London: Thursday 4 August

I was not feeling well today, the raw beginnings of a streaming head cold. But, there were things we needed to see, so after a slow start, we were off on the Tube to the Tower Bridge Exhibition. This had been closed when we wanted to see it in 2009. The queue wasn't too bad at all, and with my walking stick, I was also offered the use of an elevator on a couple of occasions. The displays were interesting, and the views from the middle of the bridge and along the Thames were spectacular, including the views through the glass floors in some parts of the walkways. Jan would have avoided those, and Steve would have marvelled at the construction and the engines that lifted the bridge for ships to pass under.

  

  

  

Next stop was for lunch at Pret a Manger, beside the Tower of London. I found the GF lemon chicken soup very tasty and also soothing.

Then we went into the Tower of London to view a couple of things we'd missed in 2009 - the Medieval Palace towers, and the walk along the walls, also passing through the section describing the wild animals that had once been kept at the Tower. It was all very interesting and we were glad to have visited again. 

  

  

From the grounds, we were able to see the Tower Bridge lifting to let a ship under - that was cool.

  

Next we walked from Blackfriars, across the bridge to the Tate Modern's cafe for a drink and a break from being on our feet. Then we went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, where we were disappointed to find that we wouldn't be able to see inside the theatre itself because a special event had just begun and was on until Sunday morning. We ended up just looking briefly around the separate exhibition with an audioguide. It was well done and quite interesting to find out how drama was presented in Shakespeare's times, and what life was like for the actors and others involved in productions.

After this, we went back to the Tate Modern and toured for a short time with an audioguide - very useful in helping us understand some of the bizarre art we were viewing. We were surprised at how busy this was, and what a huge place - a great use for an old power station.

  

  

We were both tired after all this - I think the crowds are exhausting in themselves. I walked 16,900 steps today. No wonder I collapsed into bed when we got back to the hotel, leaving David to wine and dine on his own - I was beyond it.