Like in any big city, getting from point A to point B in London is an exercise in patience and puzzle-solving. I loved it! Studying the bus map to find routes to new museums or parks, figuring out which way to go on the Circle tube line, perusing my soon dogeared central London map to find the best walking routes—it's like playing Adventure in the real world! I summarized my feelings about London transport in this blog post.

Of course, I didn't travel about the city as elegantly as some folks I saw:

But I'll bet I had more fun!

Walking is the basic mode of transport in London, no matter what you ride to get part of the way to where you're going. I could have ridden the bus or tube to work, but normally I walked. Why not, when such lovely and/or interesting sights made up the journey? Plus, I do feel like I've never been in better shape.

corner near my flat full of great eateries		one of the prettiest streets on my way to the office
Gloucester Road near the office		quirky walkways near the office
...and if you're lucky there's a graceful bench along the way should you need a rest...

Of course the tube is London's signature mode of transport, and it was incredibly useful. (I was very happy to have a semester-long pass provided by the university. Some of my guests had to be a bit more particular about using up what they'd put on their Oyster cards.) What a wonderful system of transportation! It was especially fun learning about its history at the London Transport Museum.

The Earl's Court (more glamorous side) of the Earl's Court tube station		a district line car arrives at Earl's Court station
Joan points to a sign for one of Henry's (and Monty Python's) favorite tube stops: Cockfosters (we're in the Hyde Park Corner station awaiting a Piccadilly Line car)

Ah, but the buses! Whereas the tube zips you there in nothing flat, and the buses must deal with surface traffic, you do actually get to see the surface. For this reason, once I learned how to decipher the map, buses were my preferred mode of motor transport unless I was in a real hurry to get somewhere (which I fortunately usually was not). Riding in the front seat of the upper deck is just the best way to see London. Hal wrote this informative piece after visiting me and really getting me into the bus habit.

Joan and I enjoying our front seats		number 381's stacked up on the south side of the Thames
routes 9 and 15 run some of the old-style buses, complete with conductor		the new single level buses aren't as much fun, but some of them are at least green

But there are even more ways of traveling around the city. By boat is one that we experienced, taking a tour boat similar to this one from Westminster Pier to Greenwich.

And driving, which we fortunately never had to do in the city. It was hair-raising enough on the motorways and tiny lanes of Wales and the Scottish highlands!

There are more transport-related photos in this Flickr set.

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