Another bright and sunny day out the window. I awake at about 7:00, and by 8:00 I am downstairs. There are very few people in the restaurant area so far. I am getting my coffee when a young Asian lady motions that I can sit with her. We say hello, and it turns out she was the lady I gave the advice to about the expensive internet machine here at the hotel. She is from Singapore, and just arrived yesterday to work here in London for 2 years as a hairdresser for a company that has salons in many different countries. She will move in with a friend in a few days, but until then she is staying here at the hotel because it is near to her work place, while her friend gets her place ready for her.
After breakfast I get my laptop and walk to one of the internet cafes down the block. It has a sign which says they allow customers to bring their own laptops to use the internet. I want to do some banking stuff, which is easier to do with my own computer. The internet café has a great connection and good facilities, but I am unable to do what I want due to a glitch on my computer. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. I take my laptop back to the room, and then walk to the subway station and get another travelcard.
Today I want to go back to the London Eye and ride it, so I take the tube to Embankment (just like yesterday) and walk across the pedestrian bridge to the RCH. After stopping in there to check-out the upcoming schedule of events and concerts (lots of stuff, but not much that I want to see this week), I walk down the riverside to the Eye and buy my ticket. The cost is 11.50GBP. There is a short wait, but soon I am in a "pod" with about 12 other people. The ride is very slow, and very smooth. The pod is always level. The ride takes about 20 minutes or so. What a great view! What an amazing ferris wheel!
I then walk back across the river to the Westminster tube station, and take the subway to Leceister Square, which is near Chinatown. After a couple wrong turns I find Chinatown. I walk around the area just looking at the scenery, and also trying to find an ATM. I need to get some cash! Finally I give up, and end up having lunch in a diner. At least they take credit cards! Afterwards I take the tube to Barbican, another performance venue, and I check to see if there are any upcoming events that I might want to attend. Yes, there are, but none during the next week or so. I am very impressed with the Barbican area. In addition to the concert halls, there are several apartment buildings all built around a plaza and pond, with water fountains, flowers, etc. It is very interesting, and I can see that in the summer it would be a very nice place to sit and enjoy the sunshine and watch the people go by. But it is too cold for that today!
Then its back on the tube to Canary Wharf, a very large mixed-use development east of town center along the river. I remember coming past this back in 1990 and again in 1999, when I was riding on a riverboat. I wanted to see it from inside. Wow, what an interesting place. Tall buildings, shopping malls, offices, condos, restaurants, open spaces, plazas, etc. It doesn't seem like London! It is all very new, very clean. While at the Mall I find an ATM and try to use my card. It is rejected, with a statement that it has expired. I look at it, Yes, it expired at the end of February, the day I arrived in London! Oh well, I will have to find a Citibank tomorrow and resolve this problem.
After having a cup of tea in one of the malls I keep walking towards the river and eventually reach the river. Yes, there is a riverboat terminal, and yes, there is another boat going west to town center in about 20 minutes, cost 3.40GBP. I wander around in the area, but come back in about 10 minutes (it is cold), pay my ticket fee, and then wait in the waiting room. The room is not heated, but there is a small space heater in one corner. I take advantage of it! The riverboat soon comes, and by then there are maybe 5 or 6 other people also getting on. The boat is very sleek, very cool looking. The ride upriver to town center takes about 15-20 minutes. What a nice ride! Maybe I will ride this again another day in both directions!
I exit the boat at the end of the line (the Savoy pier, just east of Embankment tube station). I walk to the tube station, taking some photos of the Eye. It is very pretty at night! I then take the tube back to Paddington, and I have dinner at the restaurant next door to the hotel. After dinner I go back up to the room where I work on this journal, and try to develop a plan for tomorrow.
I get downstairs and enjoy the usual breakfast. I meet a mother and young teen daughter from Holland. They are here visiting, and today is their last day to see London, as they will go back to Holland tomorrow. After a leisurely meal I go back to the room and look in the phone book for the phone numbers for Citibank. I find it, call, and get the info about where the nearest Citibank is. Soon I am on the subway to Oxford Circus tube station, and then I walk a couple blocks west to Citibank.
I tell my problem to the young man at the customer service counter. He says they are unable to give me a replacement or temporary ATM card, but that I can receive a cash advance on my credit card. OK, but then I must go see one of the tellers. The teller is quite helpful, but she must telephone a main office somewhere, and then wait for them to call the USA and then call her back. After at least a 30 minute wait she receives the phone call and I get 300GBP against my Citibank Diner's Club credit card. At least that will keep me solvent for a while, and I will try to use my credit card as much as possible, even for smaller purchases. Later in the day I realize that I also have an office account ATM card, and it will not expire until next year. So, as it turns out, I really don't have any problem at all!
Leaving the bank I meet my friend G at a nearby store. We go to Chinatown for lunch. It was quite tasty. We went to a Malaysian and Chinese restaurant. When we walked in we were the only customers, but by the time we left there were several tables of customers. We then take the tube to Embankment. What should we do? Go to the Eye? Take a boat ride? Well, it is quite cloudy, not a good day for the Eye. We walk to the boat pier. Yes, we can take the boat to Greenwich, but as soon as we get there we would have to come back, as that will be the last boat for the day. So, we have a nice walk along the riverfront, walking towards Victoria Station, past Buckingham Palace, thru Hyde Park, and all the way back to Paddington. G is a very good walker!
We then take the tube to Angel, G's neighborhood, where we have dinner at a nice Thai restaurant named "Thai Square". There are several of these in London. The staff is Thai, and it was nice to hear the Thai language again. Of course, even though it is Thai food, it is not Thai prices! I notice again that the prices would be very normal American prices if one replaced the lb sign with the $ sign. But, 8.95 is about $17US, and our modest meal for two came to about 25lbs, or about $45US! Ouch! After dinner we said goodbye, and I took the tube back to the hotel.
Another cool and mostly grey day, and I start my day with the usual juice, cereal, rolls, and coffee. Actually it is not a bad meal. I usually have a glass of juice, two small boxes of cereal, 2 or 3 rolls, and 2 or 3 cups of coffee. So I am getting my money's worth! Today I want to organize my trip to Berlin. First I call American Airlines, and move my flight to Barcelona from Tuesday, March 9, to Friday, March 12. Then I go to the internet café and get some prices for travel to Berlin. Armed with some information, I walk down the street looking for some travel agencies. I walk all the way east to the next tube station, Edgware Road. I find a travel agency, but their prices seem a bit high. I grab a bite of lunch at BK, and then go back to the room and look in the yellow pages. I decide to go to a Thomas Cook agency, and I see there is one near Marble Arch tube station. So, I take the tube to Marble Arch, and sure enough right across the street is the Thomas Cook office. After waiting a few minutes, the nice lady gets on her computer. I could fly British Air non-stop for a total price of about 190lbs, or KLM thru Amsterdam for 110lbs. No contest. I will save the 80lbs and take KLM. My flight will leave Saturday morning from Heathrow, and I will return to Heathrow on Wednesday afternoon.
Now that my trip to Berlin is settled, I do some more wandering, and at 7:30 I am at a Starbucks near the Green Park tube station where I meet my internet friend F. We then go to Kings Cross area where we have dinner at a very nice Chinese restaurant. I let F do the ordering. We have a good and interesting meal, with Chinese greens, fish, and spicy tofu. After dinner we say goodbye and I hop on the tube back to the hotel.
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