London 2017 - Day 4

The husband at the Tower of London

After the utterly horrid rainy weather on Wednesday, yesterday was warmer and mostly sunny.  As a result, the husband and I were up and out the door early  to see sights that we had put off due to the rain.  We started the day by visiting the Tower of London,. with a highlight being the Crown Jewels exhibit which has totally been redone and greatly expanded from what it was 35 years ago, the last time I had seen it.  We then proceeded to the Churchill War Rooms back at Whitehall from which Churchill and his war cabinet directed the war effort from underground offices, sleeping accommodations - the works.  The site also has an amazing museum on Churchill himself.  We had lunch at the nearby Westminster Arms Pub situated in a 1913 vintage building.  The food was good and the waitstaff very cute. 

The highlight of the day came when we toured the state rooms at Buckingham Palace.   Highclere Castle was very nice (I'd live there in a heartbeat), but Buckingham Palace is in a league of its own.  Like the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace underscores that Britain was once the world's dominant superpower with all the wealth that entailed.  The Palace's "gardens" that one never sees in photos are likewise gorgeous.  What was striking was how many public functions are held at the Palace and the number of non-tourists visit it each year.

We then rushed back to the hotel and headed to the home of one of the husband's friends and sometimes client who is originally from Newport News, Virginia.  After cocktails we dined at Bradley's and had an amazing meal.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Compton's of Soho for a drink and then another one at the Admiral Duncan where we met a very nice young man with whom we had a great conversation.  As always., the issue of Donald Trump came up and the man is universally hated (one shop we walked past was selling tee shirts with Trump as Hitler on the front side).

The husband walking up to our friend's home

Based on our busy day, no posts were published yesterday! 

London 2017 - Day 1

Yesterday was exhausting with the drive to Washington Dulles airport taking over 5 hours due the growing gridlock on I-64 and I-95.  The trip was a reminder of why we rarely visit Washington, DC. Thankfully, our flight on Virgin Atlantic left on time- the service was very good - and we actually arrived early.  The downside of the early arrival was an even lengthier wait to get through passport control.  We took the Heathrow Express into Central London and then made our way to Soho and our hotel on Firth Street.  Our room wasn't ready so we got breakfast and walked a great deal, including going to Saville Row.  The clothing was gorgeous, but the prices were generally astronomical.  I would one pair of dress pants for 75% off and the husband and I both score with a sale on jeans.

The husband is taking an afternoon nap after little sleep on the flight - I will do the same shortly - then we''\ll shower, get dinner and then check out some of the plentiful gay clubs in the neighborhood.   More posting tomorrow morning.