Bumming around Soho

Just about everything we'd done up to this point in our vacation was my suggestion, although it must be said that Jim agreed that Stonehenge was on his list as well, so that was a both-of-us bucket list item. After the National Gallery, it was Jim's turn to get something on his bucket list checked off--the site of the last Beatles concert--the rooftop concert. The address was just a bus ride away from Trafalgar Square (pretty much anything in London is just a bus ride or train ride away) in Soho--3 Savile Row. We headed over. Jim was pretty happy to be at a historic Beatles site. 

The building now houses Abercrombie and Fitch. We did not go in. We don't know if A&F is open to the public. It does not seem like a store. No one went in or out of it. It was a Saturday though, so that might have been a factor. There was a couple who were taking pictures on the front steps just as we got there, and just as we left, a couple old ladies asked nicely what we were doing, was this some sort of historic place? Jim told them what it was and one of them said, "Oh, I remember that." 

The concert took place up on the roof. See the blue circle sign? 

This is what the blue circle sign says. Jim was as excited as he ever gets to be at the physical place where something Beatle-y happened. 

After our brief visit with 3 Savile Row, we desired lunch. We happened upon a pub and I said, "I want to eat fish and chips at a pub. Here's a pub. I want to eat fish and chips here." I never did find out what the name of the pub was. Alls I know is that it was within walking distance of 3 Savile Row. 

Jim got bangers and mash (with onion rings on top)

My fish and chips were DELICIOUS. Brits can do a good breading! I learned that fish and chips usually come with mushy peas (so do a lot of things here...)

We splurged on a dessert--sticky toffee pudding. It has now become one of Jim's favorite desserts. 

After lunch, we were in Soho, and I had heard of something called the Soho Noses. It's an art installation and gauging by the few websites about the noses, you have to go hunting for them. Apparently there are 7 of them. We walked up and down this road (Great Windmill?) a couple of times, because judging by the clues given by others, it was supposed to be here. Jim and I stopped to let these people go by because the sidewalk is SO NARROW, and lo and behold, I found a Soho nose!!!

Jim was surprised that the nose was nose-sized and not like a foot tall. He said he'd been looking for something bigger. 

I was ecstatic that it was not 3 stories up. It was at just the right height to pick it. 

There is supposedly another Soho nose at Admiralty arch near Buckingham palace, but the particular archway supposedly containing the nose (in this photo the one on the left) was blocked off for construction purposes and we couldn't located the nose.

The reason for construction? The Queen's upcoming Diamond Jubilee. Buckingham palace was closed off (the mall was not)

This was as close as we could get. They were building bleachers for the celebration that was going to take place just after we were scheduled to leave (thank goodness, because the crowd for that would have been overwhelming)

The walkways and gardens at Buckingham were still open so we walked around and looked at flowers and bees

One would expect fairy tale type vistas at a castle and this one is particularly pleasing.

some kind of waterfowl adult and baby

We did a lot of walking around this day and my legs and hips and feet were tired, but we still had one more place to visit (see next post).