A Day in London, and what it did to my wallet (answer; not much)

A day in London

We spent yesterday in London, as it is less than an hour train ride from our home base in Milton Keynes, but if you are lucky enough to catch the super fast train it takes just half an hour. Thanks to a three-for-the-price-of-two promotion, the ticket prices were very reasonable. Our three return tickets with full transit passes for the London underground system and buses included, cost me just  £39 ( $60 -  that is only $20 apiece). Consider this; one 1-6 zone transit pass for London normally costs  £8.50 ($13). You could imagine my delight! Armed with our tickets, we were able to easily visit many sites by hopping on and off London's great transit system.  We weren't always travelling though, many times we just sat on a bench and enjoyed the ambiance of the city. 

The Tower of London

First stop was down to the river, to see the Tower of London  and the iconic Tower Bridge which was looking beautiful with a colourful fresh paint job (for the Olympics, I suppose). We walked across the bridge and sauntered up the Queens walk along the Thames, past the Globe Theatre, and enjoyed watching the river traffic. Later we ate ice cream and walked the millennium bridge and visited St. Paul's. Then by tube we headed to Regents Park and Marlybone Station and down Baker Street to see  221B Baker street (the address of the Sherlock Holmes Museum with Hudson's Restaurant next door). What a great introduction to the city, but we did do an awful lot of walking.

The Millennium Bridge
 leads to St. Pauls

 Were prices outrageous?  I decided to spring for some ice creams and lemonade and here was the damage; a delicious English "drumstick" style ice cream was £1.20 ($1.90)  a medium sized blueberry "slushie" and a lemonade  (purchased in a very touristy area) were £2.00 each ($3.15). Later that day at an excellent fish and chip shop we spent about $15 apiece for extremely huge portions of deep fried cod, piles of fresh chips (no ketchup of course, just vinegar) and large sodas. I don't think that this is really much different than Vancouver prices. It seems to me, with the pound low and our Canadian dollar high, the famous London wallet-eating beast has been somewhat tamed, for now. 

Fish and Chips at "The Seashell"

Here are some other prices we have experienced, for your interest.

 (keep in mind all prices include their 20% tax):

1 local Milton Keynes bus ride £1.80 ($2.85)

1 pint gorgeous fresh strawberries from the Ilse of Wright; £1 ($1.60)

1 loaf magnificent fresh bread from the local bakery that would make Cob's cringe  £.95 ($1.50)

250 grams medium British cheddar (from a convenience store)  £1.96 ($3.10)

1 jar marmalade £1.29 ($2.00)

3.4 litre jug of milk  £1.74 ($2.75)