First stop was the local Post Office so we could send our parcel of brochures gathered during the last few weeks. Each site we visited had a glossy guide book which was a great memento. However, they are also quite heavy. In the end we had gathered over 5.5kgs of this stuff! Miriam's suitcase was getting very heavy. We posted it to my YouShop address (click here for more info) and this will eventually make it to NZ. The cost will be about $100 but worth it to avoid carrying all this extra weight. Especially since I have to carry both suitcases (and my hand luggage - at least that is a backpack).
Then onto the tube and a couple of stops later we were at Canary Wharf. This has all changed dramatically since we lived in London in 78-79. The shopping complex we ended up in from the tube was like something out of a Sci-Fi movie. All glamorous shops and eateries on multiple levels with people everywhere. If you lived in an apartment above, you wouldn't ever have to leave such a place and the outside world would seem like a distant memory. We found a fairly simple looking place to have an egg'n'bacon bun and a coffee. Not the best breakfast we have had but cheap enough.
We then headed to the Bank of England to exchange some old pound notes we had from our last visit (in 1998). This was done without any hassle which was a bonus. Then we walked down to St Paul's to try to find where I used to work in Carter Lane. The problem is that many of the old buildings have gone and been replaced by modern ones. Nothing high-rise here as I presume the planning rules prohibit encroaching on the view of St Paul's.
Walking across the Millenium Bridge we had a quick look at the new Globe Theatre (from the outside) and wandered down towards the London Eye. Miriam's hips were getting a bit sore and the weather looked like turning to rain, so we decided to have a quick bite to eat in a sushi bar. This seemed like a good idea, not least because it probably wouldn't be crowded like everything else. In the end we made this lunch and, while the sushi wasn't as good as what we expect at home (and it was quite pricey) the staff were friendly and we started to relax a bit.
On leaving the sushi bar it really was raining so we decided the London Eye wouldn't give us much of a view and caught the tube up to Oxford Circus. After visiting a few shops (mostly for a loo stop) we eventually decided we had had enough - especially since we weren't really here for the shopping.
By now the rain had stopped so it was back to the London Eye where we bought our tickets and went for a ride. It was really great to see London from a birds-eye view. We saw it in daylight but I would say the night view would be even better. It was great that there weren't many people around as I imagine the queues in the height of summer would be very challenging. As it was there were people paying the extra for the priority lane even though there was no waiting time!
By now it was getting past 5pm so we headed back to our Airbnb in Canning Town and have just returned from the nearby Italian restaurant (Pepenero), our second night in a row. Once again we had a very friendly reception and the host wants us to come back again next week when we return from Italy. We paid our bill but then he gave us a small Limoncello for desert!
We need an early night tonight so we can get up at 6am and catch a bus to the London City Airport for our 9:25am flight.
Also got email the summary from the car hire company. Total mileage was 2,112 miles (3,400km) in four weeks and they only charged a bit more than I would have paid to fill the tank.