Our first full day in London and we slept relatively well.  We had breakfast in our hotel, a continental breakfast was included in the Club Lounge, and if we wanted hot food, we were welcome to order it and pay as we went.

Today was to be one of our biggest walking days.  We started by walking around fifteen minutes to Holburn tube station to top up our Oyster Cards from our last trip.  We decided to just use PAYG rather than a travel card.  By the end of the holiday that had proven to be the correct decision, just.  I think we were about £15 each ahead by doing it this way.

We then strolled around Russell Square.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, although naturally chilly as it was mid-winter.  Next was a brief stop at the British Museum.  We intended to stay longer, but the crowds were ridiculous.  We had been before and seen the most famous items.  This time we planned to wander and see some different things, but it was just too crowded to be enjoyable, so we left and spent half an hour wandering around Bloomsbury.  This was a very nice area and we would happily stay here on another visit, but, at the moment, we are loving our Fleet Street location.

Next was a stop at Rock and Sole Plaice for a fish and chip lunch, delicious plaice and chips and a glass of white wine before heading to Covent Garden for a stroll around that area.

 We then moved on towards Piccadilly Circus and up Piccadilly itself to the Burlington Arcade, where we did a spot of window shopping – which was all we could have afforded there.

After our wonderful cocktails at the Ritz in Paris earlier this year, we decided to pop into the Ritz here and have a sneaky afternoon cocktail at the Rivoli Bar.  The London Ritz wasn’t quite as immaculate as the Paris version, but then the Paris Ritz has only just been renovated.  I was still amazed by the vibrant pink ladies room here. We then headed back to the hotel after doing approximately 23000 steps today.  We met our daughter S and her partner L in the Club Lounge for pre-dinner drinks before heading down to the The Blackfriar, an art deco pub built in 1875, where I had a delicious pub meal of grilled chicken with cheese and bacon served with mash.

At this point my throat was starting to feel slightly scratchy, so we headed back to our hotel and bed.