May 22, 2014

 Annette’s Excellent European Adventure:England, A Day in London

I enjoy the sights of London, with the famous Harrods,
the domed department store, in the background.
March 14, 2015

I apologize. I find myself a month behind in my blogging schedule, having stated in my last post of April 12,

I attempt to post my blog bi-monthly, look for my next post around April 22.

 I ran into a couple of blogging obstacles…

 An unexpected bout with strep throat,

In How to Marry a Millionaire, Betty Grable, has her temperature taken by Fred Clark, upon coming down with the measles.
Unfortunately, I did not look this elegant when battling my week of illness. 

a quickly planned, but enjoyable, long weekend trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts,

Posing on the beach with my mother-in-law (on her 90^th birthday!) and son, on beautiful Cape Cod.
May 2, 2015

 and just plain lack of time and energy. :o)

The majestic Big Ben keeps time on a cold evening in London.
March 14, 2015

 A Day in London
March 14, 2015

 Paddington

 Dale and I had arrived at London Paddington Train Station, eager to begin the third/England leg of our European adventure. We would enjoy one day of fun in London before heading north, the next morning, for a week of work for Dale.

Please, join me in looking through my photo album from our enjoyable London day.

When in London we enjoy staying at the convenient Hilton Paddington Hotel, just steps from the Paddington Train Station and the Underground/The Tube (subway).

Paddingtonscape, by illustrator Hannah Warren, sits in the lobby of the Paddington Hilton Hotel. This statue is one of many Paddingtons, designed by celebrities, and sold, to raise money for charity.
To read more about the fundraiser, click here. 

The view from our hotel window overlooked Paddington Train Station.

I stand in front of the entrance of The Tube,
London’s Underground Metro System.

 Harrods

Riding on The Underground with Dale.
First stop, Harrods. 

 
Harrods!

Shopping at Harrods for my souvenir; a necklace by London designer 
Alex Monroe.

.

I chose Monroe’s famous bee design in silver.
I love the detail on the front and back.
To see more of his designs, click here.
Photo courtesy of Alex Monroe.

Being a fan of the British designer Cath Kidston, 
I had to check out the goodies sold at Harrods.

After a 45-minute search of several of the seven floors of Harrods, Dale and I, finally and happily, located the cute restaurant that we had eaten at in 2013.
We now know that it is called the Galvin Demoiselle Petit Bistro.

To read more about this restaurant located on the ground floor, click here.

The Princess Diana Memorial in Harrods
To read more about Harrods and the memorial, click here.

 Sightseeing

We enjoyed a quick trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

I was excited to stumble upon this sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Bashaw, ‘the faithful friend of man’, as I had seen it in the film
“If It’s Tuesday, It Must be Belgium”.

The sculpture Bashaw, ‘the faithful friend of man’, as seen early in the film
“If It’s Tuesday, It Must be Belgium”.
To read more about this sculpture, click here.

 Not enough hours in the day to tour it this trip,
but the Tower of London was an impressive sight.

Dale and I arrive at the Tower Bridge at sunset.
To see a live view of the bridge via webcam, click here,
scrolling down to the bottom of the page, then click on the red LIVE button.

The sweet scent of candied roasted nuts permeates the Tower Bridge.

Dale gave his hearty approval of the vendor’s culinary skills.

As the sun began to dip, I soon missed the hat that I had left behind in the hotel. A quick stop at a souvenir shop netted me a Union Jack stocking cap, complete with pompom, and a much warmer head. :o)

The Tower Bridge at dusk.

One of London’s newer buildings, The Shard, overlooks the Thames at sunset. 

Dale and I stumbled upon this great restaurant; Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant in Covent Garden in the theatre district.
We later found out that it is quite historic, having served guests for 60 years, with the walls covered in photos and autographs of celebrities who had eaten there before us.
To read more about it, click here.

  

Before heading back to the hotel, we had to take one more look at London. With the London Eye behind me, and Big Ben in front of me.

Dale and I at Big Ben, bidding goodnight to beautiful London. 

To read my previous blog post on London, please click here.

To read my past two blogs from the
Annette and Dale’s Excellent European Adventure, click on the links below.

 https://annettehoffman.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/annette-and-dales-excellent-european-adventure-part-1-germany/

 https://annettehoffman.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/annette-and-dales-excellent-european-adventure-part-2-france/

Thanks for reading! :O)
Annette

I attempt to post my blog bi-monthly, please look for my next post around June 15.

A giant thank you to all of my faithful blog followers!

To become an “I’m Annette” blog follower, receiving each blog via email, upon publication, please sign up on the right-hand side of this page for free, or go to annettehoffman.wordpress.com.

Dale and I stand in front of St. Pancras Railway Station, before walking into King’s Cross Station, as we prepare to leave London.
Movie fans may recognize this site from Harry Potter.
March 2015

 
Another Harry Potter sighting at King’s Cross Station, as we find our train to northern England.
Platform 9 3/4