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Day 18 - Our accommodation here in London does not include breakfast, a bit of a change from the last 2 & a half weeks. Two blocks away is Bayswater Rd which is full of small restaurants, pubs, souvenir shops, McDonalds and Subway. Our choices are many. We met up with Benjamin & Tye for lunch in this street.It was good to catch up with them and share a few of theirs and ous experiences. They are enjoying their time and seeing lots as we are. They enjoyed Dubai and Ferrari World and got to ride the roller coaster there 200+ klms - lucky b*****s. Said goodbye to them after a couple of hours as they were catching the Eurostar train to Paris mid afternoon. We then headed for a long walk through Hyde Park. Princess Diane has been commemorated here by way of a large children's playground and an unusual fountain. Not your conventional fountain with water being pumped into the air, but a series of cascading waterfalls that are constructed in a very large circle on sloping ground. There is a lot of wildlife (birds, swans, ducks, squirrels) in and around the 2 large lakes in the park. It was amusing to watch tame squirrels running around, eating out of your hand and climbing up & down amongst the trees. Mid afternoon we caught up with Phil & Elaine and headed for our first trip on the tube after visiting the Laundromat (very much needed). It turned out to be the first coin operated laundromat in England, it opened in 1949. It is a staffed one although we didn't use her service but you can drop off and then either folds or irons whatever is requested and your wash is done, dried and ironed ready for pick up (I remember years ago you could do this in Sydney). Aon to the tube then,very efficient way to get around. We prepurchased an "Oyster" card (similar to our "go" cards at home and a lot cheaper than normal tickets.) We hopped off at Piccadilly Circus and headed for Trafalgar Square. It was then on to Pall Mall and down passed Downing St to Big Ben (which struck 8 o'clock when we were beside it) and the Houses of Parliament. The London Eye was a couple of hundred metres across the Thames. We will venture that way tomorrow. We had a bar meal at a Wetherspoon Hotel in Pall Mall before heading home around 9.30. Busy day cing lots and walking a few miles.
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