London Town…

Went up into town on a Friday after week staying at the Grange City Hotel near the Tower of London (picked as one of the surprise hotels from Lastminute.com). It was a nice venue and had a section of the old city walls on the property. We went out and had a drink at the Bavarian Beerhouse across the road before having something to eat at Brasserie Blanc (a Raymond Blanc chain). We viewed the Tower and bridge at night before turning in for the night.

In the morning we had a wander around, across Tower Bridge and had breakfast at Browns in Butlers Wharf. We then walked up to London Bridge and took the tube to Green Park where we walked over to Jermyn Street to look for clothes (I was looking for something with a Steampunk vibe to it). We ended up in a shoe shop (Loake shoemakers) in Princes Arcade and bought a pair boots and a pair of shoes. We then walked over to Carnaby Street where we met Deb and Tom for a drink in the Shakespeare’s Head.

When they went we headed over to the O2 to see what music was playing as part of the C2C festival. We saw the actor Charles Estan who plays Deacon on Nashville give an award to the duo Striking Matches (who contributed several songs to the show). We then listened to a band called Dexter before moving to The Saloon (at Club WM) and listening to Alan West & Steve Black (from Dorset), Rackhouse Pilfer (a lively band from the west of Ireland – we sat next to their manger and one of the group), and then Cooper & Davies. We ate at Zizzi before catching the train home.

The next day after doing our shopping and picking the car up from where we had left it on Friday night, we went over to Paul and Lorraine’s for a muddy walk in the countryside and a roast dinner.