January 21 Putting L. A.to Shame

Not as prisine today so the brellies were toted along, just in case. We planned the day rather carefully as it included breakfast, packing up, stowing the luggage and then setting off for as much adventure as could be managed within a 7 -hour window. We committed to walk from our hotel to Westminster Pier which took about 45 minutes at a brisk pace and, dressed more warmly than yesterday, we borded the boat for our Thames cruise in fine stead. We started with the "Eye of London", a huge ferris wheel, and progressed down the river toward the Tower of London where we debarked about 20 minutes later. As we approached London Bridge, I threw caution to the wind and ran upstairs to the open air deck with my camera. I think it was worth it but you can be the judge the photos when I get them up on my Kodak gallery in a few weeks. After a look around the ground at the Tower, we succumbed to the lure of Starbucks for a latte. Uff da (Norweigan for bah) - it was neither the quality or strength of my local store, but this is tea drinking country, after all. Finished with coffee, we considered our options for a second or two before scurrying back out into the cold and hopping into a cab. When I told our accommodating driver that we wanted to go to the Albert and Victoria Museum, he gently corrected me and said, "You mean the Victoria and Albert?" After I replied in the affirmative, he said, "The V and A, then." Ladies first, after all. The place is overwhelming, especially when you've only got a few hours. We spent quite a bit of time in the Asian art area, enjoying the mid-east and Indian sections in particular and lunching in a lovely cafe. Back at the hotel, we prepared to brave Heathrow and had a car service to transport us with an Indian driver from Mumbai. We had an hour's drive during which we got to know him because the traffic was terrible. Yes, it puts L.A. to shame,