Sandy Supposes....

Banderas, Browsing, and Sir Creepy

It's official...I hate my tablet at this moment!!! I had my latest blog installment ready and it just disappeared!! Excuse me while I vent....???!!!##$$%%$@@???!! Now I must start anew,,sigh.. stupid technology I miss writing with pen and paper. Okay..PROMPT: Day 3 in London

          In my virtual reality, I am able to visit many venues sorta like time travel. There is no clock ticking off the valuable tourist minutes. I am free to go wherever I want. After my morning cuppa today, I hurried to the bus stop. I was foot loose and fancy free with no itinerary. I could really appreciate a hop on, hop off style of travel. There was alot of good-natured jostling amongst us for the upper deck of this two-tiered big bus. Look out London here we come. My mind reeled with all the possibilities open to me. For a time, I just bounced along the Ring Road and tried a royal wave or two.

          Something gigantic and glittery caught my eye and I soon hopped off my chariot, Yes, it was Madame Tussaud's wax museum! This place was awesome! Who knew wax figures could be so lifelike. I saw two fellow Canadians, Jim Carrey and Justin Bieber. No, really, I have never been a 'belieber." Now my family does appreciate the humour of "Liar,Liar" and "Pet Detective". Yeah, I confess I nonchalantly draped an arm around ol' Jim's shoulder for a shameless selfie. Be still my beating heart, mi corazon was in the house. WakeUpAndLive~doingNaNo'24 It was him!! Antonio Banderas as I live and breathe was there in the flesh, well, okay, it was waxy flesh, but still... damn, he looked so sexy and Spanish! A lovely smiling stranger snapped my pic nipping his delectable cheek, not the stranger's, Antonio's. Guess which cheek? Haha, there was even a wax replica of Grumpy Cat and Shrek. I must admit the various James Bonds looked pretty handsome, too. It was crowded with celebrities. I salute the wax wunderkids that create all of this. SB Musing snickered that wax candles are difficult to make. I cannot imagine burning/melting or otherwise mutilating Antonio.

          My next stop had to be at the London Eye, the rather noticeable ferris wheel near big Ben. OMG! It's gondolas or pods are fashioned from glass. and each of the thirty-two pods hold several people. What an ingenious concept! Swirl slowly in the air for thirty minutes and snap all the spectacular scenery shots you want. SB Musing and Sally were struck speechless, shocking, but true. When I noticed their silence, I also realized that they were clutching at a rail white-handed. Normally, I'm not a great fan of heights either, but this was bloody incredible, plus this is a virtual trek.

          Apondia and I could not resist strolling through Kew Gardens. They were so lush and lovely. Sparkling serenity amidst the city.

          Carnaby Street was a must see for me. It was noisy, colourful, and chaotic. I relaxed at a cafe and unabashedly stared at the sea of humanity. I indulged in a wee bit of browsing amongst the street stalls, boutiques, and shops.

         Without missing a beat, I visited Baker Street and the Sherlock Holme's museum. I am a devoted fan of murder mysteries and who-done-its. "The game is afoot."

          To finish my touring, I chose a Thames River cruise. I floated along in the unceasing current of a legendary waterway. This river has witnessed so much history.

          All of today's wanderings only served to re-invigorate me. I was more than ready to explore bars and pubs with a spirited group. No, I didn't anticipate that I would actually crawl. This was a new concept, a pub guide, a chaperone, a drink whisperer. He would be our fun facilitator lucky fellow. We quickly dubbed him Sir Creepy because he referred to us as 'crawlers.' He ushered or more accurately steered us to the first drinking establishment of the night, Piccadilly Institute. Um, that word establishment would become increasingly more difficult to pronounce. Not yet inebriated, yes that is posh-speak for drunk, we tittered at the silly name Piccadilly. And circus, what circus? We didn't see a big top billowing in the breeze, or corny clowns carousing. Our Guide pointed out that this was a famous meeting place of streets, so, it was an intersection? Anyway, our gang opted to sample the house speciality, a cocktail dubbed the Padded Cell. OMG! It was enormous and designed to satisfy six. Since we wanted to share our high spirits, we all grabbed straws to slurp and sip together. SB Musing Lyn's a Witchy Woman Sally NaNoKit Fivesixer We also couldn't help noticing the bartender with bulging biceps and a British accent..... ah, it wasn't sultry Spanish, but we liked it. Teeheeing, we asked him plenty of questions. SB Musing attempted to stroke the bloke's bicep, but our sheepdog,ahem, I mean our herder, shooed us out the door in search of other pubs.

          Oh, the names of the pubs are quite interesting. They all blurred together. The Soho Bar blended into Ruby Blue. No sword play, but lots of dancing at The Round Table which seemed to have stools and a bar, no round tables in sight. There were no men clanking around in armour either. Arthur, Arthur, wherefore art thou? The Porcupine had no prickly people. Wait, Sir Creepy was sometimes impatient. We wanted to talk and hear life stories everywhere we wandered. I don't imagine we were easy to collect/steer/guide. We were easily distracted, but, come on, we were tourists, tourists in London.

         One pub name puzzled me, The Blind Pig. Did an irate wife choose the name in honour of her oblivious husband ? And where in the world did this name originate, The Slug and Lettuce? Where was that inspiration found? Oh, I know, maybe in a beer garden. The Moon Under Water seemed to be searching for a poetic moniker.

          We whooped and hollered our way through the night. We sauntered, strolled, skipped, slipped and stumbled, but lo and behold, we never ever crawled. Yes, we had fun. Sir Creepy was a peach of a guy. He must have toes of steel. I lost count of how many times someone stomped or tripped over them. Actually, he did seem to mutter to himself a lot. I thought it was Fivesixer and SB Musing picking up the local lingo. I heard, "Bloody hell!", and "bollocks!" Was Sir Creepy ordering another round of drinks?