Back to London on the bus, in daylight. Stonehenge on the left, lots of large paddocks (fields) worked up and showing chalk. Gentle rolling hills. Then the 'Great Wen' - London suburbs, with houses that look like they were just extruded in long rows, and industrial bits that could be anywhere. New hotel - still in Belgrave Rd, so we don't have to re-learn directions, slightly larger room, closer to Victoria station.
Walked all round the Thames in the afternoon - Millbank, Southbank, London Eye. Eye is an amazing piece of engineering: powered by ski-lift type tyres pushing on the outer rim. Plan to go up there one night. Back across the river on the Millenium bridge, back through the Strand to Trafalgar Square.
Parliament Buildings are just superb - carved details, the western tower (we caught that in afternoon sun , ditto Big Ben, glittering metalwork detail). We sat on the south Thames riverbank, listened to BB strike 4 pm, and thought - this is a beautiful city. It shows what a financial powerhouse Victorian England was, both in the buildings themselves and in the use of physical space and scale.
Nice meal in a cafe off Victoria Tube station, home and absolutley crashed at around 8 pm. But we're both over the jet lag - took fully one week....
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