я не понедельник: Hop On, Pissed Off Tour of London

No, this was not our ride but a girl can dream, can't she?

All I can say is that it is important to know one’s audience. A “Hop On, Hop Off” tour of the city sure seemed like a fool-proof way to see London and stake out a few sights to return to on Saturday. Waking early and fetching an Egg McMuffin breakfast for Mr. U was sure to earn his cooperation for my scheme/agenda, she thought. How could we miss, she said. It would take about two hours, she said. What a great way to get to see the city while letting someone else drive, she said.

What an incredibly painful experience never to be repeated, he said.

Everything was working out well once the bus arrived at our local area stop. We hopped on and were asked to change our voucher into a ticket at the next stop. That proved to be easy enough as an attendant was ready with his hand held ticket printer. It was then up to the top of the double decker bus for us! As the morning rain had abated and any remaining clouds were blown away by the strong winds, the sky was now clear blue and the day was shaping up to be a spectacular one.

Mr. U was being playful and pestering me by providing a running dialogue in conjunction with that provided by the bus company. His version of London highlights was slightly less historical and definitely more hysterical. I was taking photos of everything in sight and loving the experience - for the first 45 minutes. The wind picked up at this point and our fingertips were starting to freeze up and cramp. Our cheeks were getting slightly chapped form the wind and our backsides were getting sore from sitting for too long on the hard, plastic seats. We also really could have used something to eat at this point. I know better than to let Mr. U get hungry while playing tourist. This was the whole point of the Egg McMuffins, after all.

a nod to Mr. U's "sepia eagle" series

Why didn’t we just hop off and take a break, you ask? That seems like the logical thing to have done, right? It was a Hop On, Hop Off tour, after all. *sigh* Did you read the comments in the first paragraph? It was supposed to be two hours. Supposed to be. I was caught up in the moment and excited to see with my own eyes all the exciting parts of London that I had only previously seen on TV and in the movies. Mr. U had long since stopped pestering me and was sitting quietly behind me with his jaw at first firmly set and then finally clenched.

Westminster Abbey

St Paul's Cathedral

Big Ben

Buildings around town that caught my eye...

Le Gavroche - One day I will dine here, but not this day. Michel Roux Jr.'s 3 Michelin star restaurant

The Hung Drawn and Quartered Pub

even the mobile carts have class here

Is this one of Hermione's spells?

The Victoria and Albert Museum

Shopping (from afar, of course!)

After rounding the Marble Arch in Hyde Park for the third time, we finally came to our senses and decided to hop off at the Baker Street stop. We popped into the nearest pub and had a beer and something to eat to stave off the crankiness. Instead of hopping back onto the bus, we cut our losses and ducked into the Tube to head towards “home”.

We walked along the very crowded and bustling Oxford street to Wardour street and found ourselves back at the hotel in no time. By now the sun had gone down and the street lights and holiday decorations illuminated our path.