London by foot

We arrived in London just after 10am. The red eye had proven to be just that, but you can't waste a day sleeping it off when you are in a new city. So after gathering our bags and literally walking right through customs we exchanged some $ for pounds we grabbed a cab downtown. Aundre straddled the bags and we strained to understand the "English" that the cabbie was speaking on the 45 minute ride to Charing Cross Hotel. A rather nice hotel located over the Charing Cross tube stop and right in the middle of Westminster, walking distance to many familiar sites.

Only one room was ready when we arrived so we make a quick wardrobe change and set off on foot with a map of London to conquer the town. We made our round-a-bout way around to a bridge and crossed over the Thames as a sprinkle of rain passed through. We grabbed a baguette at a riverside cafe and made our way along the opposite side of the river from the hotel. We walked under the bridge and discovered a row of street performers earning their pay in the gentle dripping. We came to the Eye and despite the overcast sky we decided to give it a whirl. The view was amazing! So many of the buildings have beautiful courtyards that are not visible from the street and Big Ben and the Parliament were incredible from that angle. We came full circle and walked across the Westminster Bridge to the Parliament. There was a large group of protesters in support of Sri Lanka filling the center open space. We walked around the perimeter to the Westminster Abbey for a closer look, but didn't feel inspired to pay for a visit.We meandered back past the Horse Guards through Trafalgar's Square and Piccadilly Circus. Basically we got lost, but it made for some great site seeing. We headed back to the Charing Cross for a shower and a little nap. Later in the evening we ventured off to the Covent Garden area for a bite to eat. We settled for the Maple Leaf, a local pub with fish and chips, steak and a veggie burger on the menu, which satisfied us all, so we sat around a heavy wood table with TVs playing soccer on ever screen and people watched for a while before heading back and succumbing to a coma-like sleep.