0
0
Friday off work for Jon and we were lucky enough to get tickets to go to the Sky Garden. This is at the top of the new-ish Walkie-Talkie building that has appeared on the London Skyline. Tickets are free and released three weeks in advance.
Besides being free, the other added advantage of going to the top of the Walkie Talkie is you get amazing views of London with the Shard in the photos. (Think New York and The Empire State Building vs The Top of the Rock).
The garden bit is a lot less impressive than the views! And absolutely no view from the loo (as you get from the Shard), but these are the most immaculate maintained loos you will ever visit – you have to wait until they have been cleaned before you enter!
We had downloaded another Treasure Trail Map, this time figuring out who the Murder was. This trail didn’t disappoint taking us around parts of London we hadn’t yet explored. Lunch was a box of lemon harissa chicken from a street food market outside Fenchurch Street Station. It was seriously good and very good value for money.
Little back alleys in the heart of the city, Leadenhall Market getting ready for St Georges Day and the little gem that was St Dunstans in the East. This place was just stunning.
Info from Wikipedia states that St Dunstans was severely damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rather than being completely rebuilt, the damaged church was patched up between 1668 and 1671. A steeple was added in 1695–1701 to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren.
The church was severely damaged in the Blitz of 1941. Wren’s tower and steeple survived the bombs’ impact. Of the rest of the church only the north and south walls remained. In the re-organisation of the Anglican Church in London following the War it was decided not to rebuild St Dunstan’s, and in 1967 the City of London Corporation decided to turn the ruins of the church into a public garden, which opened in 1971. A lawn and trees were planted in the ruins, with a low fountain in the middle of the nave. The tower now houses the All Hallows House Foundation. This is a real tranquil niche in a the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world.
The Murder Mystery trail ended up at The Monument and the search for those final few important clues.
Final stop of the day before heading home was to grab a bite to eat. After reading the TripAdvisor reviews, we decided to eat at the appropriately named Ember in Pudding Lane (where the Great Fire of London started). Food was lovely and very tasty BUT very much tapas style and really just small (and expensive) tasting plates. So for the first time ever, we left London, still feeling a little hungry. As nice as the food was, there are plenty of other places to eat in London, enjoy and get good value for money.
