Laura's Bosnia Blog-Part 3 - 9/11/09

Friday, September 11, 2009, 9:17 p.m., BST Silly me....navigating Heathrow was a breeze and going through Customs was like falling off a log.  I picked up my bag and located Ashley, who was to be my travel guide for the day.  It was a beautiful, cool, partly cloudy day London...perfect as far as I’m concerned! We headed straight to my hotel, the Marriott across from Hyde Park.  I checked in and after a short wait, proceeded to my room where I had the most wonderful shower I’ve ever had.  Flying overnight makes you really long for a shower!  Ashley and I headed out around 2:30 TO EXPLORE London.  He had taken my “wish list” and made a plan.  The first stop was Harrod’s department store.  I’d heard about it but NEVER seen anything like it!  When I walked in, I asked a customer service rep. To lay out what I should see.  I followed her advice and saw, among other things, an Egyptian Escalator, more food options than I’ve ever seen in one place, miniature dachshund puppies (yes....puppies!), a memorial to Princess Diana, and a “doggie dressing room”.  Very unique.... When I arrived back at the car, Ashley tried to start it, but with no success.  I won’t go into all the details, but after a short nap and some afternoon tea and a scone at Harrod’s (very British!) we were back on the road (thanks, mechanic guy!) The good news was that were were back on our sight-seeing excursion.  The bad news is that it was Friday afternoon....the end of the work week....in LONDON!  I have never seen so many cars, taxis, bicyclists, motorcyclists, busses and pedestrians!  It took us over an hour to get to St. Paul’s Cathedral where I was SO looking forward to hearing the sung Evensong service.  But it was not to be.  As I walked up the steps to the Cathedral, I was waved away, being told that they were closing the doors for the day.  Guess I’ll have to come back to London some day...

We drove on to the National Gallery, where I spent about an hour looking at some of the most beautiful art I’ve ever seen.  I’ve never been to a gallery where there have been so many famous artists in one place....I saw Renoir, Van Gough, Picasso, Monet, Manet, the list goes on.  Amazing.  I took a quick walk through the National Portrait Gallery and then we were off to Lillywhites, a sporting goods Mecca where I went in search for an Arsenal football (soccer) jersey for Christopher.  I found one and was out and on my way to see some more sights.  We drove over London Bridge, saw the Houses Of Parliament, the War Rooms, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Kensington Palace and finally, Abbey Road.

I arrived back at my hotel around 7:45 and was exhausted.  My plan had been to get some Indian “take-away” food for dinner, but it was so late that I opted for a bowl of soup in my room.  I’m hoping to get a good night’s sleep tonight and wake up refreshed and ready for tomorrow.  I love London!