City break London: afternoon along the Thames

London is a spectacular city, one of my favorites in the world—and I’m in good company. It seems that just about everyone puts the British capital at the top of their list. Just yesterday, CNN posted “50 reasons London is the greatest city” on its website. Although I share a fondness for a number of the items listed there, this post heads in the opposite direction, offering a short list of impressions from a recent blustery stroll along the Thames.

When my husband and I traveled to London last week, we had just one afternoon for sightseeing. It was the classic dilemma: finite (and short) time in place; a long list of sights we’re keen to experience; and two (mostly convergent) agendas for the time available. Our four-point solution:

• Find targets for our cameras—Thames views would do the trick?—check
• Take our time and save energy—Bridge to bridge walk, two museums, a restaurant?—check
• Find good food—What do internet and the Guardian recommend?—check
• Find something entirely new to both of us—Cecil Beaton at the IWM!—check

Afternoon along the Thames

On the day, after the weather went from awful to iffy to light-if-not-sunny, we bundled up against an autumn wind, and made our way to central London. There we had a happy couple of hours’ meander along the Thames with our cameras. To keep things simple, we limited ourselves to the south bank of the river between Westminster Bridge and Southwark Bridge, with a stop for lunch along the way.

We would have loved to spend more time prowling London’s wonderful museums, taking in a show or any of the many activities I’ve grown to love about the place. There will be other opportunities for such things. In the meantime, our bracing afternoon outdoors was a fine prelude to the week of meetings ahead.

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