My Nice Walkabout On My Own (London Diary: Borough Market at London Bridge)

On a wet Thursday afternoon, after completing my chores at the apartment, I decided to take some time for myself & walk around London. I started at London Bridge, heading for the Borough Market.

Had to take these pictures for Fred. I wished he was with me cos visiting markets are always an all-time favourite with us. At home, we do it out of necessity. When we are away, we do it out of curiosity & fun!

Fred, look at the types of seafood on this signboard.

Fresh seafood in London comes with a 'killer' price tag.

A stall was selling green mussels cooked in green curry. I was too shy to inch forward for a taste.

The guy's carving meat out of this huge beef thigh. Something we'll never see back home.

P.S. Dear Fred, I miss our regular routine of going out to the markets & choosing the freshest catch of fish. Without you by my side, I definitely just settle for what's acceptable. Hope to be by your side soon. Sigh!

Easter Service with the Queen (St George's Chapel, Winsor)

A small group of the Queen's loyal citizens & tourists had gathered on this lawn behind me to catch a glimpse of the Queen when she would depart after Easter Service.



Among this group of people was a sociable, freckled-faced, curly-haired 7 year old French boy who got acquainted with us. He was comfortable speaking English considering he did not seem to be at a loss for words. But I could not understand some of his expressions, although I pretended to in order not to disappoint him and to keep the flow of conversation. He told me his uncle worked in the Queen Mary's Dolls House. That the Queen Elizabeth was old now. He told me where the Queen was going to come out and what she was doing in the chapel before she would leave. When I asked if he felt cold (noticing his rather thin jacket), he said assuredly no and told his story about how his Dad pushed him into the water to swim (making a shivering expression) when he hesitated out of fear for the cold.... It was fun just chatting with him. I wasn't too sure that he knew where Singapore was even though he nodded his head with great confidence. Well, I didn't think he was lying either ;)


Church attendees lining up before service.


The Queen's private limo.





Finally, the Queen came through this exit. The crowd was really controlled. Only a splatter of claps were heard. No wolf whistles. Two girls nominated to present flowers to her were stationed outside the gateway. The Queen received the bouquets and were ushered into her private limo and whisked off to - where else - her Castle.

This was the courtyard where the Queen had left the Chapel.

Winsor & Eton

Winsor is mere half hour train ride from London. We reached early morning where the streets were relatively quiet.

We then found out that the Castle was not open to public until after noon because it was Sunday. Apparently, the Queen was in residence and would be attending Easter Sunday morning service at the St George's Chapel inside the Castle compounds. We hence decided we would attend the Service in the hope to catch a glimpse of the Queen (see subsequent post).
After the service, we left the Castle compounds and was mildly surprised by a long snakeline of visitors who had already formed outside the Castle entrance, waiting to be admitted. This was a sharp contrast to the deserted streets just in the morning. Seeing the crowd, we decided to go for lunch. But the line remained long after our lunch hour. Fortunately, it took us about 35 minutes to get in.

Photography was not allowed inside the Castle. The state apartments were huge, lavishly decorated with treasures and art pieces from the Royal Collection. We were awed! The Queen Mary's Dolls House was interesting too.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=34

Outside St George's Chapel

Fred was listening to the audio guide, not calling on his mobile.


After our Castle tour, we spent the remaining time walking across the River Thames, towards he direction of Eton.

But we were too tired to walk all the way to Eton College. So the only photo I have is this t-shirt print inside a shop window.

The River, the Garden & Bath Abbey

A train ride to Bath Spa from London is a must-do, this I would say. Bath has quite alot to offer & there wasn't a boring moment for us for the entire day we were there. Bath has both waterfront scenery and green spaces. River Avon runs calmly along the perimeter that hugs the spa town.

http://visitbath.co.uk/site/home









The bridge at the background is known as the Pulteney Bridge, built with houses on it, like old London Bridge.

Realised why none of us was smiling in the pictures? We just had a tiff before lunch & was still giving each other the 'Humph, I dun feel like talking to you' treatment. heh heh. Silly but oh-so-typical of couples lah.

The spire of Bath Abbey could be seen at the background. Charming!



We took a slow walk after lunch along the river bank and took in the sights and sounds, of birds, of the running waters and the distant bustling of people enjoying themselves and relaxing in the sunshine.

Isn't it pleasant to be able to just sit out at the Green, with the river not far away?

One of the most beautiful gardens in Bath: Parade Gardens.

Fred outside Bath Abbey.

An interesting roof or sky terrace of a nearby building.

More shots of the Abbey.

Abbey interiors.

Magnificent stained glass windows.