A weekend in London

(by Denise Vetsch)

Gaby and I set off on Friday morning, arriving at LCY at midday and taking the DLR to Canning Town and then the Jubilee to London Bridge, from where we walked to the hotel. We dropped off our luggage and headed for the shops. First stop was Bond Street - John Lewis's and a quick look in Debenhams - then off to Leicester Square to see what was available at the theatre on Saturday. From Leicester Square we walked to Covent Garden and checked out the market (so many nice home-made articles - jewellery, knit wear, candles, and arty crafty things). A juggler was there, pulling a big crowd and we sat for a cup of tea and a chat with the locals. We then wandered through the rest of the market and checked out the clothing and the handbags.With more time on our hands, we went back to Oxford Street to M&S and as it started to rain heavily, we went back to the hotel by bus and tube.
With my daughter, who had joined us, we walked to 'Tower Bridge' and had dinner in a nice little Italian place just on the banks of the Thames overlooking 'Tower Bridge' at 'Chad Thames, Butlers wharf'.

The next day we set off for Leicester Square to get our theatre tickets, where we had to queue for the tickets for “Daddy Cool” and then took a walking tour round central London, with stops at Westminster, Whitehall, Downing Street, Horse Guards Parade, Buckingham Palace etc. and then returne to Tower bridge by boat. In the evening, we had dinner at a little place and then enjoyed the show, up in our seats dancing and singing to the music.

On Sunday, we walked over Tower Bridge to St Katharine's docks and ‘Dickens’ Inn’; we had a cup of tea, then took a boat to Greenwich. We wandered round the market with the smell of mulled wine and home made cakes and pastries and looked at home made jewellery, knitwear, and all manner of pictures and glass wear - antiques, stationary and things to hang on the wall. We went up to the observatory in time to see the ball drop at 1pm, and then looked at the time pieces and telescopes all for free. After a last stroll through the market, where we bought a cake to eat on the boat (with a cup of tea), we went back to the hotel by boat; it was a bit blowy sitting on the top deck but the sights were worth it.

We got our luggage, took the bus and tube to LCY and flew back to Zurich, where we landed at 11pm.

What a weekend !!!