Friday, February 10, 2012

23/12/2011 Our last day in London

St James Park teems with wild life


We had a good night's rest at 8 Cranley Gardens Hotel, most probably because of the lack of hot water woes. Cranley came with a light continental breakfast which was a non event. We paid all of the 125 GBP in cash and trudged back to Gloucester Rd's apartment, not surprised to see that we still have no hot running water. No shower was possible before our flight which annoyed me to no end. APLH was most apologetic and had many people calling to check on the situation.

With our plans thrown awry, we decided to head towards St Jame's park which lead to the Buckingham palace. The park is one of the most delightful places in England, with squirrels, pelicans, cranes and all sorts of birds roaming free at close range.

Buckingham Palace
Buckingham is an attraction to hoards of tourists despite the next changing of the guards being on the next day, which we would not get to see. No matter, because the other 2 members snapped candid shots of tourists which I thought were excellent photos.

Capturing a magic moment outside Buckingham Palace
An awesome lunch on our last day in London
For want of somewhere to eat, we walked to Hyde Park corner where more statues waited to be photographed. These were immense and beautiful, the only shortcoming being the grey skies. Even at the tube station , we were still debating what and where to eat. H had the honor of settling our differences and opted for familiar Gloucester Rd. We had already decided to revisit good old Pasha when we stopped to browse the menu at Light of India. The eureka moment was sealed and we had our first and last indian meal ( naan, korma, lamb tikka, panneer, pappadum 40 GBP )  in London, which I must say Was Very Good ! Sometimes impromptu choices could just be as good as preplanned ones.
Our lunch place near our condo

2pm back 'home' and Pat had his siesta while I received news from APLG that we would be reimbursed 150 GBP for the hotel's stay and trouble ( through the Visa account ). Better some compensation than never and I must remember to drop a charitable note at TA for this agent.

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