London: Day 11

Today was another day with lots of walking. First, I took the tube to Notting Hill Gate for Portobello Road Market. Since this was the last Saturday I would be spending in London, there was no chance I was missing the market again. I found some gorgeous little antiques that I had to stuff, ever so carefully, into my already full suitcase.  I was at the market until around 1, when I headed to the hotel to drop everything off and jump back on the tube to go to the London Aquarium. 

The London Eye agan, because it truly is beautiful.

It's hard to imagine the city without it, even though it's only been there since 2000. 

How can you walk by this view and not take a picture?

Now, when it comes to aquariums, I only go to the ones that have fish. No whales, dolphins, or anything like that because I know how they exploit these animals. Just look at Sea World. Whales belong in the ocean.

Fish aren't as smart, so they can lead happy, safe lives in tanks, so as soon as I checed that this is what I'd be paying for at the aquarium, I bought my ticket. Which was a bit excessive, I must say. 21 pounds feels like a lot, but I guess it is one of the more touristy things to do, so you pay the price. 

Anyway, the fish were lovely.

You can see at the end of the shell purple tentacles, which moved, coming in and out as the animal tested the water for food. 

This was the largest tank, the shark tank, which had a very cool scupture of a huge skeleton of some sort. 

Lots of sharks, sting rays, and other fish. 

I stared at this sad-looking fish for a while. He moved his fins a bit, but didn't really swim about, just looked out at the crowd. I kind of wanted to give him a hug and take him home.

There's a seahorse on that bit of green, and also very strange worm-like creatures coming out of the sand. They looked so serious.

A very healthy looking crocodile. Quite fat, actually. 

It's a small aquarium, so I was done in about an hour. After that, I walked to St. James' park again. I have to say, of all the London parks, this is the one I love the most. Hyde Park is beautiful, but it feels a bit stuffy. St. James is just right. It doesn't hurt that there are so many animals around. 

Another view I hadn't seen the first time I was there. 

Despite the amount of people around, the park still felt calm. 

Geese with babies!

Adorable. Can you tell I miss my birds?

These two lost sight of their mother for a second and a half and started peeping like mad. She quacked at them from right outside the picture and they ran to her. 

And one of the famous telephone boxes. I hadn't taken a picture of one yet, so here it is!

Tomorrow, I am checking out of the hotel and jumping on a train to Inverness, Scotland. I could have picked Edinburgh or Glasgow, but after being in a huge city like London, I need a bit of quiet time. I love London, but I am not a huge fan of people, in general (as if you couldn't tell), so a bit of greenery and calm in the Highlands is called for. 

By 8 tomorrow, I'll be in Inverness!