Travel tales: Fawlty Towers, The London Eye.

Never - or rarely - believe hotel descriptions on the internt. Even when you have a second pair of eyes. Just like an online dating profile hides the fact your potential lover is socially inept, a hotel website does not reveal that the toilet seat may fall off when you are seated on it, or that the airconditioning switch is one metre above your height, or that your room will be so small you can barely open your suitcase. Or that NONE of the services stated in the description are available - no laundry, no airport shuttle, no fridge, no good service. Anyway, to compensate for it all I have been given free internet for my week long stay (pity my room isn't appealing enough to want to stay around to use it!) and there may be an upgrade to a bigger room tomorrow. Fingers crossed. It is Fawlty Towers here.

Anyway, there is a pub across the road with free wifi and fish pies. And a much needed cider to get over the luxury that is my hotel room. Trust me, when you tell the hotel,manager that you spent $900 AU on accommodation, they act quicker than if you say you spent £570.

And the Tube is nearby too. And my new friend Michelle is staying at a place just down the road. Turns out we were on the same train, in the same carriage this eveningnas we headed off to meet each other! We went to South Bank where we had drinks and dinner and went on the London Eye.

As we walked along South Bank, we kept on saying to each other that we cannot believe we are here in London! The city was so alive! We ate at the world food market - it had an array of cheeses, hog roasts, food from many cultures, and lots of drinks. Michelle and I had a sangria amd a cider. We also both had these yummy cheeseburgers - made from locally grown beef.

Better than a Maccas cheeseburger! For dessert I had a piece of gooseberry and elderflower tart which was custardy and sour. So yummy! We met some Australians who were on a tour too.

We walked along the banks of the Thames - Michelle had a crush on Big Ben.

And then we went on the London Eye!

Before the Eye we had the 4D experience - an amazing short film filled with beautiful shots of London from the Eye, birds flying before us and actual bubbles and smells. It was so much fun! We wanted to do it again!

We queued for the Eye for around 10 minutes. Behind us was a couple who were joined at the lips. Seriously - wet, sloppy, noisy pashing. And some dry humping. The whole time. We decided we would let them go ahead of us so they could make out in another Eye capsule. Thank god, because we saw them ahead of us, up in the air, still making out.

Anyhow, here are some photos of our experience. The Eye is a half hour ride in a capsule, viewing the city. There are some smart tablets to get information about the sites. We were hurried into the capsule, worried we would be shuffled off the platform and into the sea.

It was a beautiful, breathtaking experience and we were glad we saw it at sunset. To be honest I was tired and so I did not take as much note of all the sites, merely sitting back and enjoying the view.

On the way to the Tube, again a long walk, there was some poetry in the subway. I love how you can just experience culture here, inadvertandly. I was so engrossed in reading the poem alond the wall that I took a wrong turn! Anyway, that is the beauty of having an overseas adventure - finding things along the way!