Anyone who knows me well knows I’m a bit tight with my money. If I buy something I want to get value out of it. So when I bought my London pass for £105 each, I want to make sure the three days are jam packed with exploring the sites so I at least make my money back in entry fees. So here is how it works - you buy said pass (a three consecutive day pass) that allows you free entry to a number of sites. It activates on the first attraction you visit, which means you then have the remainder of that day and the two next days to use it.
So up and out the door at 9am walking from our apartment to The View from the Shard - London (and Western Europe’s) tallest building. At £32 each, a big chunk of the cost knocked over already. Lovely to walk there too - it’s only three tube stops but we discovered some interesting stuff along the way, along with the following conversation:
Hayden: Why do they call it the Shard though, what a stupid name.
Mum: well cos it looks like a shard, don’t you think...
Hayden: no it just looks like a broken piece of glass...
Mum: Like a...
Hayden (lightbulb goes off) ... a shard I guess...
Anyways, saw some breathtaking views from the top (which I think Hayden is keen to revisit at night) and made our way to the WWII ship, the HMS Belfast, where we spent a couple of hours exploring the six levels of a retired naval vessel.
Lunch stop at the Christmas markets and I’ve got this kid asking for sausage on a roll, so scoff that down and make our way across Tower Bridge and into the Tower of London. Thoroughly entertained by Beefeater Dave (you’ll find him on Twitter) who regaled us with stories of the Tower along with the obligatory convict jokes for us Aussies. Explored more of the Tower ourselves and then onto a River cruise down to Greenwich where we did a quick lap of the Royal Observatory before straddling the east-west Meridien where time begins it’s measure.
Total entry savings today - £97. We only need to see one thing tomorrow and we are all squared away and anything else is a profit. (Oh good lord I sound like one of those women on Ultimate Couponers...)
You may be just a little tired after reading this. However this was not the end of our day. We had tickets to Def Leppard at the O2 in North Greenwich tonight, so walked down to the stadium (previously used for the London Olympics) and grabbed a bite of 5 Guys burgers, fries and shakes before settling into our seats ready for the show.
Support group was Cheap Trick (not great, but bareable) and poor Hayden was struggling to keep his eyes open as jet lag hit him full strength. He soldiered on after a bit of water and seemed to enjoy Def Leppard - particularly the encore - a strong, clear version of Let’s Get Rocked.
Then the tube ride home and here we are 13 hours after leaving the house snuggled up in bed. I’m still hyped from the show so can’t sleep just yet, so will tell you one of the funniest things about the crowds in London.
At the football last night and after the show tonight, I was lucky to overhear two conversations made at full volume about people’s private lives. Now I can tell you that Mike messages her without any prompting and he shouldn’t get upset cos she doesn’t ask him to and he isn’t upset and she should know he would never cheat on her. (I can also tell you what all their friends are getting for Christmas and which of them is cheating/claiming to be mates with famous soccer stars/buying shoddy presents). Alternatively tonight she was obviously such a sexy nurse that he couldn’t keep his winky in his pants and it’s not up to her to know he is married or anyfink. Seriously, it’s like I’m surrounded by the cast from The Only Way is Essex. Drama everywhere for everyone to hear. Seriously people, sharing is not always caring!
So as I wind down tonight I leave you with this photo taken from my bedroom window this morning. Beautiful, innit? (Picking up a bit of an accent methinks). The sun peeking through? Except it’s not. It’s 8am and that’s a street light. The sun did, however, come out today for about an hour at 2pm - oh happy days!
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