London is the relaxing leg of our trip so we had decided to sleep in and woke up around 10 am. Last night we had again purchased butter croissants from the grocery store across the road from our hotel so we had them for breakfast, in addition to the in-room coffee and biscuits. Sleeping in late was a great idea in terms of catching up on sleep but since that meant a longer gap between meals for Samia, she started having symptoms that she typically gets before the onset of a migraine. We walked to Eat for a proper breakfast comprising hot oatmeal (which is called porridge in England), toast with avocado spread and latte. Then we went back to our room and Samia rested some more while I opened the windows to let in fresh air. Thanks to the caffeine, food, oxygen and rest, we were able to quell Samia's migraine before it had started. Then we got ready and left for the day at around 2 pm.
We took the bus to a stop close to the Westminster bridge, another iconic bridge over the river Thames. We stopped at a Pakistani restaurant for lunch. I had chicken achaari with rice and Samia had a beef burger. I also had a samosa. The food was pretty good which was more than we expected as we had stopped at the first place we saw after getting off the bus. It was a much hotter day as compared to yesterday.
Our plan was to do a walking tour using Rick Steves' audio guide. We started in the middle of the Westminster bridge where we could see the giant Ferris wheel called the London Eye on the East End behind us. We then walked to the end of the bridge to perhaps the most famous icon of London, the Big Ben. This giant clock tower is on one corner of the Houses of Parliament. The Houses of Parliament used to be the royal residence in olden days but is now the location of the two Houses of Parliament - the lower house called the House of Commons and the upper house called the House of Lords. House of Commons and the MPs that comprise it are the real governing power of England. We also saw the offices of the MPs in a modern looking building that's the real seat of power in today's England.
We walked a little further down to the parliament square that has statues of some famous world leaders like Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The parliament square sits between the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the adjoining smaller Saint Margaret's church and finally a boulevard called Whitehall that leads all the way to Trafalgar Square. We started walking along Whitehall and saw various departments' ministry buildings such as the foreign ministry and the defense ministry. We also saw the road that leads to Churchill War Rooms that chronicle the world war history. There were a few statues in the middle of the boulevard as memorials to women soldiers and a couple of generals. We also saw Downing Street being guarded by London policemen called bobbies. The Prime Minister's house at 10 Downing Street could be seen with a nondescript entrance a few houses down the street.
Our last stop of the walking tour was the Trafalgar Square, the important square that sits between the National Gallery, the road called The Mall that leads to Buckingham Palace and of course, Whitehall that leads back to Parliament Square. There was an event going on in the square where hundreds of Sikhs wearing orange turbans were present on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India. We walked back to get an ice cream from McDonald's and then made our way to Churchill War Rooms. Unfortunately, we missed the last entry into the museum by two minutes so we decided to pass time in the Saint James Park across the road.
We sat there for about half an hour at a bench, savoring the shade of the green trees on the hot day with a view of a pond with different types of birds including pelicans. Then we started walking on a path that is a memorial for Princess Diana of Wales. We crossed a bridge that has some great views and then exited the park on to The Mall and continued walking towards the Buckingham Palace. It's the official residence of the Queen of England who is technically also the Queen of Canada. When I took my citizenship oath earlier this year, I swore allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second and now here I was, at her residence, to thank her personally. Just kidding, the queen wasn't at the Palace which is signaled by flying the Union Jack on the palace. If she is in the building, the royal flag is flown instead. After having seen many palaces all over Europe, the Buckingham Palace didn't seem as grand as some of the others but it's unique because it's an active royal residence. We sat at the base of the giant statue of Queen Victoria in front of the palace for a few minutes before making our way to the closest bus stop.
We took the bus to Edgeware Road and passed the Marble Arch on our way. The Marble Arch was originally designed to be a part of the Buckingham Palace but Queen Victoria did not like it so it was moved where it stands today. We were meeting Samia's childhood friend Sameen and her husband Bilal for dinner on Edgeware Road. This road is quite well known to Pakistanis as many rich Pakistanis live around this area. Altaf Hussain, the in-exile leader of MQM also lives here. The road is dominated with Middle Eastern shops, shisha bars and restaurants. We met Sameen and Bilal at a Lebanese restaurant. We spent the next four hours chatting with them over dinner that was a treat by our friends. We had hummus, kibbeh and fatoush salad for appetizers. I had the mixed grill and Samia had chicken Shish Tawook for the main course and finally we had a Lebanese version of the Turkish dessert kunafe. After dinner, we took the bus back to a stop close to our hotel since the tube wasn't running anymore as it was pretty late. Then we walked back to our hotel and called it a night.
We took the bus to a stop close to the Westminster bridge, another iconic bridge over the river Thames. We stopped at a Pakistani restaurant for lunch. I had chicken achaari with rice and Samia had a beef burger. I also had a samosa. The food was pretty good which was more than we expected as we had stopped at the first place we saw after getting off the bus. It was a much hotter day as compared to yesterday.
Our plan was to do a walking tour using Rick Steves' audio guide. We started in the middle of the Westminster bridge where we could see the giant Ferris wheel called the London Eye on the East End behind us. We then walked to the end of the bridge to perhaps the most famous icon of London, the Big Ben. This giant clock tower is on one corner of the Houses of Parliament. The Houses of Parliament used to be the royal residence in olden days but is now the location of the two Houses of Parliament - the lower house called the House of Commons and the upper house called the House of Lords. House of Commons and the MPs that comprise it are the real governing power of England. We also saw the offices of the MPs in a modern looking building that's the real seat of power in today's England.
We walked a little further down to the parliament square that has statues of some famous world leaders like Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The parliament square sits between the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the adjoining smaller Saint Margaret's church and finally a boulevard called Whitehall that leads all the way to Trafalgar Square. We started walking along Whitehall and saw various departments' ministry buildings such as the foreign ministry and the defense ministry. We also saw the road that leads to Churchill War Rooms that chronicle the world war history. There were a few statues in the middle of the boulevard as memorials to women soldiers and a couple of generals. We also saw Downing Street being guarded by London policemen called bobbies. The Prime Minister's house at 10 Downing Street could be seen with a nondescript entrance a few houses down the street.
Our last stop of the walking tour was the Trafalgar Square, the important square that sits between the National Gallery, the road called The Mall that leads to Buckingham Palace and of course, Whitehall that leads back to Parliament Square. There was an event going on in the square where hundreds of Sikhs wearing orange turbans were present on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India. We walked back to get an ice cream from McDonald's and then made our way to Churchill War Rooms. Unfortunately, we missed the last entry into the museum by two minutes so we decided to pass time in the Saint James Park across the road.
We sat there for about half an hour at a bench, savoring the shade of the green trees on the hot day with a view of a pond with different types of birds including pelicans. Then we started walking on a path that is a memorial for Princess Diana of Wales. We crossed a bridge that has some great views and then exited the park on to The Mall and continued walking towards the Buckingham Palace. It's the official residence of the Queen of England who is technically also the Queen of Canada. When I took my citizenship oath earlier this year, I swore allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second and now here I was, at her residence, to thank her personally. Just kidding, the queen wasn't at the Palace which is signaled by flying the Union Jack on the palace. If she is in the building, the royal flag is flown instead. After having seen many palaces all over Europe, the Buckingham Palace didn't seem as grand as some of the others but it's unique because it's an active royal residence. We sat at the base of the giant statue of Queen Victoria in front of the palace for a few minutes before making our way to the closest bus stop.
We took the bus to Edgeware Road and passed the Marble Arch on our way. The Marble Arch was originally designed to be a part of the Buckingham Palace but Queen Victoria did not like it so it was moved where it stands today. We were meeting Samia's childhood friend Sameen and her husband Bilal for dinner on Edgeware Road. This road is quite well known to Pakistanis as many rich Pakistanis live around this area. Altaf Hussain, the in-exile leader of MQM also lives here. The road is dominated with Middle Eastern shops, shisha bars and restaurants. We met Sameen and Bilal at a Lebanese restaurant. We spent the next four hours chatting with them over dinner that was a treat by our friends. We had hummus, kibbeh and fatoush salad for appetizers. I had the mixed grill and Samia had chicken Shish Tawook for the main course and finally we had a Lebanese version of the Turkish dessert kunafe. After dinner, we took the bus back to a stop close to our hotel since the tube wasn't running anymore as it was pretty late. Then we walked back to our hotel and called it a night.
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