Tower Bridge

7/05

W was tired and woke up late. We got going by 11 and went straight to St Paul's cathedral. It was closed for the morning and we waited till it opened. We shouldn't have bothered. It was undergoing renovations and the price of admission was 7 pounds. There was scaffolding inside that covered the carvings on the wall. I didn't understand why they wanted to charge us admission. Felt like they were ripping tourists.

We walked up the Millenium bridge that crosses the Thames. I believe the first time they unveiled it, the bridge shook and almost came down. It had to be redesigned before they opened it to the public. On the other side of the bridge is Tate Modern, a museum containing displays of contemporary art. We spent some time there and then walked on the Queen's path that runs along the Thames. On the way we crossed the Shakespeare Globe Theatre that has been renovated recently. We went past London Bridge, picked up lunch, and made our way to the Tower of London. On the way we got great photographs of the Tower Bridge. W was so tired, she decided she couldn't walk anymore and sat down on a bench. I moved on, but when I got to the Tower of London, the huge lines of crowds and its steep admission price dissuaded me from entering. Instead I walked on the bridge and retraced my steps back to where W was resting. On the way, I turned around and saw that the bridge was opening to let a yatch through. Got a nice pic.

We took the tube and got off at South Kensington. We went to the Natural History Museum. Superb building. You can spend hours in the courtyard just admiring the building from outside. We spent some time there and then made our way to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

You cannot cover the museums in one day. You have to see each section at a time and then take a break and come back another day. Tight on time, we couldn't afford to do that. Instead we picked some sections and walked through some exhibits.

Harrods beckoned next and I guess W was most excited about it. Harrods is owned by the man whose son was dating Princess Diana at the time of her death in Paris. There is a memorial dedicated to them on the ground floor of the massive store. It was crammed with tourists. We walked around and went to the food hall that has exquisite displays of anything you would ever want to treat your palate to. Bought some souveneirs and they were expensive too. W thought it was worth it.

W was really tired. We had coffee and then took the tube back to my cousins. We had to return to Oxford to my aunts later. My cousin cooked us dinner and dropped us off at the bus station. We took the bus and returned back to Oxford in time for bed.