Post-Edinburgh, I caught the Caldonian Sleeper back to London, cunningly using the sleeping time as traveling time, and saving a night of accommodation cost, because I’m clever.
Well, a little bit clever; I was still a bit exhausted from sleeping 8 hours in a reclining train seat, but I had an empty next to me, so I could sprawl a bit. Tried sleeping across both seats, and it worked OK the second time.
Next time I might try the actual sleeper compartment.
I stayed at the same Ibis I’d stayed at during LonCon in 2014, though I had a much better view this time.
And an early check-in, which was so very worth the £10 it cost.
Behold; The View!
There were even swimmers one day.
I took a walk to Canary Wharf one day, to try the mythical Thames Path, most of which seems to be a construction area.
On a rare bit of actual riverside path, I found this, marking roughly where the folks who founded the Jamestown Colony in Virginia departed.
On another, different trip, thanks to not sticking to the main road, I found a monument to the Great Fire of London.
That sounds wrong.
A monument commemorating the event?
There are Latin inscriptions on the sides, with English translations on plaques added later.
One side talks about what a jolly decent chap Charles II was during the rebuild.
The other side’s about the fire, and specifically mentions the line about “Popish Frenzy” which was added later, then removed later still; There’s a chunk of gouged-out stone where it used to be, so they weren’t concerned about covering up the fact that it had ever been there.
In a place named Hay’s Galleria, which looks to be an older u-shaped building they’ve glassed-in & filled with shops, I found a sculpture called “The Navigators“, which … Made me smile.
And then there’s this, at Royal Victoria Dock, near my hotel.
