London Day 7

Friday was our last day in London and so we made the most of the available day light by walking everywhere. We started with a jaunt through Hyde Park over to The Serpentine and down along Rotten Row. From there we wandered through Mayfair, taking in the posh addresses that frequently grace the pages of the Regency Romance novels I read, over to Buckingham Palace, through St. James's Park to Westminster Abbey, down along the Thames, and across the river to the London Eye. According to my iPhone's health meter that day we walked more than 10 miles. We wrapped up with dinner back at the Parliamentary bar we'd visited after our walking tour of the area a few nights before for steak and ale pies. After dinner we wandered over to Piccadilly Circus and walked over to Oxford Street and then back to the Carnaby Street area for a quick stop in the pub we'd visited previously, and then we braved the tube on a Saturday night during the height of Christmas shopping season. Oh my god, so many people! We finished our evening with a drink at The Swan, a pub near our hotel that was originally a coaching inn from the 1700s (and usually a last stop for condemned men on their way to Tyburn). It was a long, exhausting day, but it was an amazing one too. We got to see so much of the city, and just really immerse ourselves in the festive holiday season. If you're wondering if you should give London a visit in December, I strongly recommend it.

Click on the pictures for larger versions
[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4241,4239,4242,4243,4244,4238,4230,4229,4231,4232,4233,4234,4235,4237,4236,4224,4225,4223,4228,4221,4222,4226,4218,4219,4220"]

Funny story for fans of HGTV - while we were in Hyde Park it was quite cold. To warm up we stopped into a restaurant on The Serpentine to drink some tea. I was sitting facing the exterior so I could see people come and go. At one point I'm looking out the window and I see a guy I recognize. Now obviously I don't actually know anyone in London, so I was having a hard time figuring out how I would know him. He wasn't an actor, or musician, and then it hit me - it was the real estate agent they most often use for the London episodes of House Hunters International! He saw me staring at him, and he was staring back at me for a bit, I think because he thought at first I was the person he was there meeting. Anyhow, he comes inside and orders tea and then a few minutes later a girl from Germany, I think, joins him. He has a fairly distinct voice and we weren't seated too far away so I could make out the entirety of their conversation. They were just meeting to tape an episode of House Hunters International! She had already filmed her back story, so I imagine this was the part of the show where the person sits down with their agent to go over what they're looking for. Sure enough, as we were leaving the camera crew walked up. So that's my brush with HGTV fame!