....well lots of pics
Yesterday Sophie and and I awoke to the 6 o'clock alarm, drove over to Castle Cary train station and caught the7:27 to London Paddington. An early 18th birthday treat day, as I wanted her to have something to remember. (Actual birthday isn't until Nov the 4th)
We started off with something on my wish list, a visit to one of Deliciously Ella's Deli's. Sadly it didn't live up to all my expectations but it was good to scratch the itch, so to speak but we won't be going back.
We left and hit Oxford Street, primarily to see the Christmas decorations up and ready and visit the Christmas departments in John Lewis and....
...Selfridge's
They really never disappoint, gorgeous lights, displays and decorations.
We then got the tube to Spitalfields and had a mooch,
some lunch and planned our next move.
A short tube ride to St Paul's Cathedral...
a walk past the Bank of England....
to the Walkie-Talkie Building and home to....
to the Sky Garden.
This was the highlight of the day. - you have to book tickets in advance but they are free and you get to spend an hour, 35 floors up, at the top of this building, in the most incredible space.
The views across the whole of the city are just breathtaking and we were so blessed with the weather. It wasn't too busy either, in that you could easily get a space to view.
This was the outside viewing deck from the one side....
...overlooking the Shard.
St Paul's, the BT Tower and Wembley in the top right corner.
Looking out towards Canary Wharf in this one, a place Sophie would love to work in, one day.
It was fantastic, certainly a place to return to and maybe enjoy a cocktail next time,
when she is officially 18!
We then walked about 4 miles, all the way from the Sky Garden, over London Bridge, all along the South side of the river Thames,
past the London Eye....
....with great views of Big Ben (complete with scaffolding) and the House of Parliament, where we crossed over the river, past Westminster,
along Birdcage Walk, with every intention of going to Buckingham Palace but we were just too tired, so got the tube from St James Park back to Paddington.
We had the best day, fantastic weather, and definitely a day we will both remember. I don't think I fully appreciated her ambitions and dreams to live and work in London one day, until today and I loved listening to all her aspirations, dreams and wishes for the future. Who knows, and there is absolutely no reason why not, that some of the those hopes and dreams will become a reality one day xx