Covent Garden is a 15 minute stroll away from the hotel so that's our first stop today. Covent Garden's history dates back to the 17th century (and before) with the market hall being constructed in 1828 and a further renovation in the late 1970's reopening in 1980. Today all sorts of goods, food, drink are sold and there is a constant background hum of street performers, whether it's the opera singer on the ground floor or the magician upstairs ... it's a wonderfully exciting place to soak in all the sounds of London.
We meet up with Nelson at Canada Gate near Buckingham Palace and embark on an approximately 12 kms walk through Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington. We were shown homes of various celebrities and historical figures - Noel Coward, Mark Twain, Bram Stoker, Mozart, David Bowie and Mick Jagger to name a few. The significance of 'door knockers' was explained at length ....the 'lion' for somebody in the army, a 'hand' for somebody working in finance, a 'piano key' on Mozart's house etc. It was certainly an area way off the tourist track but I was exhausted by the time we finished.
Off to the theatre tonight to see Moulin Rouge. Most London theatres are much smaller than we are accustomed to and we were very close to the front. A great production ... energy, costumes, sets are all fabulous. Although we caught a cab down to the theatre, turns out it's only a short distance away so after a stroll home we hit the bar for a couple of late night cocktails.
