Our final full day in London and my food memories got the better of me. I introduced the girls to the McVities Chocolate Digestives and the Jammie Dodger. I’m going to struggle to expand everyone’s taste beyond the Jammie Dodger now – they appear to be hooked. Clearly they don’t realise how many other delicacies are available!
One of the great features of Earl’s Court is the real Dr Who tardis. Don’t believe me? Just check it out on Google Maps and see what happens when you go inside. If only it was available to transport us to and from Brisbane!
We started the day with a walk through Hyde Park on the way to Marble Arch. Alex took the opportunity to chase an unsuspecting squirrel through the park, while the rest of us enjoyed watching the locals walk their dogs and go for a run – it’s been great to see so many active people despite the cold.
We hit Marble Arch and Oxford St at about 9:30. It was astounding to see London’s main shopping street 3 days before Christmas absolutely deserted – seems that ‘extended’ trading hours here still only mean 11:30 – 6 on a Sunday. Brisbane could learn from this! Regardless, this gave a nice opportunity to browse the Xmas windows.
We headed off to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, past the Australian War Memorial. This was a lovely understated memorial, featuring the names of all the towns that Australian soldiers have originated from, and all the wars that they have fought in. A proud Aussie moment.
The Changing of the Guard was interesting, with so much pomp and ceremony. I don’t think the Christmas repetoire from the marching band was a regular occurrence, but it was a lovely addition. Despite being pretty close to the front it was difficult to see everything and get good photos – plenty of shots of other people’s cameras, back of heads and iron bars, but the skill of our cameraman shone through. Still, great to see and an essential London experience.
Off again… this time to the Globe Theatre. This replica of the theatre where Shakespeare’s plays would have been performed was like a step back in time. It’s open air, timber with a thatched roof… and therefore not used in Winter! Tickets in ‘The Yard’ (standing area in front of the stage) were 1p in the 1600s, earning the poorer people who stood there the title of ‘Penny Stinkards’. Today, it costs 5 pounds to stand in the Yard – not bad value! The rich people would sit above the stage when possible – terrible seats, but the opportunity to be seen!
Over the Millenium Bridge to St Paul’s Cathederal. Unfortunately, the Cathedral is closed for tours on a Sunday, but we were able to stand at the back and get some perspective on the size and magnificence of the building. Amazing that it survived the bombing in the war, considering how large it would have been compared to the buildings around it.
Final stop for the day was back at Oxford St. By 4pm the crowds were well and truly out and making the most of Christmas shopping. There seems to have been a lot of media about sales starting early, so while big discounts have been the norm for retailers in Australia, it seems the UK retailers are only just catching on.
Our quest to find Santa for the annual Santa photo continued. While Santa in Australia becomes a full-time fixture (read: money-making opportunity) in every department store from mid-November, it seems the British are much more considerate of his busy schedule! We found him walking through the children’s department of Selfridges, so this will have to be the 2013 photo!
And with that, our whirlwind tour of London is complete. We’ve had a fabulous time, seen everything we wanted to, and left plenty for another trip.
Love to all, M & theBunch xx
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