London and arrival in Jordan

I arrived in London around 8 am with about an hour’s sleep (it’s 6 hours ahead of Regina time), bought an Oyster card to use on the underground, and set off for my hotel.  It’s really the only way to go to central London, cabs are horrendously expensive.  An hour or so on the underground later I reached my station, and had to wander only a few minutes before finding my hotel, the Z Hotel Soho.  It’s the best location, right in the middle of the theatre district with restaurants everywhere, a bargain in this area at about $250 a night, but the tradeoff is it’s a little cramped.

My room wasn’t ready so I set off to see the Queen on a marvellously sunny day.  A short walk to Trafalgar Square, then down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, but Liz was not out.  St. James Park across the street was really scenic, with a heron sitting in a tree along the river, and then my camera decided to stop working completely.  Not impressed with my Panasonic Lumix that I used to love.  The park leads to Big Ben and the Parliament Buildings.  Back at my hotel, I was let in to the tiniest hotel room I have ever had, not much more room than the tent I had in Africa.  But it’s very modern and posh, with a big tv at the foot of the bed, and everything I need.  I had to set out to find a camera shop where I bought a new Canon that will do the job.  After that I finally had the chance to get some sleep, but there was only time for an hour nap until the wine and cheese offered daily at my hotel, so I couldn’t miss that!  I was feeling a little tired at that point but wanted to go to the theatre – The Commitments was just across the street so that’s where I went.  Great show, not much of a story but love the music!

The next morning my friend Nitin met me at the hotel.  We set off on the tube for the Tower of London, where there is an ongoing installation of ceramic poppies in the moat.  There will be one planted for each life lost in the Great War, 200 years ago.  The final poppy will be planted November 11, then they will be sold for charity.  The crowds are massive, the nearby tube station is shut down, and the sight is amazing.  We went in to the Tower, just in time for a tour led by a Yeoman.  In this case it was a Yeowoman, the first and only woman guarding the Tower.  After that we saw the Crown Jewels, including massive diamonds set in crowns (we went back to pass the crown section three times on the moving walkway because they were so amazing), huge golden punch bowls, sceptres and maces and capes and all the other things that will come out whenever there is another coronation.

The Royal Ravens were out on the lawns, they have been kept there for centuries and legend has it that if they ever leave the Tower will fall.  6 must be there, so just in case there are 8.  You wouldn’t want to run into one of these ravens in the dark, they are huge!

We continued around the Tower to see the Royal Beasts display, telling about all the exotic animals that were housed there in previous centuries, such as a polar bear from Norway who was allowed in to the Thames to fish while wearing a leg shackle, and a pair of tigers who killed a lion they were left to play with.  These stories seemed too strange to be true but…truth is often stranger than fiction!  Apparently kings of different nations would send each other a lion or two once in a while as a gift.

The White Tower, in the centre, housed the Armouries, with endless exhibits of the history of the Tower.  It was almost closing time by the time we left, catching the tube back to my hotel to partake in the wine and cheese, then dinner at a Peruvian restaurant named Ceviches for pisco and ceviches, then theatre, the Book of Mormon.  This was written by the guys who created South Park, about Mormons sent to Uganda to convert the natives, and was so politically incorrect and funny that I was in tears.  It’s apparently the hottest ticket in town.

The next morning I walked across a bridge to the south side of the Thames, and went on the London Eye, a huge ferris wheel from which you can see all of London.  The London Dungeon was right next door but advertising made it look like a Hallowe’en shock house so I skipped it and wandered past Big Ben again.

 I met my friend Krishna at a Japanese restaurant close to my hotel, then went to the musical Matilda, based on a book and movie of the same name that I had never heard of.  It had many child actors and dancers so I was skeptical but it was really good.  Of the three shows I saw, all were packed with people, even though it’s during the week.

Up at 5:30 to catch the tube to Heathrow, with extra time so that I could get refunds for my Oyster card and VAT (value added tax) for my camera, both turned out to be easy peasy and I had lots of time for my flight to Frankfurt (1 hour 5 minutes to catch the next plane, I reached boarding area just in time) and on to Amman, Jordan.

A day of travelling later, I arrived at my hotel, in the old downtown and right across from the most spectacular sight in the city, the Roman Theatre.  Upon arrival I was greeted by several men, shaking my hand and offering mint tea.  The hotel has an attached cafe with musicians, a NON-smoking room!, and endless very friendly local men. Local women seem to be non-existent after dark.  The no smoking signs in part of the lobby seem to be just a suggestion, there is smoke everywhere!  I went to the cafe to have some baba ganoush, the eggplant dip that is so great in the middle east.  The Amman Pasha hotel is charming in its own way, but quite a change from my posh hotel  in London.  My room’s extra night lock is broken, and I am 100% sure that I am 99% safe here since it is a tourist hotel endorsed by my trusted Intrepid travel company, but just in case I have a chair under the door knob!