We landed in London after a 5 hour and a bit flight. The 787 wasn't quite full and we were lucky enough to have to an empty seat beside us to put a few things on. The crew served a delicious supper at ten then turned off the cabin lights. The seats though were uncomfortable and cramped and we had only a few hours of sleep at the best before they turned the lights back on and welcomed us to Europe with a coffee and scrunchy cake. We were off quickly and headed right to the Underground at Heathrow to our first AirBnB, 30 Olive Road in Pleistow, Londons east end.
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| 30 Olive Road, Pleistow, London |
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| near Victoria Station |
The next morning we headed into the city to sightsee, taking the Underground to Westminster Station where we began our walk about the old city, starting at Westminster Bridge to pause at the spot where four people had died at the hands of a Muslim terrorist the week before. Crossing back to Westminster, past the Houses of Parliament, we followed the Thames walks east toward London Bridge, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, St Pauls' Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge, the Tate Gallery, Drakes Golden Hind and back west towards the London Eye, the giant bicycle wheel that dominates the skyline across from Big Ben. We stopped along the way at parks profuse with flowers and the odd memorial or statue, ate Beef and Kidney pie at a small but busy market we stumbled upon, searched for Shakespearean relics along the stoney beach near the Globe Theatre and became part of the hordes of young people, bicyclists and tourists enjoying the hot, sunny early spring weather. Then back on the Underground to Canning Town and an early night in anticipation of our bus ride to Canterbury the next morning.
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| Kipling House, birthplace of Francis Bacon and later Rudyard Kipling |
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| Victoria Embankment Gardens |
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| Outside St Paul's Cathedral |
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| Tower Bridge |
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| Tower of London |
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| HMS Belfast |
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| Tate Modern Gallery |
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| admiring a Louise Bourgeois piece |
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| 3 views of London from the Tate Gallery |
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| beachcombing on the Thames River |
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| The London Eye |
London was amazing and a city that hasn't yet been knocked down by those who wish to impart their way of life on the British. We saw first hand what uncontrolled immigration and open borders has done to this jewel of an island and I truly fear for the future of our way of life. I truly believe that our tolerance today will mean our demise tomorrow. When the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, can say that terror attacks are part of living in a big city I say to him: no, we will not accept this way of thinking and I, along with the majority, will not bow down to the sword of Islam.
gws
