Travel with Kevin and Ruth: We did a quick tour, then got the heck out of there!

Thursday, August 17, 2023

We did a quick tour, then got the heck out of there!

Ruth and I have been to London many times, but of course this is the first time for our grandson Cameron (age 12). So it made sense to take in some of the more popular tourist attractions and sights even though Ruth and I have seen them before.

We left Max at the pub parking lot near Heathrow airport and walked the 20 minutes or so to the Elizabeth line tube station that should have taken us to Tottenham Court Road. But there was some kind of problem on the line.

The train only went as far as Paddington Station, so we had to transfer to the Bakerloo line and get off at Piccadilly Circus to do the walk to the British Museum.

Cameron and Ruth waiting for the train.

Made it to central London at about 10:30am, a little later than planned.

Notice the clear blue sky!

Chinatown.

We walked by the theater where they do the Harry Potter play.

Cameron would have loved to see the play but we simply don't have time. It's a two part play, and it takes up the better part of a full afternoon and evening.

Made it to the British Museum at 11:00am.

The British Museum is by donation only, so it's fairly busy. There was a bit of a lineup to get in, but it moved along pretty quickly.

It's a big museum and you could spend all day there, but we were there only to see the Egyptian section.

Turns out that was what everybody else was there to see as well!

The architecture of the building itself is interesting.

Cameron with the Human Headed Winged Lion.

Dated 865 BC.

The mummies.

It was too busy!

The whole area was too busy though. It wasn't enjoyable. I'm actually surprised they don't limit access to the main room because you could hardly move in there. The three of us all agreed that we were better off just wandering around outside. Especially since it was a beautiful day!

We did a quick tour, then got the heck out of there!

Back outside, Cameron had spotted an antique store, but it turned out to be a coin dealer. It was quite interesting and the guy spent quite a lot of time explaining things. He had a lot of ancient coins, some dating back two thousand years.

Then, we spotted a fossil shop. Cameron loves this kind of thing.

Lots of interesting rocks and fossils, and everything for sale.

Cameron bought himself a petrified shark's tooth.

London phone booth.

We walked down to the Thames River waterfront.

Cameron, arguing with a statue.

Scenery along the way.

We sat in this park and had some lunch.

Cameron decided there was a worthwhile tree to climb.

Just like a monkey.

Another statue moment.

I like the way the balconies were done on this building.

The Fire Monument.

We made it to the Fire Monument, which was built between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the rebuilding of the city after the great fire of 1666. There are 311 steps to climb to the top! It cost £6 per adult and £3 for Cameron. Ruth and I had been to the top in 2012, so Ruth stayed behind with the bags and Cameron and I set off up the steps...

Cameron, looking down from above.

Beautiful views of Tower Bridge.

Views in all directions.

You can see the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Shard and the Thames River.

Looking north.

Lots of interesting buildings.

We walked back down to the river and headed towards Tower Bridge.

Kevin and Cameron at the Tower of London.

Cameron loves the tourist gift shops!

Tower Bridge is so beautiful.

Especially on such a nice day!

We took a bus from there to Whitechapel area where we were meeting a friend. Saw this mural being painted...

We met Ambia at a coffee shop and spent a quick hour with her. Ambia was one of the people on our Mauritania trip last January and we've stayed in touch. If it all comes together, we'll be seeing her again in Turkmenistan in October, along with a few others from that Mauritania trip. We've all sent in our visa applications, now it's just a matter of waiting to see if we are all approved.

Ussie with Kevin, Ruth, Ambia, and Cameron.

From there, we hopped on another bus that took us to Hackney where Ruth's aunt lives. This is Ruth's father's youngest sister. She's in her late 70's now and is the only "older" relative left in Ruth's family.