Did you know you can wear the same pair of pajama's for 6 weeks. ( I promise they did get washed when ever we had a wash machine but sometimes it was a lot longer than I liked but - I survivied).
Two towels can be used for a week. ( Couldn't wash any because the machines were too small and they would not have dried ....) I was sure ready to get to some fresh towels by the time I left.
If I made this trip again I would travel with one small suitcase - not two. You can wear the same clothes over and over and over and over again. Nobody cares. Not even your traveling campanions - At least I don't think they minded. ( I did get tired of Sharon's orange stripped shirt but please don't let her know. Oh and her black sweater, I'm really tired of that too. Now that I think about it I'm tired of a lot of her clothes!) I don't think she coordinate her outfits like I did - black slacks, a black and white stipped shirt; black slacks , a black and white stipped shirt with a white scarf; black slacks and a white and black stripped shirt with a bue and white sweater. ( OK so that wasn't such a good look but it kept me warm! and changed up the outfit. Brought back memories of the military, wearing the same thing day after day. It was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Two pair of shoes is more than enough as long as one pair is a big ugly pair of good walking shoes and another pair to let your feet breath on occasion.
People are so nice everywhere you go! All you have to do is ask. I don't read maps, I have no sense of direction, but I found everyone is willing to help a sexy, beautifull blonde, or a 69 year old woman from North Carolina. ( Of course they may have known I was one of the beauitful women from Iona and thus went overboard to help me.)
One can get used to instant coffee.
Four women can share a bathroom with no problem if they have to.
OK. So much for lessons learned. Now my reflections of London.
In the old days when I was young I spent 2 to 3 weeks in London every year. It was a fabulous city and I could hardly wait to return. It really did not disappoint. I only wish I had not been sooooo tired by the time we arrived. It's such a wonderful walking city and is really the only way to truly capture the essense of it. I did note some changes from when I was here last which was more than 22 years ago.
The skyline is so changed - so much building going on. Giant, modernistic buildings going up everywhere.
The old:
The new:
I read that house prices in London continue to race ahead with the quarterly Nationwide House Price Index showing that at the end of March they had risen 18.2 percent over a 12 month period. Almost double the UK average. As we walked around we saw block after block of renovations taking place.
Restaurants were all over. When I was here those many years ago there were so few just casual restaurants. it was a pub or maybe you coud find a little restaurant if you really looked. Now they are everywhere. Although not cheap there are certainly some alternatives to the very high end restaurants that are in abundance in this city.
Cabs were only black! Now they are pink, red, and blue. They are the same taxi style for the main but a few other styles are creeping in.
There is a plethora of Chinese, Indian, and Thai resaurant throughout the UK. Italian is also a favorite
We took a walk to St James Square and looked around the neighborhood where I used to stay. Brought back a lot of memories.
In front of 22 St James Square.
The park for use by the residents of the square or anyone else who wanted to use I think.
I think it was little busier than I remember it.
I am going to get back to finishing up my UK journey one of these days, I have a few spots I want to include on my blog so maybe tomorrow while riding the train to Amsterdam I can finish up. I just had to write this while it's fresh in my mind.
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