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June 2004

"I live here!!"

Two emails from Tanya during June 2004
......and there are 18 photos below

Email #01
Anyway...I want to tell you about my bus ride last night.

It was sitting at the front of the top deck of the No 9 bus by myself.
I like taking the No 9 because it is one of the old fashioned buses where you can get on and off the back while it is moving.
(just like in 'Notting Hill')

It was a beautiful sunny day.

The bus goes from:-
----Hammersmith to High Street Kensington
----round the corner past Kensington Palace
----then Kensington Gardens
----then Royal Albert Hall
----along Hyde Park
----around the round-about at Hyde Park Corner
----and Wellington Arch
----past the Hard Rock Cafe
----up the past Green Park
------------with lots of green striped deck chairs in it and people sunning themselves
----past the Ritz (another 'Notting Hill landmark')
----through Trafalgar Square
------------where people were sitting on the side of the fountains dangling their feet in the water
----from Trafalgar Square
------------you see the National Gallery, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace
----then up to Picadilly Circus
------------with all the bright lights and digital adverrtisement screens
----along the Strand past all the theatres to Aldwych.

I was sitting there thinking to myself "I live here!".

Even though I have been here for a little while now I still find it quite amazing that this is my home.
And I still get quite excited when I see these places even though I see them all the time.

On the way home we all caught the No 9 back and three of us Aussies and one Kiwi sat up the top in the front row of the old red bus and talked about going to have afternoon tea the Ritz. (there is a dress code though)
And sunbaking in the park with a book, spotting celebs in Green Park and generally about how cool London is.

Despite the fact that I have to get up and go to work every day, when I do things like that simple bus ride last night going past all of those places I had only ever read about or seen pictures off, I still feel like I am on holidays.

Email #02
I caught the bus up to Picadilly Circus yesterday and had planned to just wander a bit.
But had to get off at Hyde Park Corner as there was a "Hari Krishna March" from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square!
They were everywhere!!

(simply click on the thumbnail images to see the photos)

---A London Red Bus---

(two photos) Green Park and deck chairs (two photos)

(two photos) -The Ritz- (two photos)

------and Tanya outside The Ritz

(two photos) Picadilly Circus (two photos)

--Leicester Square - playing 'bocce'--