Blackpool Tower

We decided in our infinite wisdom to book our train back to London, the day after the competition, after lunch, which would give us time to explore, have lunch and not have to rush.

Only one problem with that … the day before *was* the end of the season. Everything was closed. Including the Tower, the arcades and most of the restaurants. The town was closed. To top it off it was windy and bitterly cold.

We wandered for a bit; took a few photos; and had a hot chocolate ~ then we gave up and got an earlier train. So long Blackpool ~ until next year … hopefully.

Being a Shamefuly Knobby Londoner

I’m striding out of The British Museum, after having a meeting in the members’ room, mumbling under my breath about all the tourists walking around aimlessly, eyes skyward, stopping without warning to take pictures ~ I’m not going to lie to you, I growled a little internally, maybe even externally… oops. As I get out of the gates, I turn around and realise I’m a knob, an utter knoby Londoner – taking for granted all of the splendour that is London, whether it’s the architecture; the open spaces; or the wide cultural array ~ these are the reasons I love London so much ~ sometimes you’ve just got to remind yourself and thankfully today, I reminded myself to look up in awe.

Shakespeare’s Globe

The Globe is one of those iconic buildings what stands out as being out of place as you cross over the Millenium Bridge ~ and it may not be the original building, but purely from an external perspective alone, it’s magnificent.

A Chilly Tower Bridge

As we’re walking around the Tower of London, I happen to notice Tower Bridge just through one of the exits, standing magestic against the blue winter sky ~ … it’s a chill old day.

The Tower of London

I’ve been in London 23yrs now and in all those years I’ve never actually been inside the Tower of London ~ I *stumbled* across it on a lunch time walk while the poppies were in the moat, but ever in or around it.

My niece is a massive history nut, so nearly everything we’re doing while she’s down is history based. It’s half term, there are kids everywhere, ev-er-y-where!

The Beefeater who is giving us a guided tour is brilliant, telling us about this beheading and that beheading and various forms of torture. We see the Crown Jewels and play a fun little game called “Punish or Pardon” in which we act like a vigilante mob shouting our verdict on recreations of real trials that happened in the reign of King Henry VIII.

one very happy niece

the tower of london used to house a zoo … who knew??

.. the rack

Punish or Pardon … “PUNISH!!”

… there was this suit of armour, that for some reason caught everyone’s eye…!

We had thought that we would spend just a couple of hours there, but we were still there as it was closing and no time to go to our planned second stop, Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms. Just about enough time to have a much needed warming hot chocolate, before a very rushed dinner before going to see Wicked.

Ground Zero

The final stop in New York is Ground Zero. We brave the tube to get there heading for the World Trade Centre stop. I ponder the retention of the name for a while, wondering if it’s odd or not ~ never forget, it’s perfect it’s right.

Rockefeller Centre by Day and Night

After breakfast we head to the Rockefeller Centre and mooch around a bit before going in to go to the top, only to be told that the next time we can go up will be in an hour.  In a lightbulb moment we thought, rather than killing time hanging around, it might be nicer to actually go up at night, so we booked our trip to the Top of the Rock (as it’s called) for 10.45pm after seeing the Blue Man Group.

Grand Central Station

I have no idea why but I’ve always wanted to go to Grand Central Station.  It’s one of those places that features in so many films, mainly romantic films where someone is chasing after the one they love who’s about to leave forever. I see no-one rushing after lovers, nor am I, alas.

Waking Up in New York

I literally can’t believe I’m waking up in New York, it’s incredible, it’s brilliant. The view from the 30th floor over the Hudson River is amazing. We’ve had about 5hrs sleep, but we don’t care, we’re ready to go on our New York adventure! … but coffee first!

My South American Adventure: Rio’s Cathedral

The nextstop on our City tour is Rio’s Cathedral – some people in our group think it’s ugly, I think it’s magnificent and inspired.  It’s inspired by a Mayan temple in it’s shape – inside the god-knows-how-tall stained glass windows are incredible.