Going Solo on a Rick Steves' Tour

I was fortunate enough to meet a fellow solo adventurer, Elaine, on the flight over from SFO.  We got to talking on the Tube ride into the city.  Elaine studied abroad in England while in college.  This time, she was in London as an overnighter, then she was on to Ireland in the morning. We exchanged contact information after she invited me to join her to see a play at the Shakespeare's Globe theater.  I met her at the box office, but the play was sold out. We used Rick's tip about waiting until intermission to beg a ticket off people not staying for the whole play. Until then, we had some time to kill, so Elaine took me on a tour of the South Bank.  I had a great time making a new friend!

I stayed at the Seven Dials Hotel, near Neal's Yard, in Covent Garden.  I picked the hotel out of the Rick Steves' guidebook.  On my last day in London, before the start of the tour, I chose to go to the National Gallery and did some shopping on Regent Street.