London in 48 hrs!!

10-11 December 2012

In the middle of December and four days before we were leaving for our Christmas vacation, Tim had to take a last minute, two day trip to London to look at a few potential sites for a new Reebok platform (new type of store in retail terms), attend two meetings and interview a potential employee.  We decided that if I could find a cheap flight, that I would go to.  And low and behold, I did, so I went too!!

First thing Monday morning (0600 hrs departure - up at 0330 hrs) we jump on an Air Berlin flight for the 1 hr 20 minute flight to London Gatwick airport.

A beautiful sunrise!!!

We caught the Gatwick Express into Victoria Station

and then the tube (subway) to Gloucester Street Station and arrived at our hotel (Rydges in Kensington) at 9:00 am.(10am German time-4hrs not bad)

They call it tube because they really are shaped like a tube!
Very claustrophobic!  And very very busy!

(City of London - population 8.2 million - 12.5% of UK population lives in London!!)

Luckily I went with Tim as he would have never have completed what he had to do in two days without me.  If you have been to London, it takes two days just to figure out the tube system.. ....never mind trying to get to five different locations around the City of London.

London Tube Map and
the various locations we had to get to!!

As we didn't have a smart phone with a map or GPS, we just had to use the little bit of information Tim got from the Real Estate people and a little bit of homework I did prior to getting to London.

Monday was a very busy day.  At the end of the day, we met up with Donald Brown, the son of our good friends Glenn and Becky Brown.  We hadn't seen him in at least 9-10 years.  He is in London just finishing off his Masters in Urban Planning and is going to start on his PhD within the next year.  We had a great dinner with him and caught up on everything.  Great to see you Donald!

To be sure that Tim got to all the sites and meetings, on Tuesday morning, at 0600 hrs, we hopped on the tube and then the London Overground and headed to Clapham Junction to visit one of the potential Reebok locations.  Luckily it is currently a Starbucks coffee shop and it was open. At least I got a coffee for starting work so early with him :)

After we got back from Clapham Junction we went for a run around Hyde Park.  The sun was out but it around -1 or 2°C.

After accompanying Tim to his Tuesday morning meeting destination, I decided to be a tourist for a couple of hours and visit the Tower Bridge while he was working.  So I walked from Southwark Station, along the Jubilee Walkway (one of the official walkways in London. It was originally opened as The Silver Jubilee Walkway to commemorate that event of Queen Elizabeth II's accession. In 2002, during the Queen's Golden Jubilee, it was renamed Jubilee Walkway.  The Walkway runs along side the River Thames and is 13.2 miles in length.

First, I passed the Millenium Bridge.  A steel suspension bridge for pedestrians which opened June 2000.  Londoners nicknamed the bridge the "Wobbly Bridge" after participants in a charity walk (a walk to celebrate the opening of the bridge), felt an unexpected, swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely. It was reopened in 2002.

Millennium Bridge

Then past the Anchor Bankside Pub.  It was too early, or I would have popped in for a pint.  The pub was built in 1615. It is the sole survivor of the riverside inns that existed here in Shakespeare's time, when this district was the centre and heart of theatre land and the Thames was London's principle highway. At that time the Anchor's interior was mainly constructed of oak and frequented by many actors from the neighbouring playhouses. At a later date the Anchor Tavern was a favourite place for river pirates and smugglers  During the course of repairs carried out in the early 19th Century, the removal of a massive oak beam revealed a perfect nest of ingeniously contrived hiding places probably used for the storage of stolen goods and contraband.

The Anchor

Past the ruins of the twelve century Wincester Palace. The palace was mostly destroyed in a fire in 1814.

The Rose Wall

 Then to the HMRC - Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Building is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the administration of other regulatory regimes.

HMRC

 The day I was there, they were floating a 50 ft  Jackpotjoy Duck down the River Thames.  The duck was created to celebrate the launch of Jackpotjoy.com’s new Facebook FUNdation –   a bursary granting funds and rewards for daft ideas to encourage Brits to have more fun.  See article on Feverpr.com

Created by an eight  person team with over 800 man hours spent creating patterns, cutting
and welding the sections together to produce the amazing air tight finished structure –
the duck also weighs a staggering half ton, is 50 foot high and 60 foot wide.

Past Hay's Galleria - is a riverside tourist attraction. Originally a warehouse for the port of London, in 1651 it was a brew house, then it was turned into a wharf during the nineteenth century which became one of the chief delivery points for ships bringing tea into London.  It was redeveloped as a visitor attraction in the 1980s

At last...the Tower Bridge!

The Tower Bridge and m.......

okay - there I am.

London City Hall (in forefront)

Old and New

 

Girls having fun!

 

Tower Of London and a new skyscraper

For the two days, the weather was perfect.  It was sunny, a little cold but no snow and no rain.  Brilliant!!!

It was a fast trip - too fast.  Sorry we didn't catch up with your Tony but there just wasn't enough time.

Our next Blog............Egypt!!!  Stay tuned!