Tourist Weekend! Friday

Friday
Phew, what a weekend! So, as I mentioned, I had friends come to London for the weekend. Dashed through work on Friday so I could go meet them at lunchtime - I had a half day. I needn't have been quite so worried - turned out they took a slower bus than recommended.. :-) and I arrived at Victoria before they did.

Well. Yes, I did arrive at Victoria. So were they to do. However, I have never before been to the Victoria Coach Station, and just assumed it was in the main building, along with the bus, rail, and underground stations. So I followed the signs that said "bus" and positioned myself there. Sure I was in the right place, I refused an offer of help from one of the people standing around waiting, employed to give it. After a while though, it began to bother me that the only buses I could see were London buses.. so I had a wander, and came across a sign (in the train station) for the coach station. Somewhere else entirely. Wonderful.

It was at that point that they phoned me to say they'd arrived. I naively asked whether they could possibly come to the train station. I didn't realise that the coach station is several streets away and very badly signposted, both on approach and the building itself. I wandered out onto the street, trying to get directions from them and being woefully confused that none of us could see the same things. In due course, I came across a map that directed me to the coach station - even when I did find the right street, and was walking alongside the station, I didn't realise it until I happened upon the entrance at the end! Jeez, talk about the poor relation of the stations..

Anyway, once I got that far, I found them. We were all hungry, it being lunchtime, and stopped at the first eatery we came across - the Traveller's Tavern, in the station itself. We easily got a table, ordered and paid at the bar. I can testify that their hunter's chicken is delicious! The pub itself is attractively decorated, and service comes with a smile. We were well fed by the time we ventured outside to figure our way back to their hotel, so they could leave their bags.

They were staying at the Grange Rochester - which we were glad to find (eventually). In retrospect, we took a slightly roundabout route - but then, as I say, I've never before been to the coach station. Anyway, we eventually came to the filling station at the junction with Rochester Row, which meant we were nearby. This would be their nearest stop to fill up on the essentials. Sure enough, we were at the hotel minutes later.

It's a cosy place - quiet, they said afterwards. Lots of wood, lots of brass. Rather attractive. Too hot upstairs, as usual - there isn't any aircon either. They were to find London very humid all weekend, compared to what they're used to - but at least they were provided with two electric fans in what turned out to be quite a large room, with three beds. The room also provided a decent-sized ensuite, a flat-screen tv, a safe, and tea/coffee making facilities.

After a bit of r&r, we hit the town. The original plan had been to head to Notting Hill, but with a ghost walk planned for a specific time that evening, we figured that time was now against us. They suggested we stay more local, and I suggested that we skip straight to the bit of the itinerary that involved walking up to Buckingham Palace - not far, closer than the coach station - then up the Mall, drop into the ICA bookshop for a minute, and to Trafalgar Square, where we could decide what to do next.

They got Oyster cards on the way, at the Underground station. Seems the procedure has changed somewhat from when I got mine, some years back - in those olden days, you just paid for the credit on the card, and had to get it from a ticket office. Now, you can get them from a machine, and must pay a £5 deposit on each! (refundable if you return the card). Which means the card now costs £5, basically. Well, you need it for the buses - and with engineering works on both Circle and District lines this weekend, that was going to be necessary: and it's still much better value than cash, even when you can use that.

That done, off we went to Buckingham Palace. They were quite impressed to find it so close to their hotel, and we spent much time photographing each other in front of it. Time didn't allow us to go in. We then made our way up the Mall, stopping for refreshments - including some very tasty ice cream - at a kiosk in Green Park. Photos of the day available here. Progressing up the mall, we came across a pair of sentries guarding some side entrance or other. A number of tourists were gathered around, and as we were fumbling with cameras and deciding what photos to take, I guess someone must've got too close, because - for all their famous statue-like composure, one of the sentries completely lost it and roared to GET BACK! NOW!!! Um, yes. We all legged it.

We popped into the ICA bookshop briefly, where some purchases were made - it's got a very interesting range. We sat, chatted, and people-watched in Trafalgar Square for a while, having some more snacks at the café, wandered around Westminster, then made our way to Monument for the ghost walk. Corinna was our guide, and despite being softly spoken as she chatted to us beforehand, she was quite capable of projecting her voice as needed. I hadn't researched the guides beforehand, so it came as a surprise both to learn that she is an actor, and to have her burst into song - not once, but twice, on the tour. See, I've done this walk before - last Hallowe'en, in fact - but with a different guide (Shaughan), and not only are the guides different, but it transpires that they cover different routes, and have completely different repertoires of stories! So it is possible to take the same tour twice and have a completely different experience.

She led us on a merry trek for the next two hours, through narrow passageways and underpasses, over hidden bridges, around the City. We got to stand on a height, with a lovely view of the Thames, Tower Bridge and the Shard, as the daylight dimmed and the City lights came on. We unexpectedly got into a church, bombed during the Blitz and converted to a garden, and whose gate should have been closed by then. It was lovely, with a fountain in the middle, surrounded by benches - onto which we gratefully sank, as she regaled us with a tale of a ghostly white Persian cat, and a song. Our next musical interlude (which included seating too) was in the courtyard of the Guildhall, where she got us all to join in as a ghostly chorus. The tour ended in the Barbican, where we got to explore passageways I hadn't seen before.

The night ended with a seemingly interminable wait at Barbican Station for a Circle line train, so we could go direct. So much for a 15-minute wait between trains - we must have been waiting for twice that long when, just as we gave up and were planning an alternative route, one finally deigned to appear. We really needed to eat now, so figured the easiest was to head for the Buckingham Balti, near Victoria.

And so to bed. And so to bed for me now too, as it's past my bedtime.. more to follow, when I get a moment!