Ode to a 15 Bus

Oh, bus #15, how I love thee...

It starts at Regents Street, just where I need it when finishing up an evening of knitting with friends.  When I board, it's mostly empty, so I can get a lovely front row upper deck seat, in preparation for the "poor man's tour" of London landmarks...

And we're off!  Through the flashing maze of Picadilly Circus, whipping around the corner to Haymarket...down around the bend and it's Trafalgar Square!  Look quickly--if you turn your head to the right, you get a lightning fast glimpse of the Mall, then Parliament, then it's back again to Trafalgar Square for a lasting gaze at those lovely blue fountain lights casting a glow upon the National Gallery...

Now past Charing Cross, now the Savoy, and through the theatre district...Bush House, the Royal Courts of Justice, and all those funny streets named after old time sellers of shoes, leather, and other handcrafted things...

Nearing the Old Bailey, and in the distance looms St. Paul's Cathedral like an old grandfather.  Pass the cathedral and you can shoot a look across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate.

Here comes the Monument, and we're now approaching my favorite part of the journey...wait for it...the Tower of London and Tower Bridge both together, like some big finale in a fireworks show!  They appear so suddenly and so close, it takes my breath away every time, even though I know what's coming.  The lights on the fortress walls and across the bridge glow in majestic reminder that I actually live in this amazing place.

A quick pass through Aldgate and we're nearly home.  Once I alight at New Road, I really have no idea where the 15 goes from there.  Blackwall, says the front board.  But by then I've seen everything I wanted to see of famous London sights, and feel quite satisfied as my tour comes to an end.

The #15 is a route that still features the vintage Routemaster buses to delight visitors.  They are historic and novel, allowing you to hop on and off the back of the open carriage.  But I still prefer the standard bus, as I sit atop the upper deck, pretending to contain my excitement as I see London again, for the first time, still a tourist at heart.

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pleasure trip on wheels,
making every old view new
thy name is 15