Na rathaidean fada, lùbach tro Chuimrigh agus Alba

We went to bed at 7:30pm. I woke up at 2:30am, Annette woke a little later, like 4hrs later! Are we over the jet lag?

Breakfast is at the hotel and we were reminded who gets all the love!

Being on level 7 every time we go for breakfast, sightseeing, dinner etc, we need to tackle . . .

Annette doesn’t like lifts and I prefer stairs to escalators or lifts anyway. By the end of our stay in London, Annette will be in good health ready for the climb at the next hotel in Cardiff. We are on level 12 I believe!

On our day’s journey through the bleak London weather . . .

We came across Sam the Cat who is on it’s 2nd life after being stolen from Queen Square Gardens in 2009.

It’s not really worthy of using my name.

And finally, our first destination, the Mail Rail Museum which is over run with buggies, the English name for prams.

Really, how old is Annette!

It was actually an interesting museum with a train ride through part of the underground network. In the early 1900s 4,000,000 letters passed through the rail mail every day. The ride was only spoilt by That Kid, who screamed for the entire ride, other than when the train stopped for an audio presentation at a mail station.

Our next stop was a visit to Highgate cemetery to meet some notable residents. The No. 17 bus duely came and we were on our way but in the wrong direction.

Not to worry, as they say “Shit Happens’ so we ended up at Tate Modern, it was on our agenda while in London anyway.

On our way we noticed through the bleak, cold chilly wind there was colour coming to London lovers and church goers, and those lonely souls searching on a Thames beach for lost treasures . . .

The Tate Modern is an imposing collection of buildings repurposed from the Bankside Power Station.

Some of the questionable artwork . . .

Tate, wasn’t exactly what I thought but my fault, as should have taken more notice of the word “Modern” instead of the word “Free”!

To get our inner selves warmed up, yes I had a beanie on, we had a hot chocolate at our go-to Italian cafe, Caffè Tropea in Russell Square opposite our hotel.

Dinner was at the busy Pho Russell Square Vietnamese restaurant.  The staff are very attentive and helpful. We didn’t need to wait too long before being served.

The meals arrived not unduly slowly. In fact we didn’t think anything of it. However the owner must have seen us waiting. He came over and apologised about the wait and said only been open a month and were busy and learning the ropes. We wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t said.

Apologising again, I thought he said the gelato we ordered for dessert was on the house. It was only after leaving I noticed entire bill was 50% discounted. How embarrassing. We’ll go back as a show of appreciation for something we didn’t think twice of. Plus the food is pretty good.

Jet lag was setting in on me a bit and I was asleep by 7:30 again, only waking up at 5am this time.

Today’s travels . . .