London in the Spring (?!?) 2013

The London winter, reported our daughter, had been ‘Interminable’ and there appeared to be no end in sight. Accordingly we had packed for winter weather, being thankful for the lovley fine merino garments available these days. Sure enough, it was cold - but not wet and by brisk walking to a local turkish cafe for a very nice meal without feeling too much, the effects of the cold. Our only full day in London was spent visiting Rays Jazz Music Shop inside the well-worth-a-visit Foyles bookshop in the Charing Cross Area. Then it was off t to the Kiwi owned ‘Ozone’ - the best place in London for a great cup of coffee “but don’t go on Sundays” we were warned “unless you like an hour long wait to get in.” Our caffiene levels topped up, we then travelled underground to

 the Shard glass building. Opened in 2012, The Shard is London’s tallest building - and newest attraction and well worth a visit. Rising like a huge shard or glass pinching into London’s clouds, the Shard comprises of office space below the famous Shangrila Hotel, topped by several stories of apartments - some still available, and then on the 72nd floor a 360 degree viewing platform. It was cruisey, riding up in a new (and warm) elevator, trotting up new smelling wide wooden stairs instead of narrow ones in church towers, and walking into a spacious viewing room full of glass. The whole experience, enhanced by some modern sci-fi music playing in the background felt rather surreal and there was no feeling of being so high up,unless one looked down out of the windows! The views were fantastic!

 Not like the following day when the cloud descended..... But we noted that judging from the ‘cloud’ displays it appeared that visitors were in for a different experience on days of poor visibility.