Every Now and Then Even London Gives You a Tan...

London we are coming!!!!

This time, thanks to the Millemiglia, we fly with Alitalia from Linate to Heathrow.

The flight is calm apart from an under-10 passenger who decides to give her lungs free rein. When we land, they tell us the sky is cloudy and it's 16°C.

At the airport there are passport checks, but for EU passengers the formalities are quick and when we arrive at the belt the suitcases are not yet in sight.

We collect from the machines the tickets for the Heathrow Connect that we had booked online ( The airport is so big that the transfer between Terminals is done by subway!!!! We transfer from T4 to Central and wait for our train.

In about half an hour we arrive at Paddington (practically a building site!!!) and collect our Oyster Cards (3GBP deposit) to travel more freely (for information: With the Circle Line we arrive at Victoria Station and with a walk we reach the Victor Hotel ( The structure is very distinctive and so is the position of the room: in the basement!!! The room is small and spartan, but clean; the real drawback is the tiny sink!!! The positive side instead is the bus number 14 stop, right in front of the entrance!

But by now it's late and hunger makes itself felt: we go out immediately and opt for.....a Mexican restaurant (Loco Mexicano, 64 Wilton road) right around the corner.

And with this tropical note our first London hours come to a close....

First day in London

In Italy they celebrate the Republic... From our "underground" little room we celebrate the blue and clear sky that greets us on waking!!!

Breakfast is served only until 9, a nice incentive to start the first day wandering around London early. We stuff ourselves with coffee and toasted bread and then....off we go!!!

We head straight to visit the beautiful Westminster Abbey ( - about an hour with an Italian audioguide): it costs 15 GBP each, but at least it doesn't take other subsidies either from the queen, or from the State or Church. Unfortunately you can't take photos, but the elegance and majesty of the church are famous all over the world.

Turning the corner we find the House of Parliament and Big Ben: we admire both also from the bridge and then continue toward 10 Downing Street, which however can only be glimpsed through the gates.

Passing by chance in front of the Household Cavalry Museum (House Guards), we watch the little concert of the mounted band (around 11 o'clock) preparing to reach Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard ceremony.

We follow the horsemen to the Mall with its many elegant flags and then turn toward Trafalgar Square where we stop for a break and to take in some sun. We stroll along the Strand (though we miss the Twinnings at 216 Strand) and arrive at Temple, with its very well-kept gardens. Since Inner Temple ( is still closed, we go in to eat our first Fish & Chips at Ye Olde Cock Tavern.

As dessert we enjoy the visit of this simple but delightful little church, made famous by a scene from The Da Vinci Code.

We head toward St Paul's ( but before tackling the visit, we take a walk along the Millennium Bridge as far as the Globe theatre (

We return and after a nap on the lawn we enter St Paul's (12.50 GBP plus the audioguide, for those who want it). We also tackle the climb to the three levels of the dome, even though we feel a bit weighed down after the not exactly light lunch. The first level is within many people's reach and lets you admire the interior of the cathedral from the so-called Whispering Gallery. The second level becomes more demanding and leads to the outer terraces that offer a beautiful panorama, between one column and another, of London. The third block of stairs (spiral) is a tough test, but rewards with a beautiful 360° view (and without obstacles) over the city.

Having left St Paul's, we head on foot toward Monument ( the column that commemorates the great fire of 1666. For today we've had enough stairs: we give up the certificate of participation given to climbers and go to admire the Tower Bridge from the walkway of London Bridge.

Yielding to tiredness, to go back we take bus 15 which from Monument takes us back toward Regent's Street and Piccadilly Circus.

The stroll through the shopping streets (including a jump to Carnaby Street) takes us to Fortnum & Mason ( but its shelves of tea and jams are too boundless for the little time we have available! We promise ourselves to return and go to collect the tickets for tonight's musical: Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre!!!!

At the moment of entering we have a pleasant surprise: since the balcony is closed, we are "promoted" free of charge to the stalls, with excellent seats (row L numbers 5-6).

Once the show is over (beautiful), we find ourselves wandering toward the hotel looking for a place to have dinner, but the route offers practically no choice! We end up in a random Steakhouse in the Victoria area.

We consume dinner quickly and run to the hotel: we deserve a good sleep!!!

A Thames cruise to rest our legs

Today too we wake up to a blue and clear sky. The weather forecast even says that between Friday and Saturday it could reach 27°C!!!!

After breakfast we walk toward Westminster Pier, on the Big Ben side because the programme includes the cruise on the Thames to Greenwich (

We buy the day ticket so we can get on and off as we please (Rail River Rover 13.50 GBP each) and settle outside, on the upper deck. The trip lasts about an hour and a quarter (including various intermediate stops) and a guide (a volunteer) explains in English the main attractions that can be admired along the banks of the Thames.

Having disembarked at Greenwich we walk in the park and among the buildings overlooking the Thames and then visit the National Maritime Museum ( - free), where the uniform Nelson was wearing when he was killed is kept.

We then buy two sandwiches and some drinks and improvise a picnic on the lawn around the museum.

Walking through the park, we arrive at the Royal Observatory; great panorama and watch museum. And of course the photo astride the zero meridian is a must!

We then resume the cruise, this time going back up the Thames and stop to visit the Tower of London ( - a good 17 GBP). The fortress complex is a real labyrinth of things to see: walkways, moats, towers and exhibitions… to the delight of adults and children. Obviously we decide to queue also for the crown jewels, sparkling and majestic.

We take the boat again (this time very crowded) to return to the Big Ben area because we also want to try the London Eye ( - GBP 18.50 each), the huge Ferris wheel that turns very slowly (one mile per hour) to allow you to take many beautiful photos (better to go in the morning, because the sun is behind the north bank, where the main monuments are).

We then return to the hotel to recover a bit and discover...that we're practically sunburnt!!!!

We end the day with dinner at the Hard Rock Café, a fixed stop on our trips, which always leaves us with a single question: why isn't there one in Milan?

A bit of London literature....

We dedicate this morning to two literary whims.

Right after breakfast (and after topping up our Oyster card) we take the metro toward King's Cross station in search of platform 9 and 3/4, in honour of Harry Potter. The station is a building site for restoration works, but the entrance of the platform is accessible. I try to push the trolley, but we're two muggles without any magical power: the passage to Hogwarts is barred to us...

We then head toward the British Museum and admire it from outside: the day is too beautiful to shut ourselves in a museum, however beautiful and fascinating it may be.

We therefore trudge toward 221b Baker street, to greet Sherlock Holmes and, indirectly, the legendary Gregory House.

There are many steps and the climate (hot, almost scorching) definitely doesn't help: we take bus 74 toward Hyde Park. The choice proves disastrous, because London traffic forces us into a long queue and the buses turn into ovens without air conditioning and with tiny windows: evidently days this hot are rare!!!

Having entered Hyde Park we'd think of another literary stop: the statue of Peter Pan, but given the time we opt to follow the example of many English people: we grab something to eat, find a tree with a bit of sun and a bit of shade and.....picnic with a nap!!!

We nevertheless take a tour of the park and remain a bit disappointed by the memorial fountain of Princess Diana: a circular channel full of running water in which the little ones (but also some adults) happily splash about to cool off on the hottest days (like today).

Having left the park we walk toward Buckingham Palace: since it's not the time of the Changing of the Guard, we manage to walk around freely and approach the great gate beyond which it's not possible to enter.

The urge to shop makes itself felt and to resist...we go to Harrod's!!! Apart from some souvenirs (I adore the book-tote bags!!!!) and the treats of the food hall, all the brands are out of reach...

Then, like all shops like this, they're excellent solutions for....going to the bathroom!!! At Harrod's, in the ladies' restrooms, there's even a little table with some perfume testers, surely an attempt at temptation!!!!

We can no longer feel our legs and feet... Before finding a little place for dinner, we decide to stop by the hotel for a break.

For the last evening we've decided to go to Soho and look for a pub that also does fish & chips. We get off at Piccadilly Circus and walk up the very crowded theatre streets. The district is very busy for the bars, theatres, red-light shops and "gay-friendly" venues, as well as obviously the many pubs. It's Friday evening and the weather is really good: there isn't even wind and in this season it gets dark late (around 10 pm), so many Londoners are out in the streets, outside the pubs, with their glasses of beer and lots of cheer!!!

After dinner and at the first quick hints of darkness we take the opportunity for some night photos: first here and then along the Thames, near Big Ben.

The last exertion of the day is a micro sprint to catch the 24, which drops us off right in front of the hotel.

A couple of London markets

Tonight we leave... We're not exactly happy about it: the sky is still blue and the things to see would still be many...

Unanimously we elect London as the best European capital (at least among those visited, even though the ones we have left would hardly stand the comparison!!!): it may be that we found excellent sunny days, but here we'd stay for a long time, without ever getting tired of it...

And in our heads the usual question: why in Italy (and in Milan especially) can't the same vitality of culture, music, people, city parks, historic and modern neighbourhoods, new venues and old pubs be created....

After breakfast we settle the hotel bill, but leave the suitcase in storage, because there's still time for a few more rounds.

First stop: the Portobello Road market ( There are really a lot of people and a lot of choice: clothes, antiques, fruit and vegetables, bread, souvenirs, CDs and much more. The first purchase is a necessity: it's so hot that I opt to replace the jeans with a nice wide cotton skirt (10 GBP). Also to cool off, we buy a fruit salad to go (2 GBP): here a lot of fruit (oranges, peaches...) is sold "by the piece".

Having exhausted the purchases and the photos (Notting Hill is really a lovely little neighbourhood!!!), we take the metro again toward Covent Garden (

This square too (partly covered) is very lively, frequented by many tourists looking for souvenirs or also for a lunch break. We opt for the stalls: hot dog and cheesecake, not exactly dietetic, but from tonight we'll be in Milan and we'll have time to improve our diet.

While we eat our packed lunch, we enjoy watching the many jugglers performing on every side, entertaining the children, but also the adults. Suddenly we notice a strange group of young ladies dressed as (female) cartoon characters, but a bit sexy: Cruella, Snow White, Cinderella.... and obviously Alice, with a splendid pink "Bride To Be" sash!!! A very amusing idea for celebrating a hen party and getting photographed by tourists and curious onlookers in general...

The sky is clouding over, bringing a blanket of muggy heat and further tiredness. Not far away are the Embankment Gardens: an excellent green corner for a nap or a stop before going to collect the suitcase.

And here we are again on our Heathrow Connect, which takes us back to the Alitalia desks and the return trip to Milan. The sky is now cloudy and a few drops of rain fall on Paddington, reminding us how lucky we were to see only sunny London.