View from the top - of a bus

This morning I decided to spend the day touring the city on a hop-on-hop-off bus. The plan was to hop on the blue Museums bus at the British Museum, hop off at Haymarket and change to the red original city tour bus, do the whole circuit, then switch back to the blue bus, complete the museums circle and alight back at the British Museum.

The first bit of the plan went well. I like the view of rooftops (where, I wonder, is Dick Van Dyke?).

Then there are the contrasts.

and the underside of bridges.

You see details - of sculptures not clear from the ground 

and of the care people put into their environment - whether commoner or royal.

You also glimpse the risks workers take to maintain it all.

Like the Harbour Bridge, St Paul's, probably my favourite London place, emerges around corners and between buildings.

There are the links to professional history, to friendships and long-time meeting places.

The city tour took 4 hours. When I alighted back at Haymarket, the connection point for the Museums loop had been altered. The instructions were a bit confusing and I missed the next two connections trying to follow them. I eventually found the substitute bus stop ( along with a rag-tag group of fellow dispossessed). We waited, jollying each other on, until the next bus arrived, but terminated. Then normal route buses began terminating too - and we gleaned that all services to the area were being suspended because of a demonstration. At this point I hailed a taxi, returned to Bloomsbury and ordered 'cream tea' ( scones with jam and cream with coffee) from a place called Munchkins ( where you can pay in pounds, euros or US dollars).

I think I shall sleep well again tonight - and plan a bus-free day tomorrow! My knees, however, won't be up to this popular alternative.