A Grand Birthday Out

Left Cambridge in a horrible, foggy mizzle - visability was down to a 150 yards by M11 junction. Journey was decent apart from spot of traffic near roadworks. Unbelievably, looking out of window when traffic slow saw a women in a BMW convertible open a copy of "Closer" on the wheel and read it as she was driving along (admittedly the traffic was only going 20mph but still)!

Got off @ Embankment & walked to Temple to start. Things we saw/did (in order of memory)

• St Bride's Church & crypt (Fleet St) - interesting
• The Gherkin - huge & impressive (didn't try brownies advertised in cafe @ bottom)
• The Bank of England museum (with gold bar) - 'Wind in the Willows' author Kenneth Grahame used to work @ the bank
• The Memorial wall in the Postman's Park (King Edward St) - fascinating
• The Royal Exchange - nice building, shame about the shops
• The Barbican - hideous statue of muse "Zoe"
• the Guildhall buildings
• The amphitheatre outline (Guildhall Yard)
• Lloyds building
• Fenchurch St Station (another one off the Monopoly Board)
• Pizza in the Dickens Inn, overlooking St Katherine's Dock - tasty as ever & as we got there after lunchtime we had the entire place to ourselves
• Leadenhall Market - excellent pint of Young's in Lamb tavern & city men getting their shoes shined
• Leadenhall market doubles as "Diagon Alley' in Harry Potter movies
• Statue of Reuters founder & Sir George Peabody (rear of Royal Exchange)
• Frank King's sundial in Paternoster Square - know & do work for Frank & Lou has met Lida Kindersley who made it!
• Statue of Queen Anne outside St Pauls - not Victoria as is usually assumed
• Pint of Doom Bar in Princess of Wales near Charing Cross (nice bogs down v, steep stairs)
• Memorial for victims of Bali bombs (near Cabinet War Rooms/St James' Park)
• Danny Alexander (going back to Commons to continue being Axeman Osborne's stooge) & Douglas Hurd (looking lost in Westminster Station)
• St Katherine Cree Church bell ropes (Leadenhall St)
• Did look at going into Tower of London but feet too tired!
• Also looked at Tower Bridge Exhibitionbut huge queue to get in and thought of wallking along top wasn't very appealing!

To see itinery for yourself, go to the vist the city website & download itinery 1: http://www.visitthecity.co.uk/index.php/home/homepage2/