It’s a chilly day but at least the sun is shining (so far).

Aboard the 73

We started by catching a number 73 bus to Tottenham Court Road. The bus was fairly full but we found a seat at the rear.

Tottenham Court Road

Tottenham Court Road was unusually quiet. It turned out that this was because many of the shops were not yet open.

Black Sheep Coffee

As Tigger had some purchases to make, we went to a Black Sheep Coffee to wait for the shops to open.

Coffee and croissants
Photo by Tigger

We had a second breakfast of coffee and croissants!

Charing Cross Station

Afterwards, we made a hop to Charing Cross Station, where…

Christmas Tree

…we saw a rather artificial-looking Christmas tree and…

Aboard the train

…boarded a train to Blackheath where we expected to meet friends for a joint outing.

A view from the train

The train trundled slowly through the suburbs, the scene lit by a low winter sun.

Lee Road, Blackheath

We soon reached Blackheath and looked around for somewhere to wait for our friends to join us.

Downstairs at Gail’s

We went to Gail’s bakery, ordered drinks and found a table downstairs at the back.

The Heath

When our friends joined us, we walked up the hill to the heath from which Blackheath takes its name.

Côte

For lunch we went to a nearby branch of the pseudo-French Côte restaurants.

Afterwards, we boarded a number 108 bus. It was very crowded and we had to stand for much of the ride, thrown left and right by the movement of the bus, so no photos!

North Gteenwich

This brought us to North Gteenwich, a busy place of entertainments and cultural activities.

Your Ship Has Landed
Lydia Chan

We visited the Now art gallery where we saw the above work of art. Colourful, no doubt, but apart from that… More about it here.

Strange building

We took a look at this strange building which provides a home for takeaway food stalls, with an upper deck with seating. It looked like a collection of soap bubbles.

Emirates Air Line

These are the cable cars of the service called, by a deliberate pun, Emirates Air Line. We still haven’t taken a ride on it. One day, perhaps.

Costa Coffee

We then retired to a Costa Coffee for refreshments and a chat.

Inside Costa Coffee

It was quite busy but we found a table where we could be at our ease.

The Millennium Dome

We left Costa and went our separate ways, though I did stop to photograph this rather ridiculous piece of architecture built as the Millennium Dome and now an O2 centre.

Aboard the 108

We boarded the 108 again, this time in the opposite direction, passing under the Thames as shown in the picture.

Changing buses

We changed buses at Bow Church.

Aboard the 205

We caught a number 205 bus for a longish ride back to the Angel, bringing today’s outing to an end.