Neither RQS nor I wanted to get lost in the London Underground while staying for a short time in this large city. So we decided to stay near our hotel and see some nearby sights. Luckily, the Tower Bridge (often mistaken by tourists for the homely nearby London Bridge) and the Tower of London were near enough for us to spend a nice afternoon in the UK's capital city.
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We had no fixed plans for the day, and got moving a little late - but not late enough to enjoy the breakfast that came with our room. With our stomachs filled to capacity, we walked from our hotel to the bridge, then started to explore the neighborhood on the other side of the bridge before returning to the bridge for a tour.
As many people know, the Tower Bridge is one of the most iconic sights in London, next to the Parliament building and Big Ben. But many people don't know that one can go into the bridge's towers and walk across 70 cm thick glass panels to a tower on the opposite side of the Thames. And that's where we encountered a family of "Karens."
One feature of many tall tourist attractions is a glass floor, where people can stand or sit on it to have their pictures taken. The Tower Bridge has one of these floors, and many people dawdle while getting in their "important" photos. While transiting the walkway between the towers there was a large family (I presume to be French, given their lack of concern for others) hogging space over a glass square. When they shifted slightly, I posted RQS on the glass and started to take my picture. And then the "Karen Family" decided to move into our square as I was starting to take my photo. I was a little annoyed belted out (in my deep, rich, loud Mario voice) to STOP! They were taken aback. No one had ever challenged them for being inconsiderate before. (Being a New Yorker does come in handy sometimes, as we don't have to care what some unknown "other" thinks of us. Heck, the "F-Word" is only a mild intensifier here, with no one thinking the word is profane when Samuel L. Jackson utters it in this city. But I digress.) I got my picture, and then we left the walkway 10 minutes before these Karens. (You should have seen them give us the "stink eye" as we rested in the gift shop. But then, I don't care what my lessers think.)
Next, it was back to the hotel to rest, and wait for my niece (and husband) to come over for dinner. We went to a nearby French restaurant (don't ever say that I claim that all things French are bad) and had a nice dinner. All too soon, it was time to let my niece go to her sister in law's birthday party, and we bid each other farewell until next time....
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