0
0
Saturday 16th July 2016
Our first chance in a while to get away for a weekend after helping out with Thatcham Tornadoes Summer School the last six Saturdays! Callum had very patiently beared with us whilst this was going on so we thought he thoroughly deserved a treat!
We caught the train into Paddington – surprisingly, it was direct. Most of the time you have to change at Reading at the weekend. As we had a little free time in the morning, we headed over to the Emirates Air Line – a cable car that was installed for the London 2012 Olympics and pretty much connected the O2 to the Excel Centre.
It was pretty cool and took you up quite high. Just before we boarded, it emerged that the chap in front was very nervous and unsure about going up … the lady in charge of the queue was really good and invited him to take a seat to one side so he could decide if he wanted to go up. Jon was just relieved that he made the decision rather than end up in the same car as us and have a panic attack mid-way across. Some amazing views – once all the construction is complete, they will be even better!
From the other side we caught the DLR and the Jubilee Line back to London Bridge. We had purchased the Bankside Treasure Trail (well, Murder Mystery in this case) to complete, and this was our starting point.
You follow the directions on the trail (and they are very clear and very specific) and look for clues to eliminate the Murder suspects and weapons en route. This one took us through Borough Market and gave us the opportunity to grab some street food for lunch. After looking at the complete range, from Egyptian to Lebanese, German to Indian, we grabbed a pot of Pad Thai each. Being lunch time, Borough Market was heaving.
After lunch we continued the trail along the back streets to Tate Modern (and seeing the new extension) before picking up the walk along the River towards Tower Bridge. We hoped the timings would work so we could check into our hotel around 3pm.
Final clue was by Southwark Cathedral and the Murderer was …….
Time to head to our hotel. We’d chosen the Hilton London Tower Bridge as it was close to Tower Bridge and also we got a good price, including Breakfast! Jon had checked in online so our room was ready when we arrived. It was on the 8th Floor and were told it had been recently refurbished. It was nice as hotel rooms go, not as big a room as at the Hilton Canary Wharf, but we were only there to sleep!
A quick drink in the bar for Callum to test out the Smoothie of the Day (Berry!) and we set off to Kings Cross Station to go to the Theatre. We’d booked tickets for The Railway Children on a friend’s recommendation – her two boys loved it!. If it’s got “proper” steam trains in, then Jon will enjoy it too. The adaption was brilliantly done – recounted from an older Bobby, Peter and Phyllis’ view. The moving stage and platforms worked well and the Steam Train arriving on stage was the icing on the cake.
Callum had chosen our meal for this evening. He loves Masterchef and on a recent Celebrity version, the celebs were cooking in Darbaar, an Indian Restaurant, and he wanted to go. Must admit both Jon and I liked the look of the food, so happily agreed to go.
The restaurant was a little off the beaten track near Liverpool Street Station. We were half an hour early, but our table was ready (the bar was taken over by a private party). Callum wanted Poppadoms and chutneys for his starter, so Jon chose the Madagascan Prawn (as seen cooked on Masterchef) and I chose the Tandoori Salmon Tikka. We were good (and shared!) and it was all very tasty.
For mains, Callum chose the Rabbit, I had the Sea Bass and Jon the Butter Chicken and it was all awesome (Callum’s words). We had some Pilau Rice and a basket of Indian breads as well.
Just Callum and I had pudding. He had a trio of sorbet (lime – extremely limey!, raspberry and mango) whilst I had the chocolate and chilli cake with honeycomb ice-cream. All really good and a lovely meal to round off what had been a very good day.
Back to the hotel and Callum was asleep as his head hit the pillow.
Sunday 17th July 2016
Next morning we were all awake reasonably early and tried Breakfast in Jamie’s Restaurant. We were actually quite impressed. Full English help yourself buffet style. All freshly cooked and no wait. Good selection of juice, pastries, fruit, cereals etc.
From the hotel it was a 5-10 minute walk to Tower Bridge. We spotted Justin Rose’s Dream Jar, part of the BFG Dream Jar trail yesterday and en route past Zoella’s “hedgehog” Dream Jar. Callum and I would be back to find some more Dream Jars during the Summer Holidays.
We were armed with Tesco vouchers and were going to walk Tower Bridge, not at traffic level, but up top! The lifts were taking a while, so we opted to walk the 206 steps and it was a pretty easy climb.
Once up top, you could walk both sides, and each had a glass walkway. The kids didn’t think anything of it … the adults on the other hand were a bit more hesitant to walk on it! There were also some pretty good views from the top. If we did it again, we may try and time it so it coincides with the bridge lifting as that would be an impressive sight.
Next stop was the Tower of London – again, entry thanks to Tesco Vouchers! First off we walked the Tower Walls, then caught up with the Ravens and a Beefeater. Another 200+ steps inside the White Tower to see the impressive Royal Armouries Collections. The queue to see the Crown Jewels were long so we skipped this.
Instead, Callum insisted we went into the Bloody Tower (not swearing!) before heading off to the Hung, Drawn and Quartered (pub!) for a bite to eat (sandwiches were good!) before heading back to Paddington and home.
Sa
