June 9 - Making the Most of our Last Day in London

Weather report - The rain stopped and the sun graced us with its presence today.   

Right now it is 20:00 and it is twilight.

Portobello Road Market - Notting Hill

Nancy and I burrowed into the Underground for a trip to the Portobello Road Saturday Market, with a combination of portable stalls, permanent shops and arcades full of antiques, souvenirs, and food.  The market stretches four long blocks on both sides of the street and down some side streets. They haven't banned cars from the area yet, so it's a jumble of sprinting tourists and honking horns.  Two of the blocks are open for traffic on these narrow streets, plus sidewalks are narrow and uneven.  Now add a car or two every few minutes. We had a great lunch at Gail's about midway down the market, then shouldered our way back to the tube.

One stop of many and many and many.  Pretty interesting stuff over-all.

Some would say it was a pilgrimage.

 

River Cruise

After another trip to the underworld, we arrived at the Westminster Pier for a river cruise to Greenwich.  We enjoyed the narrated tour first to the Tower of London, then on to Greenwich.  We walked past the Old Royal Naval College to the Trafalgar Tavern, the spot Dickens used as the setting for the wedding breakfast in Our Mutual Friend.  Then it was off to find the "line" marking the prime meridian.  The only sign marking the meridian is at the observatory at the top of a very steep hill.  We estimated that the line was close to the gas station we passed at the Trafalgar Street intersection.

Views from the Thames River

Big Ben and the Parliament Building

The Tower of London

They are filming a James Bond movie.  The camera is on the nose of the helicopter.

The pilot just cleared the flag poles.  Watch for us in the movie.

The Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich.  I am sure after a few pints it is Greenwich happy time.  We sat in the same spot that C. Dickens sat, maybe.

Trafalgar Square

We went to Trafalgar Square to take photos and to have dinner at the Crypt at St. Martin-in-the-Field church. The food was excellent, after you get over the fact that you're walking on someone's tomb.  One of the galleries had an exhibition of portraits called 100 Faces of London.

Tomorrow we fly to Dublin for the last leg of our adventure.  Hope everything fits in our suitcase!

Trafalgar Square