Once I had a hotel room full of wet clothes that needed to dry, I headed out to find a bus that would get me close to Fortitude Bakehouse. My mission was two-fold. I wanted to see if it was easy to utilize busses to get around London. If so, it would provide Gayle and I a step free way to get around. I also wanted to get something delicious to eat that would allow Gayle and I to eat breakfast in our room. I had already bought bananas and yogurt. But now that my son Brett is a baker I always look up bakeries when I travel. When I did my research on bakeries in London Fortitude Bakehouse was highly praised. It specializes in sourdough pastries.
Getting the bus was not difficult. I sat on the front row of the top level of the double decker bus. It was pouring rain and even so, it was still fun.
To get to Fortitude Bakehouse you have to wind your way down two narrow cobble stone streets. You would never stumble upon this place. Even in the rain there was a queue waiting. It is a very tiny place and you have to wind your way around large sacks of flour and stacks of eggs.
They have savory and sweet pastries. The coffee was excellent also.
With a sack of goodies in my hand I headed back in the rain and onto the bus. Traveling by bus in London was a great way to get around. I spent several hours back in the hotel room resting and catching up on things. I was waiting for my sister Gayle to arrive. She landed at Heathrow before noon and made it to the hotel a couple hours later. Gayle unpacked and we did some catching up. We headed out around 5 p.m. and took an Uber boat across the Thames to the London Eye Pier.
We had hoped to get sushi for dinner but the two Japanese restaurants we checked in with were fully booked. So we ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant, Peacock London, which promised a view of Big Ben. Our table faced the wall. We ordered two dishes — morning glory and eggplant. They were okay. We wouldn’t make an effort to go back.
Our next stop was the London Eye.
A couple months ago we had purchased Fast Track tickets for 8:15 p.m. When we bought the tickets we imagined a sunny, warm day. We thought we might see the sun set over the horizon and the city lights come on. It was a cold and cloudy day and it was still a fun experience. Riding the London Eye is a great way to get an understanding of the layout of London. The large building in this photo houses the hotel in which we are staying.
The Palace of Westminster, which is the meeting place of the Parliament of the UK, is prominent from the London Eye.
Minutes into our journey it began to rain which greatly impacted our view, as you can see.
It was a lovely journey, despite the rain. By the time we got back to the bottom the rain had stopped and the crowds were all gone. The lights of the city were just turning on.
We caught the Uber Boat back to Embankment Pier and returned to our hotel. We stopped at reception. I was curious about the building which houses our hotel. When I asked about the building they all turned and looked at one particular employee who lit up like a child at Christmas. He came around the desk to tell us all about it. This building used to be fully owned by the National Liberal Club and what is now the hotel were formerly the apartments for the club. The British Intelligence (MI6) was founded on the 8th floor of what is now the hotel. There are stories that at one time there were secret tunnels between the National Liberal Club building and Downing Street. This massive building is now divided into three sections: The National Liberal Club, Royal Horseguards Hotel and the Farmers’ Club. My curiosity sated we headed back to our room.
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