London Bridge Is...

Today I landed early in London with a very empty flight - luckily I was able to sleep and spread out comfortably. Ended up watching Blue Jasmine on the flight which was very good. I took the Heathrow Express that gets you into central London in 20 minutes and then took the tube to London Bridge where Sophia lives! Here's a photo of the tube sign and her adorable French bulldog, Gus.

After a shower and a nap, we walked along with Gus on the south bank of the Thames where people were milling. We stopped by a street fair and had a great Brazilian steak wrap and cocktails.

From the river, we could see the Shard (the tallest building in the EU), the Tower Bridge, and many other buildings and bridges.

We walked by the Shakespeare Globe Theater, the Tate Modern, and Borough Market. After some mango sorbet, we headed back to her apartment to rest and drop off Gus. We then took the train to the West End. My friend, William, had given me a list of shows to see and Sophia had seen them all except "Let the Right One In". I have to say, the concept was a little too modern and gory for me. It's based on a book and a movie. Here's a picture of the theater and its cool ceiling that had collapsed last year:

We then had dinner nearby at Jean-George's Spice Market and walked to Picadilly, Trafalgar Square, and crossed the Embankment Bridge where we could see the London Eye (a Ferris wheel) and Big Ben. Here are some of our night walk photos:

We finally made it home and my legs and feet were exhausted - exceeded 26,000 steps today!