Dover-London

cont. Carnival Splendor 2008 -- Genoa to Dover

7/10/2008

Debarkation at Dover port was not an easy one. It was windy and rainy and we felt like a herd of cattle all bunched up on deck 3. We had private transfer to London booked with a group of Cruisecritic members and quickly found our driver once we got off the ship. The driver took us on a two hour drive from Dover to London. First stop was at Trafalgar Square for those staying at the Grand Hotel. Then the driver dropped us off at the Travelodge-Southwark, a brand new hotel that opened in May. We were too early for check-in so we sat around and then paid an extra 10 pounds to have early check-in at 12PM. This is a really simple room, with just the basics, but everything was clean. It was a really good deal comparing to other hotels that cost so much more in London. I forgot how much we paid for it but it was a steal.

After settling in we headed out to explore the area a little. We had a curry lunch (curry lamb with rice) at a little Indian restaurant on the way then we came to the Thames. We went to Borrough Market on the way, which is an interesting place. Too bad we already had lunch, so Christian just got a meat pie to taste. The food there looked really good though, especially the cakes and pies. I would certainly make it a point to eat something here next time. It was an easy walk and very pleasant.

A shopping center south of the river on our way to Tower Bridge.

Tower Bridge

We crossed the bridge to the Tower of London.

We headed back to the south side of the Thames to the Shakespear's Globe Theatre and Tate Modern Museum area. Our hotel is just a couple of blocks from here.

There was a long line for tickets to the London Eye.

We were on the Eye for about 30 minutes. Very impressive.

We found a Chinese buffet right next to the London Eye called "Chopstix". What a big mistake! We had the worst Chinese buffet anywhere. Not only that the food was terrible, their service was even worse. They told us "These are all the food we will serve until closing time and you have 40 minutes to eat." 20 minutes before closing time they already started putting chairs on the tables. Very rude! We miss our cruise ship!