And I thought it was dangerous riding in Hobart

I'm scared riding my bike around Hobart, but it's nothing compared to what it must be like cycling in London. There are lots of people cycling, few of them wear helmets and where there are bike lanes they have to share them with the double decker buses. I did read of one cyclist who had been killed the previous week when he was run over by a cement mixer. I'd be surprised if it didn't happen quite often.

Macarons prenez duex

We were rushing to catch the bus to take us to the train but couldn't resist stopping to get some more macarons.

Mmmm....

Paris to London

Time to leave France - it's onto the Eurostar again. Train travel is so easy...in what seems like no time at all, we're in another country.
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurostar

Tabitha chose our hotel off the internet and it's a real gem. The room is basic, the decore from the 1960's and we share a bathroom with the rest of the floor, but the staff are great, it's in a good area and best of all a full english breakfast is included in the price (yay..we get to eat).

This is me at some famous London landmark (I can't remember which one), there are so many well known streets and buildings, etc but not many of them look that remarkable.

Leicester Square where we go each morning to buy cheap tickets for shows.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester_Square

Nelson's Column at Trafalgar Square; apparently they put him at the top so that he could see the sea.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson's_Column

Our first show in London is a matinee performance of Legally Blonde The Musical. Every
performance they sell 20 tickets at bargain prices. The catch is that you have to arrive 2 hours before the performance to get a ticket in a lottery. They draw out the names of 10 people, who can buy 2 tickets for 15 pounds each. Luckily Tabitha's name was drawn out. The show was great though I still prefer the movie.

Shakespeares Globe theatre is a reproduction of the original. It was built using as many of the original materials and construction techniques as possible, but it has the addition of modern lighting and rigging etc. It is located about 200 metres from where the original theatre stood.

www.shakespeares-globe.org

The Thames River with St Paul's cathedral in the background.

The entrance of the British Museum is spectacular, but the exhibits are beyond spectacular, so many artifacts and so much information and entrance is free. You could spend weeks, months here just reading and looking. In Tabitha's words "If you lived in a place like this you would have no exscuse for not being smart". We also loved the National Portrait Gallery where entrance is free too.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museum

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Portrait_Gallery_(London)

The mummy exhibit was very popular with numerous tourist bus loads of people all competing to get a look. In the end we had to leave...just too many people. But the museum is just across the road from our hotel so I hope to get back before I leave.

Finally, some protein!

The diet so far has consisted almost completely of carbohydrates. Lots of bread and some pasta. We thought we had picked a cheap restaurant, but the sign outside was their lunch menu, not dinner. This meal wasn't cheap, but at least I finally got some protein and I think it was only the third proper meal we've had since we left home. Pity was I could only eat a fraction of this 3 inch thick steak.

Tabitha's meal was interesting; chicken curry on a kebab with squeezy skewers of green banana flavoured syrup and soy sauce and a squiggle of ketchup.

All Chateux'd out

Chambord was built as a hunting lodge. There are still areas for hunting game around the chateau and next month there is an international hunting conference where they expect around 1.5 million delegates.


I thought these stone sinks were pretty clever, there is a hole at the back where the water can be drained out down the castle wall.


A major architectural feature of the chatea is a central staircase in the shape of a double helix. So there are actually two staircases that wrap around each other.

This is the central core of the double staircase that runs the height of the chateau.

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I just like this photo.

Thunder in Tours

It has been a wet thundery day in Tours. I had planned to hire a bike and ride along the river today.

But unfortunately I spent most of the day in my cell, I mean room at the hostel. It's not that bad I suppose, particularly now we've got used to it, but having my own bathroom would be nice. Instead I have to trot about 20 metres down a dark hall. They seem very keen on conserving power here and the few lights there are, are on timers, so once outside your room it's almost dark and I need to carry the little torch I brought with me to get my key in the door. All the shower roses have been removed in the communal showers, it's a bit like showering under a dribling hose and you can have hot water or cold water but not both at the same time. It all adds to the adventure I keep telling myself.

I miss my Paris apartment.

Once the rain stopped Tabitha and I walked around the town and had some fun window shopping up and down the numerous alley ways in the Tours township.

We found this great square near the hostel. It's surrounded by bars and cafes and full of locals.