May 6, 2013– London Eye and the Thames River Food Festival at Jubilee Park

Monday, May 6 was a Banking Holiday so we went to Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank of the Thames River for a big food festival and stroll along the river.  Elaine had a Moroccan chicken in a flatbread and Edward had a Falafel in flatbread with extra spicy red sauce (might have been a mistake). We also tried some craft beer that was very tasty. 

It was a beautiful day so we decided to take a ride on the London Eye Ferris wheel. The entire structure is 443 feet tall and the wheel has a diameter 394 feet.  When it was built in 1999 it was the largest in Europe.  (The Texas Star in Dallas is the largest in North America with an overall height of 212 feet.  There was a long line to get on the ride since it was a holiday and such a pretty day. We almost walked away but we checked with a ticket person and to our surprise the estimated time to get on was only 30 minutes. We bought tickets and got in line and actually about 25 minutes later we were on the EYE. The 32 oval capsules are very large and can hold up to 25 people but they were only putting about 12-15 in each capsule today (the Texas Star can carry up to 6 passengers in its 44 gondolas).  There was plenty of room to move around in all directions and take pictures. A bench in the center allows you to sit and just look at the huge city of London.  It takes about 40 minutes to make one revolution so no rush to enjoy the views since the car moves very slowly. 

            

After the ride, time for a beer and a snack.

    

After going through the festival we decided to take a bus down to the Tower Bridge and had a lovely leisurely walk across the bridge to enjoy even more great views of the Thames River and London.  We walked past the Tower of London and then decided we would head back to our apartment. 

  Elaine on the Tower Bridge in London.

  Part of the structure of the Tower Bridge.

    Walked by the Tower of London.  We will be touring that later in the week.

For dinner we decided to try the pub across the street from our apartment. They have some specials in the pubs on Sundays and holidays so we got 2 dinners for 6.50 pounds $10.10.  Oh, they also had a special buy 2 glasses of wine and get the rest of the bottle free.  Then, Elaine saw they had a ice cream cookie cup and just had to order it for dessert. The waiter said "you just want one". She replied, “Yes.” He then told her they have a special 2 for 1. So, of course, she said  “yes”.  Well, they brought the desserts and on EACH PLATE there were 2 cookie cups with a scoop of ice cream in each cookie!!!!  For 2.50 pounds ($3.88). We were so full we waddled  back across the street to our apartment. 

How does 2 for the price of 1 equal 4??  Must be a unique English math.