Favorite Markets

We came to London with a list of places we wanted to visit...

Like the Dover Street Market my daughter had read about online.















We stopped for a snack at Rose Bakery. It had lots of yummy desserts.

I especially enjoyed places we just happened upon!















Like the Covent Garden Market, near the Covent Garden tube [subway] station.













 

It had small interesting shops, like this colorful candy shop...















Pleasant places to sit and eat and listen to music.















We discovered a great meat pie place...















... Even their vegetarian pie was delicious!















It's nice when sunny weather makes exploring so much fun!

Couldn't Help But Take a Picture!

I love to travel... to see new things!

Here are a few I just had to take pictures of during my recent holiday in Britain!














Like the front of a bus... with the driver's seat on the right!


















I did a double-take when I walked under this sign ... a load hanging from a hoist!!














These two dogs made me smile. The one made of boxes...

... and the one standing overhead on the side of a wall!














Here are some confusing signs... Not sure what kind of doctor has a museum practice!














Diversion? We would say "detour"...

We noticed stores you would never see back home: Not many "breeches makers" in Canada these days.














And here's a shop that sells brushes - mostly shaving brushes! (My father used them... a long time ago!)

Hotel bathrooms can pose an interesting challenge when you're traveling...














Couldn't figure out how to work the shower in this bathtub... Discovered through trial and error that turning the left "handlebar" towards the tub pours very hot water into the tub. What about cold water? The right "handlebar" doesn't turn... I finally discovered that pushing the button you may notice on the right "handlebar" adds 50% cold water to the hot... And turning the left "handlebar" towards you makes the water come through the shower!














The other challenges of this upscale bathtub are that the sides are very high to step into...A person with short legs might not be able to do it! Not sure that you can see that the tub angles down... (Could that be a safety concern?) The tub is also much narrower than North American tubs. A not-so-thin person could get stuck! (How do I know? Let's just say I speak from personal experience! It wasn't pleasant!)














Another bathroom we encountered had a sink that was puzzling. I turned on the hot water. Too hot!














So I added cold...

I love to experience the new - but it's always wonderful to be home again, where things may not be perfect, but we know how they work!

Visiting London's Tate Gallery

Visiting London's Tate Gallery was one of the most memorable parts of my recent visit to London. From the outside, the building doesn't look impressive - I wasn't even sure I wanted to go in!

Admission was free (though tickets are needed in order to see the special exhibits).














It's an easy walk from Charring Cross Station (above) which is near Trafalgar Square...














We walked downhill towards the Thames river. Before long we were on the Victoria Embankment. It was noon. Office workers were spending their lunch hour sitting in the sun or jogging on the sidewalk overlooking the river.


















We walked towards the Millennium Footbridge (seen in the photo above), where we crossed the Thames.


















 Once inside the gallery...

... we looked at exhibits for a while...


















(Don't ask me what this one is!! I have no idea!)

 (This one is more my style!) Then we had lunch and shopped in several of the Gallery's boutiques...

(I needed an umbrella ...to protect me from the sun! I hadn't expected London to have a heat-wave!)


















(I also couldn't resist buying one of these made-in-Africa flag bottle openers!)














The gallery has places where you can sit and enjoy a view of the city... and just relax!














Love the art or hate it, the gallery now is one of my favorite places in London!

London Traffic

London is a city with lots of traffic. The biggest challenge for me as a North American was knowing which way to look before crossing the street. Vehicles would often be approaching from the opposite direction than I instinctively looked!

Look right! I constantly reminded myself... (Traffic drives on the left side of the street!) ... But my brain insisted on looking left first - then right - then left again!














Then there would be one-way streets where traffic could come from either direction!


















Another surprising thing to me was how cyclists - often without helmets - drove fearlessly in the middle of the road, followed a few inches behind by cars, trucks (lorries)... and large double-decker buses!














They didn't seem to mind traffic being sandwiched between fast-moving vehicles! Sometimes I would just stand on the sidewalk - in amazement - and watch!

Wandering Around London

Before and after our Benedictine Experience, we spent a few days in London, shopping and visiting famous landmarks.

 Sights like Trafalgar Square...

 

 ... Big Ben...

... the London Eye...














... and Buckingham Palace.














Across from the palace we saw this ornate gate called... Canada Gate! (Hmmm... I wonder how it got that name! - It doesn't look at all Canadian!)














Wandering around, we also passed a few well-known churches...

... like Westminster Abbey...


















... and St. Martin-in-the-Fields (near Trafalgar Square). (It's hard to imagine this church - surrounded by buildings and pavement - ever being in fields!)


















We stayed near the British Museum...

.
.. and the British Library, so we passed them often, intending to go in. But, of course, we ran out of time! (A good reason to go back again!)














I'm glad we decided to stay in the heart of the city. So many London landmarks were within walking distance from our hotel!

Canterbury Souvenir

At the end of her last talk, Esther pulled some oyster shells out of her purse.

I found these around the cathedral grounds, she said. They are all over. The monks who lived here 1500 years ago ate oysters as a snack -  the way we eat chips. You are welcome to take one as a souvenir.














I picked up a broken one. It could become a pendant... to remind me of an absolutely wonderful week!