The Old Bailey, St Brides and Dr Samuel Johnson's House

After St Paul's we continued our tour and went to The Old Bailey, where Dipesh held fond memories of past experiences - say no more!

We carried on to St Brides Church, which apparently is where the wedding cake took it's inspiration of being tiered. You learn something new every day!

Inside St Brides we went into the crypt below the church and saw the Ancient Roman road, which was uncovered when a World War II bomb exploded on the site in 1942.

Finally, we visited Dr Samuel Johnson's House, just off of Fleet Street. He is famous for writing the 1st ever English dictionary and you can still see a statue of his cat out in the courtyard.

Andrew and Dipesh took the opportunity to dress up in some period hats, whilst in the house to truly immerse themselves in the experience - Whatever!!!

St Paul's Cathedral

Another day in London and some more guest adventurers join us......
This time it was our friends Liz and Dipesh.

We visited St. Paul's Cathedral 1st and managed to get 1 interior snap off before the security man came and told Andrew off, as there is no photography allowed inside the Cathedral.

The shots across London were kindly taken by Liz and Dipesh, as Andrew and Shivani were too scared of heights to go any higher than The Whispering Gallery. We did have fun in The Gallery though, as you can talk to the wall one side and the other person can hear you the other side of the wall. Something to do with the acoustics how the sound travels, apparently?!

The V&A

Hi Guys, long time no speak.
Thanks for logging on.
We continued our tour of London, this time joined by Bhavini - Shivani's Brother's Wife, who you can see in the picture with Andrew.
We visited The Victoria & Albert Museum, which was fascinating and far too big to see in one day, although we did try.
The Museum building is as much a work of art as the stuff inside. You can even see authentic World War II damage on the outside!

The Museum itself is dedicated to arts and crafts through the ages, with historical and modern pieces. Check out the funky chandelier in the entrance hallway.....

London - Hyde Park & Around 2

We carried on walking and got to Knightsbridge and the beautiful building that is Harrods, but have a look at the quaint little street we passed on the way.
Eventually we arrived in Sloane Square just as it was getting dark.

London - Hyde Park & Around

Back in Great Britain...
We decided whilst travelling that when we were back in The UK we would explore our own country a bit more.
Having cut short our world trip we thought it was due time to embark on our promise to ourselves. So here we go....
We bought ourselves a guide book for London and started off in Hyde Park taking a stroll on what was a bitterly cold but wonderfully clear day.
You'll see in the photos The Victoria & Albert Monument, The Royal Albert Hall, Peter Pan Statue, Serpentine River, Marble Arch and some of the local wildlife.
Did you know that Queen Victoria never really recovered from the death of her loving husband Albert and so built the extravagant monument in his memory.

Mumbai Calling

We visited the famous Leopold's Cafe, another victim of the Mumbai Terror attacks, where sadly 7 people lost their lives. We spoke with the one of the Managers, who was there that day and described what happened to us. You can see him in the photo next to Andrew. Also notice the bullet holes in the column behind them, the taped up glass in the windows shattered by bullets and what you can't see - the bullet hole in the table where we were sitting.
The last two photos are of Harish Masa with Shivani at The Victoria Terminus and Charu Masi waving us off from her balcony.
Unfortunately, Andrew had a sight mishap when one of the many stray dogs bit him on the leg. Nothing serious, but it did mean that we have had to return home, so that he can receive precautionary anti-rabies treatment.
This was a real shame as we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves in Mumbai and were due to be heading to Gujarat next for a family wedding.
We must say that we really did enjoy our time in India, especially Mumbai and especially the warm hospitality of Harish Masa and Charu Masi, who treated us like family.

We will return to India and Mumbai in the not too distant future, that's a promise!

Back in Mumbai

We caught a plane back to Mumbai and this time stayed with family friends Harish Masa and Charu Masi, who made us feel very welcome.

We went exploring in Mumbai again, caught taxis to get around around and even got the train, which was an experience in itself. No "health & safety" here.... in fact..... no doors either!! If you want to get from one platform to another? Simple, just cross the track and hope you don't touch the live rail. They have even put steps down from the platform to the track to help you walk across the train lines - how thoughtful! On the train itself was a bit of a squeeze, but one experience we'll never forget.
We arrived at the Victoria Terminus, which is the grand building you see from the outside shot and the busy place you see in the other photo. This is THE Victoria Terminus, which was attacked by the terrorists, but as you can see is back to the normal hustle and bustle.
We couldn't really do another entry on Mumbai and not put in a photo of people playing cricket. People set up a match anywhere and everywhere. The chaps in this photo are playing in a park in the centre of Mumbai, but we saw matches going in any free space we passed in our taxi.