It's London ...what could possibly go wrong?

Our day started with a lovely breakfast at a small coffee shop a few doors down from our luxurious hotel (not) at Whitechapel.

We made our way down the the Tower of London to be the first in the gate for the morning tours.
One very nasty beefeater gave me a mouthful way in as I asked for a photo - obviously he was not having a good day and wished to spoil mine.
It was the first bit of attitude we have encountered but I came to notice that many of the guides were a pretty bitter lot - lots of folded arms and growling faces.
Such a disappointment.
That first hour with just a handful of visitors was glorious but then it turned to utter bedlam ad we vied for space at each exhibit amongst streams of teens and school children of all nationalities.
The tourists did not stop and by the time we left it was horror central for anyone who might hate crowds (like me).

We had traditional fish and chips and then headed for some calm at All Hallow's Church, the oldest in London and it was blissful.
Quiet and very old it was a stunning place to spend time.
Totally beautiful and ready to reveal its secret as we headed down into the crypts below that had been converted to prayer rooms.
It was my first encounter with ghosts since arriving - I seemed to be greeted at the door and then followed around whilst there by a very elderly priest in long robes - reminded me of friars, very plain but very strong energies.

We walked past old Roman tiled floors - exposed so that we could see the past history of the site and also an old saxon arch ( from 675 AD) made from old recycled Roman roof tiles.
You tend to forget that the Romans were there before the English created London.

We got on the Hop On Hop Off bus finally for a tour around the city which was the master plan with the though of getting off at a few of the stops and checking places out.

But no.....heading to Hyde Park saw us stuck in a traffic jam that just was not moving.
After 40 minutes of going nowhere we and many others on the bus decided to get off and try our best to make it on our own.
Well, that was an epic failure - the bus route map is not very clear - it shows you round about where stops are but not exactly where they are.
So we wandered, and walked, and walked and stopped to ask and walked some more and walked till our feet ached but we could not to a bus stop.

Mind you everyone else in that area of the city was also without transport.
The London cabbies had gone on strike leaving their cabs in the middle of the streets - leaving them  empty and clogging up roadways.

And it seemed that no one could speak English very well so everyone we asked gave us directions that just led us in circles.
When we finally found a stop we could not believe that it was literally around the corner from where we first started.

We barely made it back to the hotel and collapsed for the rest of the evening - nope, no Jack the Ripper tour.
No going out for tea - just a hot bath and bed.
Maybe we can try another adventure tomorrow.