European holiday....London

We were up early, and off in the dark to head off to Schipol airport for our flight to London. After returning the hire care, we were helped by a nice young man to check in at British Airways, deposited our bags and went for coffee.

When it was time to go to the boarding gate, it took us half an hour to walk there, such is the enormity of the airport.



On arrival in London, we were picked up by a private transfer car company, the driver would have to have been the most surly man we have ever encountered. He simply grunted and gestured to us, leading us to our vehicle, saying absolutely not a word on the whole journey to London, and then simply dumped us outside our Hotel!

And what a lovely little boutique hotel it is, called the Leonard Hotel. There are just sixty rooms, ours is on the fourth floor. Instead of the one room we were expecting, we have two, with a small entrance hall, and a separate bathroom, complete with bath. In the master bedroom, there is a King bed, the furnishings are luxurious, and our bed was turned down ready for us in the evening. In the second room, there is a table and chairs, and a pull out bed for Aysha .






Once we had settled in, we set off toward the West End to pick up our London pass tickets, and find M&M world, which according to the map, was not far from the pick up office. We walked the full length of Oxford street, it was incredible busy, a little like the city of Melbourne at Christmas time. My very first impression of London was "I hate it", but I must confess, I did grow on me by the time we had battled the crowds for an hour or so.

Before we reached our destination it started to rain, and luckily we had brought our umbrellas with us.
After collecting our three day London Passes and travel cards, we set off to look for M&M world. Once we knew we were going in the right direction, Aysha set off at a trot. The world is a four floor shop selling chocolate M&M's and various other merchandise with the logo on it.





As we were at Leicester Square, I found it necessary to get a little bit of culture into the afternoon. This statue is of William Shakespeare, in the middle of the land that is designated for "The free use and enjoyment of the public "





After we had enjoyed an early evening meal in a nice restaurant, made even nicer by the fact that they offered free wifi, we sauntered back to our hotel. The Christmas decorations were still displayed, so we were able to enjoy them as well. Our concierge assured me the shops stayed open until 8 each night, so we will try and go back to actually browse the shops and bash the plastic.

Location:Seymour Street,London,United Kingdom