1 July 2015 - London Eye and the heatwave continues!

A pretty restless night with blinds flapping and windows rattling and the discomfort of a sloping sofa bed was brought to an end by the sound of cracking glass which turned out to be tradespeople replacing windows in the downstairs flat.  In our street, the renovations seem to happen constantly.  It is understandable with such a population density and property values around here (in fact  all over London) that renovations are pretty constant.  Our street comprises 3 or 4 storey Victorian Terraces, some of which are still one residence and others, like in our building, have been divided into three flats.  Some have below pavement "garden flats" which must be rather dark and dingy in winter.

The Standard ticket queue for the London Eye

 We had pre-booked our London Eye tickets which saves 10% if done 24 hours in advance.  We bought the Standard Tickets (cheapest option) so were content enough to stand in the half hour queue to actually get on the Eye.  (The Fast Track tickets would have meant a quick access but every little bit of "luxury" costs more of course!) The Eye itself is a very short walk from Waterloo Underground.  Tim had kindly made a dash to Aldi for lunch supplies earlier in the morning so we were well prepared and had lots of water, too, and hats. The humidity does make 33 C feel warm and there are SO many people, too, which means there is little chance of catching a breeze!

The Eye  with clear blue sky - a fortunate day to go!

 Once on the Eye, the cool gondola was a relief!  AAH!  We weren't packed in like sardines and there was plenty of space to either sit or move around and photograph or just look.  A gentle ride over the Thames with spectacular views.  We could even see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace!  Although the rotation lasts for only half an hour, the time went slowly and we really loved it.

"Check that out Mum!"

That's how it all rolls...

Big Ben!

Slow and steady, hardly perceptible!

At the very top!

Panoramic view looking up the Thames

...and looking down the Thames

Getting an even better, higher view!

Slightly spooky looking down on the gondola below!

And down we go!

And one of me, too!

The people in our gondola were a fairly humourless bunch and Luke made enough merriment to make up for that!  Quite a number were non-English speaking so there seemed no point to strike up a conversation any way!  In contrast to the streets of Paris where even the street sweepers took the time to say: "Bonjour", the Brits and the tourists here keep themselves to themselves.

132 metres at the highest spot over the Thames

Look carefully to see Buckingham Palace beyond the green area and the Changing of the Guard.

Screens for checking the scenes!

As part of the ticket we could see the 4D London Eye presentation which was not anything to rave about but inside and cool!  

Picnic lunch in the shade and then we walked to Oxford Street to the shop where we'd seen some cheap keyrings.  We decided on an ice cream at McDonalds and some cold water (always ask for tap water with your ice creams!) and a refreshing sit down in the air conditioned coolness before taking the Tube home.

Back on Terra Firma

And there we are! Luke trying to touch the top of the Eye!

Trying to sell fish and chips on a day like today!! Good luck to him!

From the Westminster Bridge

Wordsworth penned this poem in Westminster Bridge in 1802

 Luke has spent some time going through his collections of coins and key rings and other items of interest this afternoon in preparation for putting them in his "museum" at home.  Oh dear, we have "archived" his other exhibits in a cupboard, but it seems he is still in collector mode and already asking for more space in our corridor for his exhibits!  No wonder he loves all the big museums we have been to!  I am thinking of some kind of framed wall display for his key rings and coins so there are not scattered everywhere.  And then there is his Lego, a small amount of which has travelled with us....

And on a different note, memorial to the Bali Bombing victims 2002

We were out of supplies of children's Iboprufen and at home it is only available at pharmacies.  Here, it is available at Sainsburys for a fraction of the cost which is worth noting.  We realised we were out of Iboprufen when Luke had a severe headache last night (probably heat related) and would not take crushed tablets in any form so it was good to stock up.  His headache resolved after he vomited and went to sleep so we presume it was heat stroke as he is fine now.  We have, however, kept up the fluids and rests today and hence bore no guilt sitting in Maccas having an ice cream.

On a home note, I was just cleaning the bath after Luke's bath and I found lengths of white string.  On closer inspection I realised that it was MY dental floss !  On asking what it was all about Luke told me it was a mechanism!  I thought he was unusually quiet but I was enjoying the peace!  He is one of a kind!