Welcome to London

Welcome to the experience of staying in London. Now there are no lifts in these London hotels and you guessed it.....almost the top floor for us with over 6 flights of stairs!! It is interesting on the toilet as one butt cheek touches the wall and the other the sink (yes I know I need to lose weight!)....then if you want to do a pirouette as you dry yourself then think again...turning room only if you are 3 feet high and 6 inches wide. Then there are the rats in the roof which are actually floorboards creaking from those poor suckers that have to climb even higher than us. And of course you may as well be serenaded at midnight by the Italian next door on his mobile as he perches outside his window and puffs his cigarette into your window.....and it will only cost you 160 pounds a night (a mere AU$270 a night)!! But this is London and the sights compensate the short time we are actually in our room. Our Hotel in question is in Pimlico between Westminster and Chelsea.........

 Only 5 more flights Larry!....

So this morning I was on a mission to visit a toy shop some of the girls on the Morris tour told me about and see the Bomber Command memorial. Larry didn't want to go to the toy shop so he headed for the laundromat...well trained fellow! So on my way.......

 My route took me past Buckingham Palace........

 and of course Vicki came with me............

 It looks warm and sunny but today was a maximum of 13 degrees..........

 then along the Mall to Trafalgar Square.........

 The I took a wrong turn but found Florence Nightingale.............

 then finally Regent St........

 and I found the toy shop......Hamleys where I have bought something special for a little boy at home who is obsessed with clocks........(well he was when we left!)

 a quick stop at Liberty's.......

 Fortnum and Mason's......

 and then I found the Royal Academy of Art where those Pre Raphaelite boys launched their careers.... and 'blow me down' there is an Australian exhibition on at the moment...thought I'd give that a miss....

 I finally met Larry after about 4 hours of walking and here was the other special place on my list to visit. The Bomber Command Memorial has pride of place on Hyde Park corner. Just a shame that it has taken so long and so sad that it has been almost completed funded by public donations and some very generous wealthy businessmen. It did not disappoint and it so very moving, especially as so many like my Dad did not live long enough to see it.........

I know I have mentioned it on the blog before but Dad was part of the Pathfinder Force of Bomber Command and part of 582 Squadron and he eventually received the Distinguished Flying Cross having survived 55 operations as a navigator in the Lancaster bombers (they rarely survived past 30 ops). He also received an unofficial Caterpillar badge given to those who survived over enemy territory because of their parachute. A great loss of 55,573 airmen killed during WW2........

 "The fighters are our salvation but the bombers alone provide the means of victory" Winston Churchill 1940

 Very proud to be an Australian .........

Now you can't come to London without visiting Harrods.........

 The Aussie flag was flying next to the New Zealand one......

 Santa lego style.......

 and Larry thought you'd like this one Brett......

We have been to London before and seen a lot of the tourist sights, so I hope the blog doesn't disappoint some of you - but I will continue to share our journey and hope you enjoy it too. (and just for the record....Larry and I just worked out I walked over 10kms today - no wonder I can't move!!)