Monday, August 10, 2009

England: How to see London in 1 day

I find myself in London this week. What a privilege, and Tom was even able to tag along. He has to put up with my working, but we will squeeze in some sightseeing as well. (As I type this, I am hearing myself say it in "British". By the end of the week I'm afraid I'll bloody speak it too.

Today, when asked if he wanted a newspaper, Tom smartly remarked "I don't read British, sorry."

^ We arrived at 7 AM, so we had a bit of waking up to do. A large latte would do the trick, along with the perfect English snack, scones with preserves and clotted cream.


^ We then took a relaxing riverboat tour on the river Thames. You can see St. Paul's cathedral off to the right.


Our guide, with his dry British wit, kept us very well entertained. "This first-class cruiser has many exits. In case of an emergency, please exit . . . any where you bloody like." And, "if you find your life jacket doesn't work, please return it to us and we will give you a new one."

^ One of the many bridges we crossed under.

^ The Millennium Bridge is known to locals as the "wobbly" bridge. I dare you to cross it.

^ The actual London bridge happens to be one of the most understated on the river. This is not the original. That one, as you may remember, fell down. This one was mostly built by women during the war. Leave it to the ladies to be the practical ones. Our tour guide tried to point out its flaws as we floated under it, but we all knew he wouldn't be finding any. After all, it was built by women.

^ This is the tower of London. It is mostly known as a place of execution for traitors. You can see a sign on the wall edge that reads "Entry to the Traitor's Gate" that is now covered by water.

^ The tower bridge.



^ This monument marks the place where the famous London fires of 1666 started.


^ This is the London Eye, the largest observation wheel in the world. Each car holds 25 people, and it actually takes a full 1/2 hour to revolve one turn. Our guide said you can actually get married in one. They have you married by the time you hit the top, and it's all downhill from there.

^ The Houses of Parliament

^ Big Ben, of course.

^ The Westminster Abbey. This place was beautiful.






^ Some London row houses. I'd imagine it costs a fortune to live here.

^ A taste of English gardening, with Buckingham palace off in the distance.

^ The back side of 10 Downing, where the Prime Minister lives.

^ More government buildings.

^ The bark of this tree must be where cammo comes from.

^ Buckingham Palace. We were not able to see the changing of the guards, so we might have to return there.

^ Our hotel, Le Meridian on Piccadilly Circus.


^ In our lovely room, leaving for dinner at La Caprice, where we met the CEO of the printer we are using here.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

Oh, I'm so glad you're having a good time already. Your shots are just beautiful! Too bad you have to squeeze in work while you're there. :)

Joellyn said...

Well, you know, Lisa, it's a rough life :)

Actually, we started right off with the cover this morning and it went very smoothly, so its a great start!

Benjamin Ranch said...

Wow, great pics. I want to go to London too!