London Revisited

Scott had business that took him back to London so we decided to make a long weekend out of it. This time we had absolutely glorious weather, bright sunshine and warm temperatures. What a treat!
We were in London for the final weekend of the Para-Olympics so there were lots of visitors and venues scattered around. Whilst we didn't actually go to any of the events, the marathon passed within a block or so of our hotel. Scott was out on a picture taking walk and was able to capture some photos of the athletes as they raced by.

Parliament and Big Ben

We toured Parliament and also visited the Churchill War Rooms on this trip, as well as one of the museums: The Tate Britain. And then there was the dinner that we are still talking about 3 weeks later!

In the morning we set out for Parliament Scott asked the concierge to make a reservation for us at a good British restaurant. We didn't want anything that required formal attire, but we did want to sample good British food. As it turned out, our concierge made our reservation at The Goring Hotel Restaurant. Most Yanks won't recognize the name, but the Brits know the name quite well. This hotel is a block or two from Buckingham Palace and rooms start at about f500/night and go up from there. In US money that's about $800 and up. Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, stayed here the night before her wedding to Prince William. The restaurant was a favourite of the Queen mum (Queen Elizabeth's mother) and we were told she used to pop over for dinner regularly.

Needless to say, the food was fantastic! Scott enjoyed the Lemon Dover Sole while I sampled the Beef Wellington. Can't get much more British than that!
Scott did take pictures of the sights in London. Hope you enjoy the photos!

The Tate Britain Art Museum

Scott and "Stalin" at the Tate

Westminster Abbey

Para-Olympic Marathon

Regent Street close to the Oxford Circus (In Britain a "circus" is a traffic circle. No comment.) This is one of the prime retail shopping areas in London. Harrod's is not here, but nearly every designer shop you can think of is here, along with 3 very large department stores. 

Trafalgar Square

Entrance to the Tower of London

The Tower of London

The London Eye across the Themes

Well, after a fun long weekend in London we returned home. The weather here has taken a turn with high temperatures in the 50's, and rain at some point nearly every day. Our days are much shorter now as well with sunrise after 7 a.m. and sunset about 12 hours later. We are told that by mid-December we will have about 5 hours of daylight each day. Yes, we really are that far north! Despite the weather and the shorter days, we are definitely still enjoying our adventure. This weekend we are heading south, to Barcelona actually. There we are boarding a cruise ship bound for 2 stops in the French Riviera and 3 stops in Italy, including a stop for Rome, before we return to Barcelona. We are both excited to enjoy some warmth and sunshine while we explore new parts of the world.