Tuesday 18th October 2022
After sleeping in hundreds of beds, I've come to the conclusion that I prefer a soft mattress. Unfortunately the Travelodge prefers hard ones. So I was up and down a bit last night but I was also excited about going to the Sky Garden in the city today.
I'm loving the ease of public transport with the help of the Google maps. It tells me exactly which bus to take and now that I've figured out how to do the 'live view' I don't seem to turn the wrong way from the onset. I sat on the front seat of the double decker bus for two long trips and I was amazed at how different the London skyrise is now compared to the last time I was here. It looks like Qatar with all the cranes and construction now, with lots of high rise apartments and far more accommodation now. No doubt the demographic of business in the city has changed after lockdown and people working remotely. I find it fascinating seeing inside homes and from the bus I could see a whole lot more.
When I got to the 'walkie talkie' building where the Sky Garden is, I was amazed at how long the queue was. But there was a security check before we got in the lift so the queue moved quickly. On stepping out on the 34th floor, I was amazed.
I didn't look at too many photos while Googling, as I like surprises. The clincher for me was the free ticket and the view. The glass structure didn't have too many plants so it was less garden than I expected but the view...
It's fantastic!
I sat down with some rather expensive refreshments but it was a lovely day and I didn't want to rush away too quickly. I'm amazed at how many tourists there are in London still. I had a brainwave of getting a boat bus back to Richmond so I Googled the details while in the heavens and was ready for a nice walk along the Thames.
It was lunchtime so plenty of business people were out enjoying the sunshine. Lots of runners making their way through the throngs of people and after a 5km walk for me, I got told that the boat I was after only starts after 4pm. It's a commuter route so I decided to get back on a double decker back to my hotel.
After a 2 hour trip, I met up with Angie and again with local lady, Briggette and we walked to Richmond Park. It turned a bit chilly but we finished off a lovely day with a delicious Persian meal.
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