Living the Travel Channel

Saturday was low key, but here are a few of the sights in the Southwark area.

Above is the tower of the St Thomas Church.

We went in search of the tea and coffee museum. We didn’t find it, but still enjoyed the sights.

Friday, we went to the Globe Theatre to see As You Like It.

I told Daddybird to look like an actor who is at Shakespeare’s Globe and happy about it. He did a good job, but said that he’s on the wrong side of the stage. He’d be so much happier on it.

First, we went to Covent Garden where we saw this street performer. His robot outfit is made of pieces of plastic bottles. I thought it was pretty creative.

Daddybird’s mission in going to Covent Garden was to have some Earl Grey Tea cupcakes.

Crumb & Doilies has a booth at the market on Thursdays only.

Then came my mission – seeing the Espresso Book Machine at Blackwell’s Bookstore in Soho.

Below is the fancy/hi-tech book catching device – a basket filled with bubble wrap.
Ironically, the machine was out of order.

So here is the library where we stopped in to use the Internet (the Internet connection in our hotel was not working due to interference by another wireless network nearby using the same frequency.)

I found the narrow catwalk and shelving above interesting. I’m not sure I would be able to stand upright up there.
This library hasn’t ditched the Dewey Decimal system altogether, but they have rearranged in general subject areas more like a bookstore. Within the sections, they still arrange by Dewey. This hybrid arrangement is a little confusing, for example Psychology is 150, Health is 610 and Social Sciences are 300 in the DDC, yet here they all are together. Of course, this is of little interest to any of you, except my librarian friends.

Now that we have reliable internet access, I will try to get caught up. We spent 5 days in London. We stayed at a little pub/hotel in Walworth.

The Hour Glass Hotel & Pub, Walworth, London

The taxi driver asked us where we had found out about this place. Then asked if it was our first time in London. Then stated that he hoped this neighborhood wouldn’t put us off. Apparently, this is a not so nice part of town, but we found it pleasant. There are a significant number of tenement apartment buildings and it is not the posh part of town, but we felt safe and enjoyed walking around the neighborhood. We are accidental tourists who don’t care for fancy accommodations, anyway.

Front door of the Hour Glass Pub

The pub was frequented by locals – old duffers and young families. It could get a little noisy, but the pub closed at 10 pm on weeknights and 11 pm on the weekend, so was peaceful enough for us to leave the windows open and get a good sleep. We woke up to the sound of pigeons cooing, a soprano doing her vocal warm ups, a Jamaican man yelling and airplanes flying over — the music of life.

Our room at the Hour Glass Hotel

This is our tiny little room. Our only complaint was the lumpy mattress, which we got used to after a couple of nights. The bathroom was down the hall and there was a shared kitchen with laundry equipment as well.

Our first full day in London, we did some typical tourist activities. We walked from our hotel to the Elephant and Castle subway station, stopping off at the first hole-in-the-wall cafe we came across for a traditional English breakfast. (We ate at a different cafe every morning, all in the neighborhood of our hotel and were never disappointed with the food. Very cheap, very tasty and very filling.)

We took the subway to the south bank of the Thames. We took a ride in the London Eye, observation thingy (not sure if it should be called a wheel, ferris wheel, or what).

Below is a view of Big Ben from up in the London Eye.
We then took a boat down to the Tower of London. We didn’t really have a plan, just wandering about deciding what to do as we went.

Above is the mote area of the tower where they do some demonstrations. The Tower isn’t really “a tower.” It is a walled collection of buildings, more like a castle, which was used for a variety of functions, most famously the incarceration of nobles and traitors. Below is the White Tower, a three story building that currently houses a display of Henry VIII’s armour.
This is one of the ravens residing within the Tower area. They have clipped the wings of the ravens, so they have little choice in the matter of where they live, but they have it pretty cushy here. And, of course, this is the obligatory stoic English guardsman.

We are at the public library for a second time to use their Internet access. I tried posting yesterday, but the connection timed out.

We arrived safe and sound in London. I’m posting with my iPod using the complimentary wireless at a pub, so won’t be uploading any pictures right now.
We started with a traditional English breakfast in the first hole in the wall cafe we came across.
We rode the London Eye and visited the London Tower. Boy, are our feet sore.