Freezing Cold In The City

Having an end of December birthday means its sometimes difficult to go anywhere because so many places close down for the holiday and public transport is on reduced service.  This year even more so due to the ongoing train strikes in the south east of the country.  There wasn't a train strike planned for this week-end so we decided to head up to London for the day. Even without an official strike day, there were still problems with the trains, but we managed to get there anyway.

It was absolutely freezing but we managed to find a reasonably priced Thai restaurant for some warming lunch before heading to the Odeon Studios in Leicester Square for a bit of escapism with fantasy drama Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.  Honestly, the seats in that cinema are so cosy I nodded off, until a loud crash in the film woke me up again!

We managed to squeeze in a visit to The National Portrait Gallery before finding ourselves in Trafalgar Square, looking particularly pretty in the early evening with the coloured lights from the surrounding buildings, fountains and traffic.  

One particular stunning sight was the planet Venus shining brightly between Nelson's column and the George IV statue (looks like a spec of dust on the photo below, but it was really bright to the naked eye).  

I'll leave you with a couple of my favourite images