London 2018 Day 3 Part 2

We left the Sky Garden building and walked across the Thames river via London Bridge. 

We walked over London Bridge, and my mom would have been proud. I sang the song. Ally was so embarrassed. But Hanh and I sang at the top of our lungs, it was great. Over the bridge to Burrough Market for lunch. Ally had a roll, some grapes and the driest chicken we've ever tasted. Dry because she refused any sauce. But we insisted on some protein. After that she got 2 treats at the bakery. A giant meringue cookie and a brownie. Becky and I split a chicken pie. We left the market and walked along the Thames. It was a longer walk than we anticipated and Ally's knees were really hurting. But we saw the Globe theater and paused to see the water up close. Then we walked over the Millennium Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge across the Thames that faces St Paul's Cathedral. I kept thinking about how the first time I was in London my cousin Katy and I walked up 300+ stairs to the top observation deck. And this trip I marveled at how large the cathedral really is. We caught a bus from St Paul's back to our hotel. Traffic was so bad, at a standstill that the bus driver told us all to get off and walk. So we did. The kids watched videos in our room again while the 3 moms had coffee and Diet Coke. After we said goodbye to our friends we relaxed in our room and made plans for the rest of the week. To our surprise Ally said she wanted to see the changing of the guard, so we made arrangements for that and some other fun plans. Dinner at Wagamama, a Ramen noodle place Ally enjoyed last time we were in London. It was cold today so warm hot comfort food was delicious. After dinner more time in our room relaxing so we are ready to go at it again tomorrow. So far I'm feeling good about our balance of downtime and tourism time.

 That tower is simply known as Monument it is a monument in honor of the Great Fire of 1666. We did not climb up the 300+ stairs to the top.

That is Tower Bridge as viewed while we walked across London Bridge.

Had to get a picture with the sign. 

At the market.

Becky really wanted a bite of the meringue.

The market was quite beautiful in its own right. It was a slow day - not all the vendors were there. But plenty for us.

Family shot with the meringue.

She was so serious and silly about the cookie.

The tall somewhat curved building in the picture above is where the Sky Garden is located. It was kind of amazing to see from above where we were going to go and then while walking look and see where we had been.

In front of the Globe Theater there is place to walk down into the Thames River.

Family picture in front of the Globe Theater.

Walking across Milenium Bridge.

The view of St Paul's cathedral was fantastic.

My favorite picture of the trip.

Ally and her Ramen.
Funny story: when we suggested to Ally that we get Ramen for dinner she was disgusted. "I dont like Ramen" she declared. We were so puzzled and explained that it was basically chicken soup. And she said "huh? isn't Ramen a meat?...I don't like meat. Well I like chicken but not meat. Is there a meat that sounds like Ramen?"
She does like Ramen.

Last night in our Leicester Square hotel. It was a great way to make lemonade out of not staying with our friends for the first 3 nights in London.