7/8/16

Today, we started off with a walk toward the bus which was diverted by a little side trip to Herrod’s.  We had no intention of doing any shopping, but we really appreciated the architecture and the grandeur of the building.  The regular maps of London, the City Map, and the maps of the bus company did not match, so we got lost several times.  It was frustrating, but we made it to the bus, just to have to wait half an hour for the guided tour to commence.  It turned out to be a good tour, but with traffic, it is also frustrating that it takes so long.  We hopped off the bus mid-tour so that we could take a walking tour of the area where musicians were highlighted, especially the Beatles.  The walking tour was not easy to find, of course, but we finally found it.  The tour was okay, but lasted an hour and a half, and while I realize I know a lot about the Beatles, I found out that I know a lot more than most people.  I learned very little, but we got to see the studios and small clubs that the Beatles and other awesome musicians performed.

After the tour, we were very hungry and had a hard time finding a place that 1) served food at 3:00pm and 2) could meet the wants of both of us at a reasonable price.  After several stops and much frustration, we went with take-away or take-out from a Mediterranean place.  We took our lunches and tried to find our way back to the bus for the conclusion of the tour.  If you ever visit London, DO NOT try to get around with tour buses and rely on your ability to navigate maps.  Almost every street changes names at each block and most times, the streets aren’t even labeled.  We finally found the bus station and had to wait for at least 20 minutes for the next bus.  We ended up with the same tour guide as before the walking tour, which was good.  We liked him and he really did add some insight to the history of the city as we struggled through traffic.  We hopped off at the Tower of London, but were too late to take an actual tour.  We were able to walk around the grounds and take in the brilliance which is the Tower of London.  It has been one of our favorite sites thus far.  From there, we took the boat, which was also covered in the cost of the bus deal, to the London Eye.  The boat trip was pretty smooth, which was really a nice perk.

From the London Eye, we wanted to try to use the “tube”, which is London’s underground.  After much frustration, yet again, we finally got Oyster passes to get back to the hotel.  Most of the frustration came from the fact that the machines either did not work or they declined our cards because they did not have the “chip” in them.  We really feel as though the public transportation should not just cater to people with cutting edge technology, especially when there are so many flaws with their own machines. 

Anyway, we ended up having a nice evening eating our left-overs from lunch and then we headed out to the little neighborhood right by our hotel.  We met a really nice Swedish fellow names David, who is studying to be a teacher in England.  We had a great time talking Harry Potter, beer, and movies with David and then we headed in for the night.  We hope to have a better experience tomorrow in actual London through using the “tube” in lieu of the bus. J