Day 260 of 365: More strike fun!

This is the packed bus I had to take today due to the strike. It would have been a 15 or 20 minute ride on the tube, but there was a 15 minute wait for the bus, then an hour ride from Victoria to Bank. Oy. I'm just thankful I was one of the first people on and had a seat the whole time. There were long lines at every bus stop and a lot more street traffic in general. It will be nice when things return to normal!

Day 259 of 365: Strike!

The tube workers are on strike for 48 hours. They started Tuesday evening at 7:00 and are going until 6:58 pm on Thursday. Most lines are completely closed with a few operating between a couple of random stations. I was lucky because the Northern line (where I connect) was running pretty much normally. I was able to take it 2 stops to then catch a regular train into town. I walked the rest of the day (not even attempting to get a bus with the crowds waiting for each one). Traffic in general was busier than normal. Luckily, London's not quite as bad as it would have been if this were Paris. It's certainly been a fun experience!

Day 258 of 365: My buddy Henry VIII

I spent the afternoon at Hampton Court Palace and there was a reenactment of Henry VIII's and Kateryn Parr's wedding day going on. It was very exciting and well done on their part! The actors wandered around doing various events as if they really were living there. We all just happened to be there, too. It was a lot of fun and really made the visit even more memorable. The actor who played Henry VIII was very friendly and seemed genuinely interested in talking to all the tourists asking for photos with him.

*FYI, if you want to see more about my visit to the Palace, check out my London travel blog here. I will have a post up shortly with more photos.

Day 257 of 365: Oxford Street

I decided to walk down to Hyde Park and possibly go to Kensington Palace today after lunch. Being in Soho, it's seemingly, not that far of a walk. However, Oxford Street is a constant log jam of people going every which way. It is quite frustrating!

Day 256 of 365: Canals in Birmingham

On Sunday, it finally became a bit sunny and stopped raining. We took a nice walk around the city and ended up here at the Canal area. I think this was my favorite area of Birmingham. I could see strolling around here on a nice summer evening, then stopping at one of the many bars/restaurants for dinner on the open patio.

Day 255 of 365: The Floozy

On Saturday, we went to Birmingham to visit some of Stuart's friends. It was pouring rain the whole day, but we still went and saw a few of the sights. Here is the statue of the bathing woman in Victoria Square. The locals call her the Floozy in the Jacuzzi. I have fully embraced that, since saying the word floozy is just so much fun!

Day 254 of 365: Scones and tea

This tea cafe, Sacred, was recommended to me by someone I met on the street in London. What a great place!! I had a wonderful pot of Japanese green tea and my very first scone with cream and jam. Holy cow. I don't think I'll ever be the same!

Day 253 of 365: Croquet anyone?

How very posh! Nothing like a bit of afternoon croquet and a spot of tea.... I came across this scene while I was over in Greenwich this afternoon. I saw the Prime Meridian there (pretty cool) and there is a large park at the base of the observatory, oddly enough called Greenwich Park. I'm definitely going to return there some sunny weekend afternoon for a picnic and sun time! Also, I got to ride the DLR train which was nice. It's above ground and takes you right by the docks and stuff. I enjoyed the change of pace this afternoon.

Day 252 of 365: Number 3 Savile Row

Hidden behind the main drag of Regent Street is Savile Row. If you are Beatles fan, then you know what this place is significant for! If you look up, waaaaay up, to the roof, you might recognize the view. This is where they played their last ever live performance together on January 30, 1969! The building was their Apple offices for a while (until they moved to Abbey Road) which is why they chose to play here. It was cool to be able to stand on the stairs there (yes, I'm one of those fans...) I can't believe I was so close to here all these visits and didn't even think to come see it. The street is very quiet now, but I can only imagine how amazing it was for the shop and office workers to suddenly hear live Beatles music coming from outside! I also passed by the police station from where officers were sent down to stop the noise back in 1969.

Day 251 of 365: Here comes the Sun!

We had more gorgeous weather today and pretty much everyone was out in the sun to take advantage! I was on my way to the National Gallery and the lure of these chairs was strong. I decided it was more fun to just go ahead and have a little relaxing nap in St. James's Park instead of rushing on to the museum. It was lovely! Of course, at one point, this man comes up to me in my chair asking for money. I told him I was sleeping and to go away. Um, it turned out he's the chair fee collecting man! Oops! I'm sure he's heard it all the time anyway. He didn't seem phased.