London (4)

Friday 10 Sept

After our full-on first few days in London Chris was ready for a quieter day and he was not feeling particularly well.  We packed up our luggage in Tudor Lodge and after another great breakfast (help! the weight will pile on - I never eat breakfast) we returned to Sarah and Stephen's flat.  Chris was very ready to stop, and as I needed to do some shopping, Sarah and I headed off for time together in her little red mini car.  (It is so cool!)     

Sarah knew where she was going so I just admired the scenery and chatted with her when we had a hold up of about 30 minutes before getting onto the M23 (hope I have got the number correct?)  Sarah was totally unfazed by the traffic or hold ups and we soon arrived at Walford Shopping Centre.  I had managed to over-load my handbag in Singapore so needed a new one. Sarah was able to 'gently' convince me to buy a Radley leather bag which is specially embossed with 'London' on the back.  During our trip I am intending to collect a silver charm from each country we visit.  Today Sarah and I found a Big Ben so I was delighted to add that to my collection.  My next spend was to buy some flat black shoes which we quickly found at Marks & Spencers and were just what I was looking for.

We then headed to a quaint village called Beaconsfield which very traditional England and a quieter pace.  We had a light lunch there and looked around the shops and streets.  I found a nice sweatshirt and some beads so I probably did all my shopping in one day  but it was fun being with Sarah.

From Beaconsfield we drove back to Slough which is where Sarah is an accountant for the O2 Mobile Phone Company, huge throughout the UK and Europe.  It is a massive building, taking up at least 800m of the block that generates the company.  As Sarah was having a day off to be with me, we didn't go inside but I got lots of photos.

Windsor Castle was our next stop.  An amazing historical tourist attraction.  Sarah had already been through the castle so I admired it from the outside and it is something Chris and I can do another time.
After looking around Windsor, a very wealthy area on the outskirts of London, Sarah drove us back to their flat.  Stephen & Sarah went out to meet up with friends for the evening.  Chris and I went back to 'The Local' for a light meal then headed back to pack and prepare to leave fairly early the next morning.   It had been so lovely seeing Sarah and Stephen and they put themselves out for us, even though they work long, hard hours.  We were returning to London in a few weeks time but we still had a day to go in the city before we started our tour.