Cardiff Wales. I came here only because my father was stationed here during WWII. he told me that he stayed with a family at 27 Hamilton St. here in Cardiff before he was shipped to serve out the rest of the war on the mainland of Europe.

On our last full day in London, LJP and I decided to take it easy, meaning we should not try to do too much which is what has been driving our days since we got here. We spent the better part of the day at the Tate Modern Museum, afterwards we returned to our flat (I’m sounding like a Brit now) and had dinner at the local pub The Porchester. There were a group of young folk dressed in kilts headed for a dance there.

Cold. visited the Museum of Science and then Westminster Abby. Tonight we go see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theater.

Weather is atrocious; rainy, cold, windy. LJP and I went to The Globe Theater, where we went on a tour of the facility and then went next door to The Swan and had tea. Afterwards we went to Leicester Square again to get tickets for tonight, The Mousetrap

LJP and I agreed that we are doing too much, mostly on our feet too much, so we will limit our activities today. We went to Churchill’s War Rooms, and museum. afterwards we went briefly to the National Gallery before heading back to get ready for the evening. Ended the day at Ronnie Scott’s (again).

Beginning to get my footing and bearings here in London. it has taken a while due to my lack of travel experience lately and retirement. dare I say age also? we decided to go to the British Museum, about 30 minutes away by subway (Tube to the locals). Listened to and went on a brief tour about the ancient Assyrians, who lived in what is now Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Also stopped by the Egyptian section and saw the Rosetta Stone . home now for the evening.

Today we got a bit of a late start, leaving at noon. We took the tube to the British Library, which is a good was from out apartment. We went and spent most of our time there in the rare books section and saw a lot of very old historic manuscripts including the Magna Carta and the only extant copy of Beowulf (among a lot of other cool pieces). Afterwards we walked around St. Pancras station before we headed back to our place in Westminster. After yesterdays outing, I think we were both a bit worn out. We did do laundry this morning, which took up a good part of the morning, the washer/dryer got the best of me…too complicated. 

Last day or predicted good weather for the next week, so LJP and I went to Kew Gardens. the sun was shining, the weather was nice (for London) lots and lots of people. We returned to the city and went to Ronnie Scott’s for dinner and music.

We did a lot today, though not a lot was photogenic. We went to the coffee shop we have begun to frequent and had a bit of breakfast and then went on to The Tower of London, there we had a walking tour narrated by one of the Beefeaters, which was amusing and enlightening. He seemed to delight in relating stories of executions that marked the use of The Tower. we also visited the Crown Jewels. Then we stoped nearby and had fish and chips before boarding a riverboat to Westminster Abby, but we arrived too late to enter and so walked about until we bought tickets for a play for the evening. We found a nice restaurant next door to the theater, saw the play and then found a Pub near home. Watched cheesy British TV until late.