Tina, boat ride and the eye

We were able to get tickets to see the play, Tina, about Tina Turner’s life. It was a great play. When the show was over and the cast had taken their bows, they sang 2 more songs and brought the house down. The woman who plays Tina is a good actress and has a great voice. She can really belt out those songs. When we left the theater we didn’t see any taxis around, but there were plenty of pedi cabs. So we took one. It had Tina’s music playing and was all lit up. It was my turn to pay for the ride, which turned out to be 60 pounds!! Guess I got a little carried away.
‘This morning we stayed in the room, repacking and had a late breakfast and then tried to check in for our flight tomorrow. First we had to pay for the extra bags we’re checking-2 for me and 1 for Bunny. Then we got checked in.
‘Then we left and got a taxi over to the area around The London Eye. It was pretty crowded. It was also pretty hot. It must have been in the 80’s. Of course I wore jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I figured it would be cold in London so I packed all my warm weather clothes. I was not going to dig through already packed suitcases to find shorts! So I was uncomfortable for a couple hours. We found a place to have a bit of lunch before our Thames River cruise. Our cruise was at 2:45. It was really pretty and cooler on the river. We first went by Big Ben and Parliament. Did you know the tower is actually called the Queen’s Tower and Big Ben is the bell inside that rings every quarter hour. Trivia fact for the day.
‘After seeing Parliament, we turned around and headed the other way. We went under a bridge that carries trains between two stations, the London Bridge, all the way to the Tower Bridge. There were so many people on the boat it was hard to get good pictures, but I managed. We then turned around and headed to the dock. We saw the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, where Princess Diana was married.
‘After the boat ride we tried to line up for the Eye but we were too early. They were very strict about what time slot could line up when. So we sat on a low wall in the shade and waited our turn. When we were lined up we were at least 2 blocks from the Eye. The line moved pretty quickly but it took 45 minutes to get to the ride. We got on our 4:15 ride at 5:00. They put about 10 people in each car so there is room to walk around and take pictures. It went so slowly, we didn’t know we were moving. It took around 30 minutes to go all the way around. A very nice ride even with a very rambunctious 2 year old running around. His poor father was being run ragged.
‘From the Eye, we walked to a bakery and shared an apple muffin. Bunny had iced cappuccino and I had a bottle of water. Then we got a taxi back to the hotel. The hotel is actually within walking distance -for younger people who aren’t worn out from 4 !/2 months touring. When we got back to the hotel, we asked the concierge to suggest a restaurant. The Italian place he called was booked, so he got us a table at a French Cafe, Chez Antionette. We weren’t really hungry after our muffin. Bunny ordered a bowl of French Onion Soup and I had Chicken Cordon Bleu, of which I only ate half. The food was good and the atmosphere was French. We walked back to the hotel and are watching There’s Something About Mary, an oldie but a goodie. All I need to do is put away today’s clothes, pack the toiletries and I will be good to go at 6:45 tomorrow morning. Our private car will be here to collect us and all our bags at 7:00. Our flight is at 11:40. The private car is courtesy of Viking. Pretty good deal.
‘Tomorrow will be a long day. We leave at 11:40 and get home at 2:30 only it will be 11 hours after we left. Thank heavens we are in Business class so we can stretch out and sleep on the non-stop flight on British Air.
Depending on my jet lag I will probably post one more time with some random photos and my thoughts on this trip of a lifetime.
‘Photos: Our hotel, the Conrad London St James, the doorman out in the street getting us a taxi to the theater. Got these out of order-this is the pub, Adam and Eve, where we had an early dinner. If the place is full, people just stand outside and drink. We managed to get a table in the back. Bunny’s fish and chips, another pub with a crowd outside, the Aldridge Theater, our pedicab, Westminster Abbey with lines from the cab window, Parliament, London Bridge, Tower Bridge. I also got a couple good shots of the Tower. I’ll include them tomorrow.