London days 3 & 4

Day 3 - Blue route -museum link, rock n roll walking tour & Jack the Ripper walking tour. Dinner with Jacob.

After a big day out on the big red bus and the scenic boat trip on the Thames, you might have thought we had had enough of sightseeing?... Nope! We were back again early this morning. This time, we were on the City Sightseeing 'blue' bus tour. There are quite a number of bus tour groups based on the 'hop on hop off' system, and all have a number of different routes included within their packages. This is such a big city. So we were out to make sure we got value and to see as much as we could. Again, the sun was shining and we were on the top deck of the bus taking in some more sights without any hassle at all! If nothing else, we found the theatres we were going to for Les Miserable and Mousetrap!

 

We then left the bus and headed for a walking tour of London's Rock and Roll history. I thought this May have been a cheesy beat up tour, but it was great. The tour guide was right into his subject, and in 90 minutes (which went by in a flash) had taken us to the sights which included Apple Recording Sudios (where the Beatles famously played live on the rooftop), recording studios where people like Elton John, Carley Simon, The Who, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Queen, Jimmi Hendrix and Eric Burden all laid done a host of early hits. We also saw the club where Jimmi Hendrix played his last performance. Just amazing stuff!

 

Not to be outdone, we rushed away and got down to the Statue of David stands (you know, David the tradie!) and there we hooked up with the 'Jack the Ripper' walking tour commenced. Again, in 90 minutes we were mesmerised. Of course, we all know the stories, and the theories etc etc. But to walk the same lane ways where this monster stalked his victims, and to stand on the same cobble stone paths where the victims bled and breathed their last, was amazing...and kinda spooky. Again, the tour guide was great. Turns out he is a part time actor and he was very theatrical and really got you engrossed in the stories.

 

By the way, the same area was the haunt of many characters that inspired Charles Dickens stories. Walking about there, you can just picture Fagan rousing on his child gangs, or a Mr Scrooge watching for a window!

We hurried back to our digs, miles late for an appointment we had made to meet Jacob Stewart that evening....Jacob is a mate of David and Bianca's, who is now living in London and working as a Contiki tour guide throughout Europe. Being such a nice bloke, Jacob jumped on a train and came and met us in Bayswater, allowing us to shower and change. We went to a Greek Restaurant called Santorini, only round the corner from our hotel. The food was great, but we loved catching up with Jacob and finding out all the things 'behind the scenes' on his tours...bit of an eye opener!!

Day 4 - Camden town markets.

I love markets.....NOT! But let me tell you,these are a must see for any traveller. We got there by the train to Cambden Town. The Cambden Markets start right at the top of the stairs from the rain. The first thing that became obvious was the sheer size and expanse of these 'markets'. This place is huge. The second thing was the amount of people. This place is packed. But the range of stuff is amazing and the food....the Bang Bang Chicken...omg! A good walk around, a few purchases, a lot of looking, a beer, and we were gone.

 

 

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