch. We had the whole interior place to ourselves because most of the patrons were sitting on the patio that faced in towards the market.

I had a Croque Monsieur that I found SO FILLING, thank God I didn't have a starter or any sides... I don't think I could have choked down a leaf of lettuce with it.

Our plan after this was to walk to the Thames and walk along the north bank this time since we enjoyed our South walk so much.

By 4ish, we were at the Tower of London

The walk along the North Bank is not a continuous or developed for this as the South Bank, so you end up taking a lot more detours, but the highlight for me on this side of the river is the Queenhithe Mosaic. It's really impressive! 30 meters long!  Impossible to get it all in one picture... I wish now that I had tried from a distance just to get an idea of the scale and how long it is.

PHOTO DUMP:

And just to balance it out, here are a few of the actual views....

It was around 5PM by then, and I was STILL belching from that heavy lunch. It may not have looked like it, but trust me, it was a lead brick... a delicious one.  I needed some digestive help so we found a pub and I ordered a double Grand Marnier pronto! The bartender had no idea what it was and asked me to point out the bottle to him.  It took forever to ring it up too since he had to look it up, but it was worth the wait because it helped SO MUCH.  If you know me, you know how I feel about the magical powers of G.M.

My back was only better insofar as I was no longer crying, but I was still getting sporadic bursts of cramping that left me breathless and leaning on walls to stop from collapsing. At one point when it hit, I couldn't even call out to Frank who was far ahead of me on the sidewalk to tell him to wait up. I tried calling his name but it came out as a whisper. After such episodes, it would take time to feel normal again, so walking was slowwww...  but I always rebounded eventually.

By about 6 we were at the Holborn Viaduct, but I didn't get many pictures because it started to drizzle.

Then, we started thinking about what to do for supper.... well... I started thinking and told Frank my idea to which he responded "uh-huh" so was I just yammering too much or was he just not listening? whatever. That's typical marriage stuff!

After that heavy lunch, we didn't want another meal. So naturally my mind went to Caffé Concerto for dessert, which for me meant: Espresso Martini and 3 little macaroons like I had on Tuesday.  Frank has a bigger appetite than me, and there are LOTS of pastries at CC so it felt perfect.

The plan was to take a tube to the station just next to the one we normally take to go back to the room, where there are lots of cafés around. If it was only drizzling we'd walk to CC, and if it was raining hard we'd stick around there.

When we got that station, Frank asked me what the Hell we were doing there because it was raining.  I repeated the plan, which to me felt like the tenth time I said it, but to him it was the first time he heard it. HA HA HA HA HA. marriage!

So, CC was out, all the cafés around where we were were packed and overheated, then the rain got harder and the umbrellas came out. We were both fed up and grumpy by then so we just gave up, took the bus home and called it a day. 

Day 9 Map:

London 2023 - Day 8 / London

Steps today: 23 254 / 15.33km

My back was not good this morning, the sporadic spams were still happening but it seemed the longer I was standing the more stable things became so long walks felt possible.

For a change this morning, we didn't walk through the parks, but instead a random path around Knightsbridge and Belgravia. It was a little drizzly, but nothing major and I don't think we even used our umbrellas.

By about 1030 we were at Hyde Park Corner / Queen Elizabeth Gate

Then we walked along Piccadilly all the way to Leicester Square

Around 11, we went to All Bar One. 

I figured out how to make the pink gin show up in pictures: order a double measure! ha!

It was delicious and made up for that lemon nonsense I had yesterday.

Lunch was at Pizza Express (another chain) just off Trafalgar Square

Frank had a pepperoni pizza and love it so much that instead of dessert, he ordered a second pizza!

After lunch, it was time for the most anticipated event of the trip for me: Back to the Future, The Musical! How fun!

It was so much fun!!!!!!

But my back was badddddd.... During intermission, I had a hard time standing up and when I finally did, my back started to spasm again. The tears sprang out so quickly there was nothing I could do to control them. I was terrified to sit down again if it meant I had to get back up, so I stayed standing throughout the intermission until I could be sure no one would come back in to get to their seats.

After the show, it was even worse if that's possible. I just remember having to cross the street somewhat quickly after exiting the theater and that brought on the spasms again. Frank and I were in an alley, I was Lamaze breathing and just bawling. I could barely move.  Slowly slowly slowly as time passed, the spasms faded and my strength and mobility returned, but for about an hour I was as slow as an old turtle.

We eventually made it to the other side of the Thames with the intention of having supper around there, maybe near the Eye, but we couldn't find anything and to make it worse, neither one of us was getting any data reception on our phones so we couldn't Google to see what was nearby.

We were both so frustrated that we chucked this idea, crossed back over the Thames again, and went to Caffé Concerto near Trafalgar Square. It was a late supper for us: after 6PM!

We had some energy left after supper, and while I can't remember exactly how my back was doing at this point, I was obviously able to walk because we decided to walk back to the hotel.

Trafalgar Square by night:

An interesting message in Leicester Square:

Piccadilly Circus as crowded as ever!

I would have loved a cocktail at the Ritz, but when we tried back in 2015 they turned us away because of our shoes. LOL 

I love this note on the neighbourhood maps at the bus stops: "Why not walk it if you can?"

By the time we reached Brompton Road around 830 (a late night for us!), we were fed up and decided to bus it the rest of the way. The 74 passes by every 10 minutes or so, so it's very convenient.

We saw one bus go by, but there was no way I would have been able to run for it in my condition. My mantra was: stay stable, no sudden movements, no rushing.

Then, we saw a litany of police cars drive by and the road emptied out. No busses, no cars, nothing. The cops had obviously stopped the traffic, but why? We soon found out as a pro-Palestine demonstration marched by.

Crap, now what? Do we wait, do we take the tube instead? (but we were not that close to a stop), do we walk the rest of the way? So hard to decide!!

We resolved to wait it out and it turns out it was the right thing to do because it was over rather quickly - maybe 10, 15 minutes and we didn't have to wait long for another 74 to show up once the street opened up to traffic again.

We were back in the room by 9 and I was a mess. My back seemed to spasm every time I opened the bathroom door, every time I sat on the toilet... and getting into bed? OMG. it was torture.  Frank put some of the Voltarin we bought for his leg on my back, but it didn't help at all.

Day 8 Map: