We arrived at the Cardiff Hotel around 8am. It is in Norfolk Square, a little way down London St, from Paddington Station. The room is nearly ready and we can take our bags and leave them in it, while we can go downstairs and have breakfast if we want. Payment is upfront for the three days we have booked but the early room isn't charged for. Tick 1 for them.
Our room is on the ground floor as requested. There are no lifts and I wasn't keen on dragging bags up narrow stairs. Like many others around here, it is a couple of old townhouses that have been converted. The rooms are small but clean and recently refurbed. The beds are really narrow and Alex reckons he will fall off in the middle of the night. I promise to have camera handy and YouTube account logged in.
Breakfast is a buffet. Seems to have bacon, scrambled and boiled eggs, baked beans, ham, cheese, cereal, yogurt, fruit (prunes, peaches and fruit salad), toast you make yourself or bread. I can't remember anything else. All good. I am still full and have a little yoghurt and some prunes. And coffee, from their machine, of course.
Little Venice
Decided we needed an excursion today after we had sat (laid) around in the room for a while. So nice to take the shoes off and have a shower after 23 hours flying!
Behind Paddington Station there is a canal system known as Little Venice. It was called that by Browning who lived near there and thought it looked like Venice. It doesn't really. There are narrow canals that used to be the transport system for carrying goods. The boats they used are narrow boats and they really are narrow - I think about 1.8 metres wide and probably 6 metres long. Just a guess.
A lot seemed to be used now for homes, lined up along the sides of the canals.
We went on a cruise on one of the narrows boats, called Perseus, up to Camden Market. The narrow boats used to be pulled by horses that walked on tracks beside the canal. At Maida Vale there is a tunnel where the horses couldn't go. The boatmen would use poles to push the boats while they 'walked' along the tunnel walls - called legging. There really is no shelf at all for them to stand on. The boats are very low in the water too. You could dangle your hand out the window and in the water.
The canal we went on is Regents Canal. It goes through the top end of Regent's Park - didn't get to see any of the park, and through London Zoo. Don't see any animals either. But you can get off at the zoo if you want. Finally it comes into Camden Lock when we disembarked. I found it interesting. Alex not so much. ah well, them's the breaks.
Camden Markets are on daily. The market started immediately as we got off the boat. The smell of the different foods was amazing and I was hanging for something to eat. Then they go into the market building where there are the usual market kinds of stalls - clothing, jewellery, knicks knacks. The market seems to spread on into Camden High Street for a way. It was certainly a busy place today.
Unfortunately, it had started drizzling while we were on the boat and the rain came down heavily while we were in the market. There is little shelter and Alex (despite being told it was going to rain in the afternoon! ) had no jacket or umbrella. We decided to head back and started looking for an Underground station. The first one was closed to incoming passengers so we walked and walked while he got wetter and wetter. Finally got to one - I think it was Maidstone St or something.
Tubed it back to Paddington via Charing Cross.
Lunch was Burger King :( Not quite the tasty morsel I had been planning back in the market.
Now having a lazy afternoon. The rain had stopped while we were on the tube. Tomorrow is predicted to be a Yellow Warning Rain Day. Awesome :/
Our room is on the ground floor as requested. There are no lifts and I wasn't keen on dragging bags up narrow stairs. Like many others around here, it is a couple of old townhouses that have been converted. The rooms are small but clean and recently refurbed. The beds are really narrow and Alex reckons he will fall off in the middle of the night. I promise to have camera handy and YouTube account logged in.
Breakfast is a buffet. Seems to have bacon, scrambled and boiled eggs, baked beans, ham, cheese, cereal, yogurt, fruit (prunes, peaches and fruit salad), toast you make yourself or bread. I can't remember anything else. All good. I am still full and have a little yoghurt and some prunes. And coffee, from their machine, of course.
Little Venice
Decided we needed an excursion today after we had sat (laid) around in the room for a while. So nice to take the shoes off and have a shower after 23 hours flying!
Behind Paddington Station there is a canal system known as Little Venice. It was called that by Browning who lived near there and thought it looked like Venice. It doesn't really. There are narrow canals that used to be the transport system for carrying goods. The boats they used are narrow boats and they really are narrow - I think about 1.8 metres wide and probably 6 metres long. Just a guess.
A lot seemed to be used now for homes, lined up along the sides of the canals.
We went on a cruise on one of the narrows boats, called Perseus, up to Camden Market. The narrow boats used to be pulled by horses that walked on tracks beside the canal. At Maida Vale there is a tunnel where the horses couldn't go. The boatmen would use poles to push the boats while they 'walked' along the tunnel walls - called legging. There really is no shelf at all for them to stand on. The boats are very low in the water too. You could dangle your hand out the window and in the water.
The canal we went on is Regents Canal. It goes through the top end of Regent's Park - didn't get to see any of the park, and through London Zoo. Don't see any animals either. But you can get off at the zoo if you want. Finally it comes into Camden Lock when we disembarked. I found it interesting. Alex not so much. ah well, them's the breaks.
Camden Markets are on daily. The market started immediately as we got off the boat. The smell of the different foods was amazing and I was hanging for something to eat. Then they go into the market building where there are the usual market kinds of stalls - clothing, jewellery, knicks knacks. The market seems to spread on into Camden High Street for a way. It was certainly a busy place today.
Unfortunately, it had started drizzling while we were on the boat and the rain came down heavily while we were in the market. There is little shelter and Alex (despite being told it was going to rain in the afternoon! ) had no jacket or umbrella. We decided to head back and started looking for an Underground station. The first one was closed to incoming passengers so we walked and walked while he got wetter and wetter. Finally got to one - I think it was Maidstone St or something.
Tubed it back to Paddington via Charing Cross.
Lunch was Burger King :( Not quite the tasty morsel I had been planning back in the market.
Now having a lazy afternoon. The rain had stopped while we were on the tube. Tomorrow is predicted to be a Yellow Warning Rain Day. Awesome :/
Burger king?? Have you heard of 'mad cow'? 🐮
ReplyDeleteYou'll be right once you get used to rain most days ... with luck it will be just a bit of mizzle :)
ReplyDeleteWish I'd thought to look behind Paddington Station - I didn't even know the Bear was there and I must have wandered everywhere else around the station!
Sounds as though you found a good hotel, and in the same area as where we stayed in 2013 ... if you get yourself a big plastic bag you could keep it handy for next time Alex leaves his brolly/raincoat behind - stick it over his head and shoulders and Bob's yer uncle :)