We left a dark and stormy looking Bournemouth just before 3pm on Sunday and arrived in London two and a half hours later to a surprisingly dry capital.
We found our way from Victoria Coach Station down to the Victoria Embankment, opposite the London Eye and just around the corner from Big Ben and Parliament Square, where the main viewing area for the midnight fireworks was to be held.
(Big Ben in Parliament Square, and the London Eye)
Because we were several hours early we wandered around for a bit and then grabbed a bite to eat at Garfunkels Restaurant (more like a classy Denny's style diner) in Trafalgar Square. We had a 20 minute wait to be seated but it was worth it - we killed an hour and a half in there while it looked like it started to rain outside.
(Us along the Victoria Embankment)
We went back to the Embankment area and took our place amongst the growing crowd, killing the time away with a bottle of Oyster Bay Pinot Noir and a Rosemount Shiraz! Enjoyed from the classy plastic Santa cups as can be seen in the photos!
We had planned to meet up with our Canadian friend Sarah but due to a missed train and some delayed mobile network coverage it didn't happen until after twelve. Nevertheless, 2007 was brought in firstly with 'Right here, Right now' by Fatboy Slim (everyone enjoyed a little groove!) before Big Ben chimed and the fireworks off London Eye began.
The 10 minute display was probably one of the most impressive fireworks displays we've ever seen. Great stuff, but when it was all over it really was all over. Hundreds of thousands of people bee lined for the tubes, trains and buses to go home. All the bars, pubs, cafes and diners shut their doors and that was it!
We were forced to somewhat painfully kill time until our coach in the morning - next time we will be prepared that Londoners just don't know how to celebrate New Years!
(The cheap plastic cups avec Vin Rouge, and a screenshot of the fireworks)
No comments:
Post a Comment