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måndag 14 augusti 2017

Walking the streets of London

This modest little mansion is found in the Old Marylebone area, we could imagine a flat here!
Goodmorning friends out there!

I get new visitors from time to time, and that is very nice!  I do wish you would comment more often, I like comments and I trust in my old friends who always brings me a thought or two, but there is space enough for more....
The author on Millenium Bridge
Lovely neighbourhood, Camden


So, what did we do in London?  We walked.....oh and we used the DLR AND Tube and bus!!!
But, sing Halleluya, every day, I'm walking with the King!! Yes, every day wherever I go!
Last time we had one tiresome and frustrating busexperience, this time we got on the wrong train, had a furious set of platform staff on our hands and now my husbands backpack is statuated in Brighton. Not all were furious though, we had some good help but Brighton was too far off , it's complicated...I hope they find good use for it....

So, the "No elevator hotel" was rather cozy , staff lovely, breakfast good, room steaming but we went out walking. Even taking the tube means walking walking and climbing endless stairs...but I love the system, it really is swift. 
Archades on our way to Picadilly, we saw some more along Bond Street. Nice, but expensive.........
So, yes, there was shopping....on our part as well, and enduring the girl's running from makeup disk to clothe rack to make up to clothes, to stuff and stuff....or soap.....
Remember the tv-series Soap? Here it is - Soap!!

Us?  We perchased dvd's.....HMV is our second home, almost.  I bought a new phone last week and wanted a cover for it, but oh, Iphone this and that and Samsung hi and ho, but mine?? No... It's still in oldest daughters too large old cover, stuck with sticky pads...




Found some nice films!!
Otherwise, you know buildings , architecture, is my cup of tea. The heart of a city, as long as it's there. In our parts, all over Sweden, the malls are spreading like funghi, slowly suffocating the central parts of every town.  Ok for small Malls and arcades, but these huge , hangar like temples of Mammon....no thank you!!
Splendour in it's best, even an odd pub can be beautiful!!!
New architecture by the Banks, we have similar in my hometown but these look better!!
We ventured a continued crossing of the Thames by several bridges, quite a nice way to spend a sunny evening, we thought!!


The Globe, the Globe!!!!!1
On our way to the Globe we pass this small alley
Walking down Regent Street on your way to Picadilly you will find that wonderful row of theatres, bringing you oldies and goldies and brand new performances. I do envy that possibility that you have, but I suppose there are theatres all over the country!!!

Last time we were here there was a large number of street musicians and this time we hardly noticed anyone.
I can wonder why.
We also noticed an increasing number of tourists from Asia, we see that a lot in Sweden too.
Asia, all parts but North Korea, is very interesting to young travellers today, they go to Vietnam, Japan, Kambodja , South Korea. 
Next time we go to GB if mrs May let us in, we will spend but a couple of days in London and then onward,  so many places to see....
This is the very important City, I expect this is the dwelling place of bankers, investors, managing directors and stockbrokers. I would firstly get lost and secondly create a minor turmoil if I even tried to enter one of these houses.....oh woe and agony!!
Bridge after bridge after bridge...lovely sight, isn't it?

Still, we rushed past all the stores in Bond Street and peeked in at F&M feeling very plain and awkvard, but enjoyed the streets, the houses, people, noices, a mere visit, we wouldn't want to live in the middle of it but found plenty of wonderful little towns when we got on the trains....Like Bromley on Bow... just the taste of the name!!!!!

And plenty to eat.....
Pie at Mabels, Spitfire gravy....

Roast duck from China In
Pizza at Zophias


Roast chicken with several sides

This is not the chicken, this is Buckbeak, the Hippogriff.

And, and this is very important, so many pleasant and helpful people....we ...know what it's like to endure tourists so the patience, the patience.....
Yes, we went back to Watford and Harry Potter, it is really an amazing place with several new things to discover. The museum is an old aircraft hangar from WW2, plenty of..... Spitfires perhaps, were manufactured here.   Watford is a very pleasant little town actually. 


The girls really longed for this months on end- Summer in the city 2017, a Youtube event out at Excel London. We took the tube out to Plaistow and then the bus to the exhibition centre, Plaistow looked very nice, a bit torn perhaps. The actual event swirmed with young people, quite a lot of them walking around with a camera or mobil in front of their faces, talking to themselves..weird world!! Open stage was most fun, all kinds of acts. Apart from that, we really didn't fit in....it was for safety and the care of our youngest that we tagged along.

At home? Jazzfestival began thursday , the parade on friday and ended yesterday with the traditional Jazz service in the chapel with minister Yours truelly holding sermon and singing  Swing Low and In the sweet by and by....The Lord be blessed for these moments of joy and gospel to be shared with busy jazzlovers. 

In our village life is slowly quieting down, boats are drawn up, caravans are moving away, school starts tomorrow, end of most markets and fairs. 
I like this - the pace goes down and things are back to normal. Did I write this last year too?? Probably.

God bless you!

16 kommentarer:

  1. I imagine that the jazz festival must have seemed quite serene compared to the noise and bustle of London Solveig ?

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. Well, I must say this , since our village is very small you notice the festival all over, but I enjoy jazz very much so I don't really mind!! London, yes, it is bustling indeed, you get kind of caught in it and have to force yourself to just watch and absorb as Rachel puts it. Thank you for your comment, Melvyn!

      Radera
  2. I enjoyed your journey around London. You covered a lot of area both in and around the city. The Oyster card is very good for jumping on and off buses and tube whether you are on the right one or not, but of course you need to prime your Oyster card with plenty of money! The transport system is very good. I recognise some of your pictures but have never been to Watford, and know nothing of Harry Potter having never read a book or seen a film. I hope you had some time where you relaxed and went less fast and less far. Just being there and watching is a way of absorbing the place but I suppose with the girls along too there was a certain expectation of a bit more than that! Thank you for sharing the experiences.x

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. Hello Rachel!
      Yes, the Oystercard, the one we use is called visitors Oystercard and can't be topped in ordinary machines and not refunded so you better know how much you need!! It is really great, order by mail and have it in your pocket immediately you land! The girls , yes, one of them is very eager to get out and is getting more brave to go on her own, even in London! The other one has a handicap and need resting between activities so we did have time to slow down. I'm glad you enjoyed my field study!!!

      Radera
  3. This was fun! I very much thank you, as getting to London will probably never happen for me. Getting to see you was fun also!

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. I assure you it won't happend often!!! Thank you for walking around with me, friends!!!

      Radera
  4. You amaze me Solveig. You have seen more of today's London than I have, and I worked there for 28 years.
    It is a huge city of course so you could never hope to see all of it, but you don't seem to be doing too badly.
    Wonderful pictures of course as usual. Thanks for the tour.

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. I would love to know your profession, Ray...what did you do for a living????
      I am very proud that you find my touring interesting, I am more for details, and you can catch a city in the details. I did one post last year with our London trip 2015 and you made some comments on that, something about rushing through. We didn't rush this time, our youngest can't rush anything, we have to keep her pace in everything. Actually, there was loads of things we didn't do, no parks, no museums, no tours, no Big Ben or castles, and I am sad to say we didn't do that amazing tour to those beautiful gardens, we'll do them next time, I think you mentioned those, Ray. Thank you for this friendly comment!!!

      Radera
  5. I worked from 1951 until 1993 and did a whole lot of very unimportant and rather boring jobs in that time.
    Insurance, typing, 3 years in the Womens Royal Army Corp, * years for the National office of a trade union.

    Finally 23 years in the Civil Service. Singing in every spare minute in a semi-professional capacity.
    Most of it has been covered by the blogs I have written over the past 6/7 years.
    Not at all interesting you see.

    SvaraRadera
  6. Sounds gloriously ordinary and blessed. Who is to decide what is interesting and not?? I will for sure get myself on a balancing trip to your past. It must be at least just as exciting as my schoolday stories!! Besides, Ray, you have such a way with words and that is why I enjoy your posts so much!!!

    SvaraRadera
  7. Phew! I'm exhausted just imagining it all.

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. You mean the way I become from all your hikes and bikes?? In that case, I hope you enjoyed it, because I do when I read about your tourings!!

      Radera
  8. How lovely to get such a strong flavour of your holiday. Lovely photographs, thank you from Dalamory

    SvaraRadera
  9. Hello Freda!!
    That was some time ago, nice to hear from you. I noticed in your other comment that London was quite familiar to you. Glad you like the pictures and glad that you are working happily with your writing, right????

    SvaraRadera
  10. Have had a bit of a summer's writing block due to ongoing problems with a disabled relative. Little by little I am starting to see the way forward.

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. I am glad to hear it, little by little is the only reasonable path to choose! I have read all you wrote, I keep some of it to myself. Bless you, Freda!

      Radera