And again...

Yesterday it was back to London, this time with a firm plan to go back to Baker Street to go to Madame Tussaud's. Baker Street, for those not in the know, is the home of one Sherlock Holmes. His presence is everywhere there - from a motif in the tiles on the tube platform, to a statue on Baker Street and even his own museum.

We eventually got in to Madame Tussaud's, despite their best efforts to keep us waiting all day. Let me just say that they need to learn how to keep crowds happy from the Wimbledon organisers! We fought our way through the ignorant and rude people throughout the wax museum (and managed to not kill anyone in doing so - I'd not had any caffeine at that point, so this was not easy!). I think the highlight of the experience was the live scream part - seeing Lisa actually jump so much that she was about a foot off the ground was priceless!

We had to zoom out of there pretty quickly, as we had tickets to go and see We Will Rock You (yeah, it was my third time, and still as good as ever!). We got over to Tottenham Court Road, met up with the others, and rocked out for the next three hours.

After the show we headed over to Covent Garden. We wandered through the shops and markets, meeting up with a couple of my other friends along the way. Then, after a little side trip to the Australia Shop (Bundaberg ginger beer and strawberry Freddo Frogs mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm), we went down into Leceister Square for dinner.

After dinner, the girls I'd seen the show with all wanted to go home, but I stayed out with Matt and Mil. We strolled over to Carnaby St, which I have to say wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It's one of those streets that seem to be in London folklore - like places such as Portobello Road and Notting Hill. It wasn't anything like I thought it was going to be, sadly. It's an upmarket street, much like Chapel Street in Melbourne. Oh well - at least I have been there now!

We wandered back over towards Regent and Oxford Sts then, before deciding to go to St Paul's Cathedral - another place I hadn't yet been. The walk there was a bit like picking a direct line along the major tourist attractions - from Regent St to Picadilly Circus, down to Admiralty Arch and along the side of Trafalgar Square, and then along to the end of Whitehall and to the Thames.

We walked along the Thames, trading bits of random information (topics ranged from the Great Fire of London to the geography of Egypt!). The obelisk that is along the path still has damage from a bomb that was dropped during World War II. We kept walking along to Blackfriars, and then up to St Pauls. We were distracted on our approach to the cathedral by a funny street sign - not the kind of thing you normally associate with a church!

I still am stunned by the intricate work that was done on buildings like this, especially given the time frame. St Pauls was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It was finished in about 1710. It's enormous! We didn't go inside, so I'm sure I'll go back again at some point.

We then headed along Fleet Street (where there was a barber shop, but not where we could get a photo with a street sign in it as well). Along the way we found the place where Twinings Tea started. That's what I love about London - you can find all these random places without even trying!


Next we walked past the Old Curiousity Shop. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it's a wonky building. It seemed like there was either construction or renovation going on inside, so we didn't see any curiosities, but it was exciting for its Dickensian references all the same!


After all that we walked over to Holborn tube station to go home (passing the Australian Embassy along the way). It was late, I was shattered - and I was still over an hour away from home! Two great weekends in a row, and I'll be spending the next one in Wales. Roll on Summer holidays!