No 14 Bus to Harrods and the Victoria & Albert Museum

Johnny went out alone for breakfast this morning. I had a container of pre-prepared fresh fruit so stayed at home to catch up with Diary.

Have to say that all this pounding the pavements of London are catching up. In the "Olden Days" I was able to get from Piccadilly Circus to Marble Arch and back at lunch time. Or over to Covent Garden and back without breaking a sweat. Not sure what made me

think I could still race around this congested city keeping up a similar pace. One is inclined to forget how old and decrepit one has become. In my head I am still that unstopable 20 something year old.

So, after a "still" morning on the lap top writing up my Diary and researching buses to our destination for today, we set off to catch the Number 14 bus at the end of the street. The No 14 took us all the way to Harrods, dropping us off practically on the doorstep.

At this point I would just like to talk about the buses. The fleet of London Double Deckers are now really modern, quiet and comfortable. We went upstairs (because the staircase is easy to navigate compared to the Ding! Dings!) and the view from the front is wonderful. A great vantage point for photos. It was also quite nice being able to alert John to upcoming landmarks just seconds before

they would appear. i.e. Look through there, Buckingham Palace, behind these trees is the Wellington Memorial etc. Gives me a little sneaky feeling of superiority.

Anyway, stepped through Harrods doorway and Oh My Goodness! What have they done to this shop? Just like Liberty it has been transformed into the 21st Century and looks just like any other department store in the world. Except for the merchandise and the heaving surge of humanity trying to find that special something of course.

I'm not sure whether its fighting your way through all those shoppers or whether the layout is designed to disorient you but we managed to get lost and even found ourselves on the wrong floor. Then you can't find what you are looking for where you have been told you will find it and you have to retrace your steps back to the ground floor. By the

time you have made your purchase you just want to escape back out into the street.

Note to my friends in Brisbane. If you think Queen Street Mall at lunch time is a dog-fight it pales in comparison to this heaving city. And Oamaru at peak hour is a dream. Honestly, all those Palladian style buildings in beautiful Oamaru Stone and Thames Street festooned in baskets of flowers is rather like slipping down the rabbit hole or escaping through the wardrobe door to another world.

Lunched in a pub along the street and then visited the amazing V&A. The cast of David is eye-popping. I am so looking forward to casting my gaze upon the original when we get to Florence.

This museum, as you would expect is full of quite incredible artifacts

and special collections. You could probably spend a week in here but unfortunately we only have a week to do all of London, so a quick look around and back on the No. 14 and home to our digs.

A slightly different route back to Tottenham Court Road so more opportunities for other perspectives of London from upstairs.

Back through Shaftesbury Avenue, the Theatre District and China Town. Despite all the traffic in the streets and the slow pace it doesn't take that long to reach our destination and a strong cup of coffee.