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Tuesday, July 04, 2017

LONDON - Monday - Subway - Bus - Walking

This is the new motto in England - and we had a great Monday. Weather was perfect - 74 degrees - 30 percent humidity. When you are retired - Monday is the best day. Everyone goes back to work and leaves the world for the gray heads. My favorite spot is the top deck in the front seats - the view is outstanding and you can pretend you are driving. 

The National Portrait Gallery is a great starting point.

 The lion is the symbol of the United Kingdom.

The pound is the currency - not the Euro. Its is $1.25 to 1 pound. We use Apple Pay - we touch our iPhone to the card machine - the money comes out of our bank account or credit card - no fees.


 The horse guards.

 To honor the women of World War II.

 Big Ben is getting a face lift.

This is the spot where the terrorist went after the crowd.

 The Thames River and the London Eye.

 Notice the wheel is held together by wires - not spokes.

 Big Ben view from inside this hotel.



 There are electric car charging stations all over London - free.

General Lying in Hospital - in America it would be President Lying in White House.

Lying-in is an archaic term for childbirth; the institution was a maternity hospital.

This is a typical pub - note the pretty flowers. We love eating in pubs. Lots of meat and potatoes - pints of beer and cider.

The Shard is London's answer to the World Trade Center. It is the tallest building in London at 1016 feet. It is the 111th tallest in the world. It was finished in 2012. It has an observation deck about 800 feet up - where there is an admission. You can just as easily go to the bar near the top and the price of a drink gets you the same view. We will go there later. It is along the Thames River by the Tower Bridge.

 This is a Primary School - I liked the iron work.

 Lots of Japanese like to pose by the red circles on the Tower Bridge. Wonder why?

The Tower Bridge was built in the 1880's. It originally opened by steam power. It is named because it is right by The Tower of London - the castle where they keep the Crown Jewels.

The black bumpers are to protect walkers from terrorists trucks on the bridge.

For 2 pounds a day you can ride any of these bikes - anywhere in the city. You ride from rack to rack. they are not electric - you must pedal :-)

This is the Tower of London. It is 900 years old. The king used to live here - then it was a prison - now they store the Crown Jewels here.

This is the only AC Cobra I can afford to bring home. People do not realize that Carroll Shelby went to England - bought AC Cobras - then put Ford V8 engines in them - building the famous Corvette and Ferrari beater - the Shelby Cobra.

At the mall - you could put you cellphone in these locked boxes free. You come back a half hour later and it is charged.

 Whiles Lulu shopped - I had to buy an ice cream to sit in these neat Vespa stools.

Westfield Mall was built for the Olympics - I thought it would be dead. Every time we visit it is booming. Probably from Lulu's shopping.

 The Olympic flags at Westfield Mall.

We saw the Opening Ceremony in this stadium in 2012. It now is the home of West Ham Soccer Club. The Olympic Park is well maintained - 5 years later.

 This was the Olympics Natatorium - we saw races in there.

 Citroen food trucks are popular here.

This is the Waitrose Grocery by our apartment. It is really nice - it reminds Lulu of Publix back home. I am guessing she likes the green lettering.

 They sells cars in the mall here. This Mercedes Smart Car was 10,000 pounds.

The Thames River carries ocean going vessels. It was a bit muddy on Monday.

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