Category: Europe 2011

We’ve been noticing signs on the side of the road in Scotland, Wales and England advertising roads closed for the Tour of Britain for weeks but have not met them till today, their final stage like it was for us in Paris with Le Tour. We hired our own cycles from the city hire scheme and set off for our last stage, which because we are a little slower, will take a week. The Queen was still in bed when we passed Buckingham Palace and I don’t think she’d be too pleased with the number of people wandering around her yard. Westminster Abbey had a big queue so we headed through St James’s Park – I was in trouble from Sharon for riding in the Queen’s garden – then played a little Monopoly through Pall Mall, Mayfair and Bond Street. Into Marylebone, we stood outside a couple of houses Boswell lived in when in London. One is now a hair restoration clinic, the other the Polish Embassy! The hair clinic was around the corner from Harley Street. I wonder if they charge the same? Have to ask Warnie.

In Regent’s Park, at No 15 Cumberland Terrace, I stood outside the house Mary Lewis was nabbed for taking laundry that wasn’t hers. She certainly picked a nice area of town as the catalyst to begin her new life across the seas.

We found Cafe Lantana that Tom is planning to work at and it was very busy with tables full and a queue of 15 in the street waiting to get in. With dozens of other eateries nearby, it was a good sign. We got a couple of photos of the street for you, Tom.

We made our way to Covent Garden and wandered through the markets. We came across a bride about to enter the church. She looked anxious and was nervously adjusting her dress. She looked at me looking at her and I smiled and said, “You look lovely,” and she seemed to relax and said in her sweet English voice, “Oh, Thank you.”

We had a drink on a boat in the Thames and found another bike to ride home. The skies were heavy which soon developed into heavy rain for the ride back to Chelsea. Twenty kilometres and one day down!

We dropped the car off without too much drama and seeing we were early to check into the apartment, dragged ourselves across Hyde Park, past the joggers and loungers and strollers, past the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall – where was Eric Clapton and Cream? – to South Kensington where we refreshed with a coffee. From there, just a short stroll to our apartment which is quite comfortable. We strolled down the Kings Road for the essentials, a bakery, a supermarket, some wine and a bike hire station. Sharon found a few dress shops. Are they wants or needs? We prepared a a plan of attack to hit the ancient city, I just hope the ancient legs are up to it. We should burn a little fat this week if they are.

Jo’s mum took us on a tour of Sherborne, where her husband worked, the fields named in his honour and to the castle, which has lovely grounds. “It’s a ghastly building,” she said. We had fun in Sherborne. Stonehenge was on the route so we pulled in for a quick look. Impressive. We stayed at Windsor, not the castle, and walked, in the dark, down a country lane to a pub for dinner. The glow of the  London lights were in the distance. I’m not sure of prospects for internet for the next week while we are in London so this blog might be a bit irregular in that time. See you all soon.