Sergio's

London - Thursday!

It seems hard to believe its Thursday! It seems so long since they went to Queenie's but its been great! 

Today has been a real all round tour! Not quite planes, trains and automobiles but it was feet, tubes and trains!

They started by wandering down New Bond Street! The jewellery district.....all the shops have very expensive window displays with a very large, scary man standing just inside the door or on the street! He is usually 6 foot plus and is in a sharp suit and has an earpiece! They are so bored they listen to the radio all the time! 

We did wonder about trying to walk in....but felt we would probably not get our feet over the threshold!  

At the bottom of the street we came to The Burlington Arcade. This is one of the narrow, covered arcades filled with very expensive goods which would be lost on us! Most are quite small and sella diverse range of goods! Jewellery (some of its not even NEW!!!!) shirts, pens, leather goods, more old jewellery, watches and even dressing gowns! They too often have. Guard on the door and the young girls inside are ALL on their phones! It amazes us that the rates these shops must pay - how do they make money with no one in them and the assistants playing on the phone while the door stops prevent people from even entering!

After this it was of to Fortnum and Mason's! Tis is what Harrods should be like! They don't believe in packing the shelves high and lots of garish items everywhere! They follow the minimalist model....and they have their items laid out serenely for you to look at! All the items are laid out on a selection of old tables, F&M baskets and posh stands! They have a number of different cafes and eateries and they all look like you would need to be a 'lady that lunches' to fit in!

Anyway, now it was off to the river again via Trafalgar Square! I got some photos taken on a post again and the lion was too busy for me to get up! It was then down to the river. They walked along the north bank until they got to the Millennium Bridge and they crossed once again! From their it was on down the south bank from where they stopped the other day! Hays Galleria is very nice and was thrilled with people but they couldn't find somewhere to have lunch to suit them both! So off they went again! Past the Golden Hind, the HMS Belfast and then past Boris' office block next to Tower Bridge! You are surrounded by a vast array of new high rises here - the London Mayors Offices, new tower blocks and of course The Shard! You could see it from everywhere! A stunning building which rises majestically into the sky unlike any of the others! 

Beyond Tower Bridge they found more modern developments. This whole area has been rejuvenated in such a spectacular way that the 'old' Clink Jail from the 1800's is now one of the 'in' areas! They had lunch and then made it back to Tower Bridge and crossed over! It was hoaching with people with every second person taking either large family group photos or obviously bad 'selfies'!! 

So, once they crossed they were going to go on a self guided Harry Potter tour when she said.....'Aren't we going to the O2?'

So...it was BACK across Tower Bridge so they cold go BACK to Hay's Galleria to get the tube station! So, we were off on the tube again! It amazes me how deep under ground these trains rattle about! They went down two very long escalators and they were tempted to slide down the slope between the escalators! However, a few rather large obstructions carefully placed at regular intervals put that thought right out of their minds! You could do it once....but it would include a free ride in an ambulance too!

So...off to the O2! Would it be better than the Olympic Park? Would you see more? Wold you get access?

Well...the answer was yes to them all! However, you could not get in to see the arena! That was what they wanted to see! However, it is an impressive venue and the sheer size of it really needs to be seen to be believed! The dome is 365m in diameter - 1m for every day of the year! There are 12 VAST pylons supporting the canvas style dome - one for every month of the year! You can now even walk OVER the dome! It looked quite a steep climb and would have been good fun! They ventured in and they walked round the outer perimeter of the inside of the dome. The vast array of food outlets takes your breath away. You can imagine on a concert night that the 24000 spectators would be milling round these places looking for somewhere to eat! But for now it was quite quiet and the restaurants were all very quiet! The busy days when concerts are on must make up for days like today!

From the dome they continued round to the Emirates cable car. The cable car rose from ground level to soar high above The Thames - three vast columns rose high into the sky and supported a narrow cable carrying a large number of hanging boxes that glided through the sky to the other side of the river. The approach was very quiet....but when you arrived there the queue was quite long! In groups you were taken up to the station and you entered the car. A private car would have cost £86 - and on our way there we thought we might be lucky to be there when it was quiet and get a car all to ourselves! No such luck! We were in with 6 other people! A group of three people Linda had feverishly hoped would be in a different car and a cole with a young child  - who continually noted at her mother to take photos of EVERYTHING or continually asked....what's that.....what's that.....what's that??

The mother was obviously a bit of a photographer and she proceeded to jump about the car taking photos which meant it was impossible for him to get any decent photos or to let me out to get a photo taken! 

As the car crossed the river you got great views of so many different things! Canary Wharf and all it's tower blocks! The Shard.....despite being at least 3 or 4 miles away still stretched high in to the sky dwarfing towers far closer! We got great views of the dome, London City Airport, Olympic Park and ......a beach....yes.....a man made beach! Oh.....and a rubbish recycling dump and a series of barges having tonnes of sand being unloaded to be used in one of the countless building sites that are all round the city! Everywhere you look new building are springing up or others are being gutted and renovated!

The journey was great and was over in matter of minutes! Now it was off to the next railway station to take the DLR back to central London! The overland train took us past The Dome (although it was across the river), Canary Wharf and Tower Hamlets!

So, once off the train it was back to walking! From the Tower of London it was back up The Strand and  Fleet Street and on to Covent Garden and China Town and Soho! This was the real Soho....and some of the shops seemed very odd! So odd that they did not have any window displays at all and some even seems to offer the chance to see ladies dancing!! Linda just tutted and they seemed to speed up for a while!!

Eventually after having walked over 10 miles again they were back t the hotel. It was almost 6 a d they booked a table a the restaurant across from the hotel for their dinner at 8!!

Sergio's is an Italian restaurant that is always busy! The walls. A d it's Facebook page, are adorned with. Photos of the celebrity's that regularly visit to have lunch or dinner! The fat it is so close to the. BBC must help it draw these people in! They had an excellent meal and threatened to take me to see if I could get my photo taken to be displays beside the others! That would have been fun!

Anyway, last day tomorrow and then my hols are over! It has been oh so short.....I really want to become a full time travelling bear! Anyone want to give me a job as a travel correspondent? Let me know!

Trafalgar!

It's was a buy place...but I thought I could do another post from here!!

Posts are very handy for Facebook!

Poor old Nelson! That big chicken is going to have him! Could be the second battle of Trafalgar!

The O2!

I could not find the oxygen anywhere at the O2!

Very big....but I wanted to see the arena!

On your bike!

I could get used to this! But I'd need adapted handle bars and foot rests! Where can I get a crash helmet??

Oh...it's a Harley!! 

Journey back from the O2!

I enjoyed my train journey! I got to look out the window! Far better than the underground! Not much view! Glad I'm not a mole!!

The O2 and the Emirates Cable Car!

They went all the way to the O2 today after lunch beside Tower Bridge! It's vast - but again you don't get to see much!! But it was good fun!!

Then we took the cable car across a big river! I think they crossed the river 4 times today!

Dim Sum??

I'm in China Town! Very close to the REAL Soho! They take me to all the inappropriate places! I had to keep my eyes closed! 

London - Wednesday! (And TWO 'almost famous' people seen!)

So today was a strange day for me! The excitement of Olympic Park soon dissipated when they realised they could not get anywhere near the good stuff and it meant that they would spend most of the day shopping at the huge new Westfield Shopping Centre next to the park!

The day began with a trip to Leicester Square to look for tickets for a show tonight. The queue was quite short but there was not a huge selection at the TKTS booth! After some deliberation they played safe and went for 'Chorus Line' - as it sounded good and as it is at The Palladium it is very easy for them to get to!

So, from there it was off to Tottenham Court Road Tube Station! It's was a walk up Charring Cross Road, past one or two very dubious shops, to get to the station. After figuring out the machine, and almost buying tickets for two imaginary children as well (see they do miss L & K!) they were off! The tube train was packed initially and they eventually got a seat! Eventually they made it to Stratford. The new station, far more spacious and modern than any of the others, was vast and was the meeting point of tube trains, buses and normal trains! The new shopping centre was right next to it! But they were on a mission to go to the Olympics! But alas, this was soon dashed as a man told them there really was not much to see or get into and if hey wanted to see it....go into John Lewis and go up to the top floor where they have a viewing area!

Oh joy I thought! No run round the track, no swim in the pool like I did in Sydney and no chance to get on my bike at the velodrome! But instead I had a day of......shopping to look forward to! 

So....after a few ours of shopping, and getting excited at the possibility of 'pulling a bear' they were off once more on the train to Oxford Circus! They made it back to the hotel for a rest and then set off once more for a look up Oxford Street and surrounding area! 

Now, it was at this point that they saw the first 'known' person they have seen! Having sat and had a coffee at Starbucks just beside the BBC two people came walking down! And....one of them was Aled Haydn Jones!! Yes.....it was!  No......not the guy who sang about snowmen! This was one of the producers from the now defunct Chris Moyles Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 1! Even Linda remembered who he was......"Was he the gay one?" She asked! (Sorry Aled!!!)

S....after the excitement it was back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and the theatre! Soon they were off....and guess what they did not even get ME a ticket! (#%€{$$!!) 

So...I was back to room service and the TV once again! 

They said the show was very good but not the best they have seen! The main lead was a guy who used to be in Eastenders! John Partridge, who played Christian ( the gay guy who married his partner) {There's a theme here??} was in the lead role - but spent most of his time performing from the back of the theatre!!

So, they were back after 10 and once more he disappeared to get bottles of water for surfing the night as it so hot and a cup of coffee!

Tomorrow? I feel more shops coming on! But I think they are heading for the Burlington Arcade, Fortnum and Mason, Trafalgar Square and then on to the south bank once again and along to Tower Bridge! Then on the way back they are going to do a 'Harry Potter' walk of some of the places featured in the films! What are they like!!

Anyway, more tomorrow hopefully!

Movie Fame!

This morning I went to Leicester Square while they were getting tickets for the theatre! I went to the cinema and there was NO red carpet for me!

Cut!!!!!  

Pull a Bear!

Well, I really thought my luck was in! A meeting place for bears looking for love! But, at first I did think it was a little tactless! "Pull a Bear"!! However, he pointed out it was "Pull AND Bear"! 

So....that feeling of excitement did not last long! But..there's a thought.....perhaps I need to design an app for lonely bears to find love? 

What could I call it....certainly not "Pull A Bear"! 

How about: Bear Necessities?  Bearly a Thought?    Bears Together?  Bears R Us?

I will work on it!

Coffee Stop!

So...who doesn't get a cake? I'm guessing its me - as usual! Why can't they remember there are THREE on this trip! 

They look fine as well!

Damn!

Olympic Non-Park!

Well, after a tube journey out to Statford this was as close as was worth getting to the Olympic Park! Felt sorry for the families wondering round the outside with children looking for a way in! You'd either need to be a food pole vaulter or a high jumper to get in!

NO Gold Medal

Well, what a disappointment! We saw Olympic  Park from the upstairs window of John Lewis! 

No gold medal for getting close!

Gold Medal?

I'm off to Olympic Park - oh and a big shopping centre!!

Ted's Postcard!

Smile!

Tuesday's Pics!

London - Tuesday

They had a long day today! Away by 9am and back to the hotel by 5.30! The day included tea at Buck House and a visit to the south bank and well over 10 miles of walking!

Linda had wanted to go back to Buckingham Palace - and they thought if they got their early they would get straight in! Well, they walked from the hotel to the Palace and got tickets for the 10am tour. They queued for their tickets - £19 each and Queenie wasn't even there! They were not allowed to wait where the entry to the palace was so they went back round to the top of The Mall. I got my photo taken by the front of the palace while they waited! So...eventually it was time to enter! You enter by a series of marquees round by the side of the palace front. Of course.....you have to go through the airport style security and through the metal detector! No mobiles allowed on, no cameras out and NO photos until after you are out and into the gardens at the rear!

They took the audio headsets this time - and they said it could take 2 hours if you really took your time! They did the state room tour! You start at the great entry all, visit a range of state rooms, the gallery and the investiture room. Each rom is different and is extremely opulent as you would expect! If anything the roof of each room was as much interest than the rest of the room. Each had very intricate plaster work with elaborately painted patterns in gold and a myriad of other colours.

Additional exhibits were on show to tie in with Queenies Diamond Jubilee. You saw the dresses and costumes worn at the coronation, a selection of the jewellery and crowns worn by the peers and even the outfits worn by Prince Charles and Princess Anne as children.

By the end of the 19 rooms you file through you end up out in the back garden. Here they have set up a rather plush cafe on the palace terrace and charge ridiculous prices for a cup of tea or coffee in a paper cup! But, you have to do it!

Then....oh yes.....the shop! You can't leave without going to the shop! Every bit of Royal tat you cold think of...including a range of bears in costume! How ridiculous!

After getting one or two Christmas Presents they were off again! They trailed through Belgravia and Knightsbridge and up Sloane Sreetvon their way to Harrods! You could spot all the well heeled people wandering about and the streets were full of Jags, Rollers, Bentleys and even a number of Aston Martins!! (Porsche's did not even make the list as there were so many!) In one car showroom hidden in the middle of KnIghtsbridge among the Bentleys and Rollers was a Bugati Veyron! He was keen to go in and ask how much it would be with a trade in and if they could test drive it....but Linda just pulled him off!

So.....round Harrods and they thought they would buy some fruit salad for lunch to eat in Hyde Park - well, they won't do that again!

After a bit of a rest in the park they were off again on their travels! Out of the park and through Green Park to the palace once more and then down the Mall and into St James Park and through to Horse Guards! Andrew thought Linda was going to have a fit when they bought a small cone with a flake and got no more than a small squirt of ice-cream on the cone! This did not go down well.....well it did.....but they wanted more for their money!

From Horse Guards it was off along Whitehall to Parliament and then across Westminster Bridge to the South Bank! After eventually getting a toilet in MacD's beside The Eye they continued down the south bank to the Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge! On their way down their they bumped into a lady who had been on their bus tour to California last year! They chased after her and after an awkward conversation for 5 minutes they were off once again!

The Millennium Bridge was interesting and we shoogled our way across! I got my photo taken with The Shard in the background! Then it was off the bridge and up to St Paul's! They continued right along The Strand and Fleet Street, via Temple Church which featured in The Davinci Code, to Leicester Square, Covent Garden and then Piccadilly Circus! From there it was up Regent Street to Oxford Street and back to the hotel! They have sore feet tonight and I have a sore back! Well, you imagine being bent double in a camera bag all day!

Tonight it will be out for a meal and another walk about! Tomorrow? Well, they are not sure! It might be Olympic Park and the Westfield Shopping Centre!

So....check out my photos soon from today!

Ted!!

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Having a great time!

Me....on the Millennium Bridge looking at the Shard!

Tea with the Queen!

Well, I came for tea and she's not even here! That's nae very nice!! AND I had to go round in the bag!!

Ready to go see the Queen!!

Ok....transport organised! Let's go!!!

London August 2013

So, I'm off once again! Having missed the last trip due to one of the idiots forgetting me (old age!!) I'm finally on the road again! It's been a year since my last outing so I am delighted to escape once again!

So....it's London this year! Just as well just in case we go independent and I can't get here without a passport or a dark piece of hand luggage to stow away in!

So...they were off early this morning to Kemnay so they could get a lift in to the airport! He was a bit worried checking in....buying tickets for BA from 'cheap-o-air' seemed a bit of a risk! But it worked a dream and they were soon in departures - yes......you guessed having tea and a latte!

The flight was quite uneventful....and the plane was quite empty! The flight over London was interesting despite low cloud and a blooming wing! But they came in over Wembley and then right over central London with views of the Tower, Buck House, Parliament, The Eye and two football grounds - Stamford Bridge and Fulham!

After landing and getting their luggage it was quite straightforward getting an underground ticket and on to the tube! 16 stops all the way to Piccadilly! You would think that as this particular line goes all the way to Heathrow they would have carriages that people with luggage would possibly be able to feel comfortable in! Having two suitcases and two pieces of hand luggage makes for an awkward sit when the the aisle is quite narrow!

So..through all the stations....including Knightsbridge and South Kensington - although the people getting on did not look very 'Sloan-Ish'! Having got off at Piccadilly and guessing which exit to leave buy they made it out into the middle of the circus! Neon lights and lots of cameras! They set off walking up Regent's Street until the rain came on and they got a taxi to take them the rest of the way!

The hotel is nice...but NO free wifi! It's next. To the new BBC London HQ and is very nice! They packed while he rain POURED and then once it was off went on a stroll down Oxford Street and down to Liberty! After that it was Carnaby Street and Soho before ending up in Garfunkel's for dinner!

Tomorrow.....if dry....it is up early and off to see the Queen's house and then Knightsbridge and Regent's Park before heading down to see the PM and Parliament!

 

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Coffe!

Well, at least they took me back a coffee from their walk!

Hotel is nice though!

BBC Audition

Went in past the BBC tonight! I asked for an audition but they said they already had Sooty and Paddington on the books! Well, as its round the corner I can try again tomorrow!

In the BIG city!

Made it! Easy journey - mind you when you're stuck in hand luggage not much se you can do!

Hotel nice - been done up since last visit! Off out now to explore - in the rain!! :-(

I'm off!

Well, I think I'm safe this time! I'm sitting by the cases ready to go! But it's another undercover travel journey! I wish I had my own passport! Hope to update as I go!! Keep an eye out!!

Summer 2013

Well, I'm hoping I'm off next week....to sunny Mallorca! Then, in August I'm hoping to go to London for a few days!

I just hope I manage to get into the case or the hand luggage!!they have been very quiet about my going on the trips!

I might need to do a Paddington and just stow away so that I am there regardless of their views!

Keeping my paws crossed! Post soon!

 

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