London Day 4

London Day 4 pictures
We are really running down to the end of our trip now. It's the second last day and we are trying to get as much done as we can without getting museum burnout.
Margaret is off to Dover and Canterbury Cathedral, all day, so Eve and I are again on our tod.

Bali Bombing Memorial

The route to Westminster takes us onto Pall Mall, and past Horseguards Parade where we pass the memorial to the Bali Bombing, that took place on 12th October 2002. It was sobering to realise that we were there on the 9th anniversary of the bombing.
Listed are ALL the victims of the bombing-all nationalities-sad!
We decide a boat trip is in order to give our feet a rest, so we head off from the YHA to Westminster Bridge and the Thames Cruise Company.
They are to transport us to Greenwich and the National Naval Museum and the Greenwich Observatory.
The ferry trip is good fun, especially if the commentary is good, as often the boat skipper will have his own twist on history and the various sites to be seen.

Thames-scape with Tower Bridge.

It's a grey day, so the pictures are rather somber.
However the park around Greenwich is far from somber-it's delightfully green.
The Cutty Sark, the wool clipper, which caught fire some time ago, is undergoing repair at the naval Museum.
The climb up to the Observatory is invigorating and the view excellent as it is one of the highest spots around London.
It is of course the the zero longitude and the point from where Greenwich Mean Time is measured.
We have lunch at the Naval Museum and browse the exhibits for a while.

"Scramble!"

Back on the boat for the return trip to Westminster, where on the embankment we find the very impressive memorial to The Battle of Britain and the pilots who formed "the few". It is an excellent memorial with the figures in deep relief, which I hope the picture reveals fully.
Walking on to Trafalgar Square, our way is blocked by motorcycle police who block the traffic. A black Rolls Royce goes past with Prince Edward ensconced in the back seat.
The National Gallery looms large soon after, and we go in to look at the Portrait Gallery which is quite interesting and has some pretty good portraits, mostly of people I have never heard of.
Our way back to the YHA is blocked by barriers and lots of cameras outside the Odeon and they're unloading red carpet from a truck.
The London Film Awards and a new film "360" is premiering tonight and they are setting up. It stars, amongst others, Anthony Hopkins-we don't see him.
Thank goodness as we are totally over stars and celebrities.
Dinner is quite a nice Chicken massala with just enough heat to make the nose run.
It is all quite convivial as we now know most of the longer term YHA's.
There is quite a mix here, and a whole range of ages too.