After the long flight we needed to stretch our legs, and so we did. All together we must have wandered 7.4 mls (roughly 12 km) through central London.
Obviously we weren't the only tourists in town. Wherever we went, others were already there. Below is
Trafalgar Square commemorating the
Battle of Trafalgar where the British Navy defeated the French/Spanish fleet without losing one single ship.
On the left side of the river Thames is the
London Eye, Europe's biggest ferris wheel, and a huge tourist
trap - um - attraction. A bit of an eye sore when looking at the beautiful architecture surrounding it. On the right featuring
Big Ben, which is much more interesting.
We came by the British Prime Minister's office in Downing Street to say hello, but Mr Cameron must have left for the day already.
Big Ben, named after the great bell in the clock tower is located at the North end of the Palace of Westminster.
Although renamed Queen Elizabeth Tower to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, but we doubt that anybody uses the new name.
What a photogenic piece of architecture... hence multiple shots from different angles, and the blue sky and afternoon light makes the building even prettier.
Below is
Westminster Abbey, a Unesco World Heritage, is over 700 years old, and location of the coronation (and burial) of the British monarchs.
On the far left, there still is a glimpse of mighty Big Ben. Doesn't the gothic architecture of the church look beautiful in this light? However, for some reason we were reminded of the 70's supernatural thriller
The Medusa Touch, in which the antagonist (Richard Burton) destroyed the fictional Minster Abbey through telekinesis.
Maybe it was the shadow of a statue that played tricks on our imagination.
On our way back to the hotel we visited the centerpiece of British monarchy,
Buckingham Palace, to check if the Queen was around but it looked like the royals seemed to have gone home for dinner already. The doors were shut, and the parking lot empty.
If you like the Mounties, you will love those guys: The
Queen's Guard.
It was a long day, 8+ hours on a plane, then another six hours or so discovery of London while fighting jet lag. So, tomorrow will be dedicated to recovery and relaxation.
Given that for much of it's long life the river was the main dump for London; there is literally treasure to be found in that mud still; including Roman coins.
ReplyDeleteDave in Surrey