The walking day.

Another sunny day! The sky is epically blue, very Australian and clear and deeply, brightly blue. We started walking at 8.30. We walked to Hyde park, all around it, and by then I was tired because it was like already an hour and a half of walking. But that was only the start. On then to buckingham palace, then watched the guards change, then walked towards the river, found trafalgar square on the way, had a magnum ice cream for lunch there. I've been impressed at how little I've eaten and drunk today. It's partly because I know how to navigate the cheap food scene in Sydney, but it's different here. I don't think I want a potato with baked beans in it. The one thing that is everywhere is a chain called Pret a Manger, or something. So we will probably have to go there once.

This is an iPad pic of the palace, there won't be many more photos becaus I can't transfer them from my camera to my iPad.

Anyway, crossed the river near the eyeball, wandered along to the next bridge back to the houses of parliament and big Ben, which are lovely. Architecture with lots of fiddly bits and repitition of windows and spires is really good. We spent 2 hours in Westminster Abby. That place is full of tombs, it is basically an indoor cemetery. So it is very interesting reading the inscriptions. I bought a kids book about London, which is amusing and informative and illustrated.

Then it was 4 pm so we walked towards home, stopping for a toasted sandwich and a sit down, and going into Zara and Harrods. Zara in Sydney is like an ants nest before rain, everyone bustles frantically but I don't know why. So I went in to compare, and it was very quiet and normal. We walked through the ground floor of Harrods, it looked like a posher David jones. Boring. Too tired to look further.

Knightsbridge and kensington are nice ares. It all looks the same though so it goes on and on forever the same the same. Really cool tall brick terraces around a garden, over and over again. I like the way the whole suburbs have been planned in a cohesive way like that. It's a nice way to do medium density as well.

So that was about 10 hours walking! I was so slow and tired by the end. I discovered that Matthew is faster so ends up walking 3 steps in front the whole time, unless I grab onto his arm, which is an idea that came to me in Hyde Park as a Jane Austen thing, but it actually works.

By the way, there is a blue police box near the train station. Am going to get my photo with it.