July 6

July 6 - London

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The Royal Horseguards Thistle Hotel

We rode into London on Chris’ way to work. We planned to spend the last three nights of our trip in the city, so Chris drove us in this morning. After less than an hour on the road from Camberly, we were in London driving by Buckingham Palace and some of the other central sites. The Royal Horseguard Thistle Hotel, where we stayed is part of the Thistle Hotel chain in Britain with over seventy hotels, several of which are in London. This location left us with a very favorable impression. We were conditioned that big cities like London and New York offer small rooms. However, upon checking in, we were offered a special in which we could upgrade to a small suite for twenty-five pounds per night. We elected to do so and enjoyed a spacious, well appointed room. (We took showers twice a day to enjoy the multiple-head shower enclosure.)

The rate we received at the Royal Horseguard, while the most expensive place we stayed during the two weeks, was by far a good value for a major city. Ellen followed Lisa’s tip when planning our itinerary and found the hotel on lastminute.com, the British equivalent of priceline.com.

After settling in our room, we hit the streets and soon decided to take a bus tour. There are a couple of double-decker bus companies rolling around the city. The one we chose, the Original Bus Tour, cost twenty-two pounds for each of us. For that, we received a ticket allowing us to hop on and off at designated stops for up to twenty-four hours. Our tour guide was witty and full of information. Again, narration of a tour provides information you might otherwise miss. For, example, you would walk right by Pudding Lane without knowing that was where the great fire of London began when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow… wait a minute… wrong city, wrong fire. No, here in London it was a careless baker who didn’t put out his oven fire. Who would think great fires were related to milk and bread?

That evening, we met school friends of Ellen’s living in London, who she has not seen for ages. Of course, everyone looked just as they did in high school. After drinks and catching up at the hotel, we took a stroll along the south bank of the Thames. The evening was cool and crisp. The summer weather in London can be delightful and I highly recommend this walk along the Thames from the London Eye north