Twenty thousand steps and the aftermath

For those of you who own a fitbit or similar device, you will be aware that twenty thousand steps is a lot. No amount of doing housework, wandering around the supermarket etc will get you anywhere near that number.

Yesterday we achieved it....but not without consequences!

 With some concern about the heavy grey sky and predictions of drizzle we  rugged up and headed off to be perfect tourists,
Here's a summary of our achievements:

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. There were hundreds of bouquets of flowers along the Westminster Bridge and on the lawns near  Westminster Abbey where a policeman died only a week ago. Very sad.

With Westminster Abbey closed 'spontaneously' for two days I substituted a quick peruse around the Shop, which of course had not been spontaneously closed. There really is no end to how many objects a Union Jack will fit on if you try hard enough. I was going to buy a gorgeous gold pen with a sparkling crown attached to the end but decided I could live without it when I saw the price!

The cabinet room

We consoled ourselves with a visit to the underground Churchill War rooms , which were actually fascinating. They were still in the same condition as they were during WWII and I found the stories about the work in that difficult environment interesting. There was a display about the life of Churchill who appears to have been a tyrant, but a very effective leader.

Ewan looking a bit distraught at the thought
of being kept underground by this Royal Marine

Then we stumbled across a monument to all those who died in the Bali bombing. Included in the 202 people who died were a number of  young Brits. You can just see the outline of doves carved into the stone ball . The names of all of those who died were listed on the panels at the back.
Continuing to wander we found the parade grounds for the Royal Horse Guards and some appeared.....and so did lots of tourists!

Then it was St James Park replete with beautiful tulip flower beds in stunning colours.
And a few very happy ducks.

A stroll through the Park ended at Buckingham Palace with thousands of tourists and a few stationary guards in their famous
hats.

As we headed for Oxford St via Park Lane for some lunch we came across a couple of Arches and a very interesting War memorial for New Zealand and a number of posh car dealers. Anyone for an Aston Martin?

Eventually we couldn't resist the opportunity to go to the David Hockney Retrospective at the Tate which was only a few Tube stops away.

No photos allowed but I was very pleased to also see some Henry Moore sculptures and some Turner paintings too.

We staggered home and collapsed and when I looked at the fitbit I couldn't believe how many kilometres we covered. Some great sushi and a bento box from a little Japanese place across the road and that  was it for the day.

This morning we headed off to the National Portrait Gallery feeling somewhat tired, so there was a lot of sitting and looking at the portraits thoughtfully as a disguise for just resting! Great portraits though and well worth a visit.

Brightly coloured meringues and an array of cakes

Licorice of all types! Yum!

On the way home we strolled through the Borough market which is on our doorstep and it was in full swing. After a lunch of a HUGE bratwurst in a roll for me and a very healthy vegetarian lentil wrap and curry for Ewan we bought some Darjeeling tea, a slice  of Victoria sponge and a piece of pear parsnip and salted caramel sauce cake ( absolutely fabulous!) some licorice, fruit bread and brie and blue cheeses. And that was us showing some restraint!!

We finally staggered up the stairs and had an afternoon nap which lasted FIVE hours. Oops!
I think we should have allocated a rest day in the time we've been here somehow ! So now its midnight and we are both wide awake: great!

your not-very-tired-anymore correspondent

Dianne