Greetings to all!!
Well it is about 11 15 PM here on Monday night in Londontown and we have just returned from the theatre. Tonight it was a production of the Mousetrap - longest running play in London theatre history, a play written by one of my idols...Agatha Christie. The play was of course superb but don't ask me whodunnit because made us they made us promise not to tell.
The last 2 days have been very exciting - lots and lots of things to discuss, so let's jump right in:
We started our Sunday by taking a walk through the part of London known as 'The City" - this is actually original London, about one square mile that housed half a million people (and was eventually largely destroyed and subsequently rebuilt during the great fire in the 1660's)
First we have Herman the German - we don't know who he is or who he represents, but he sure is cute ain't he?
Next, a lovely view of a church off in the distance on our walk. As you can imagine, there are no shortage of beautiful churches here
Kerrs, I found you a cool centerpiece!!
Next we stumbled upon a very interesting site. We almost missed it actually - it is called Somerset House and outside of it is a fountain with animal head sculptures surrounding it. Below you can see the doggie and below that one of me in front of the fountain.
Here is Skittle in a typical London phone booth. Did you know they have pictures of naked ladies in there?!?! Skittle, you scoundrel!
The Twinings tea store - a mecca for tea lovers like me. Unfortuantely, it being Sunday and all, they were closed.
You can imagine my reaction at learning that I could not go in...
Ye Olde Cock Tavern...for all ye old cocks out there
Here is Chris in front of the oldest pub in London, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. William Shakespeare used to come here, as did some other famous writers.
After we left the little alley that ye Old Cheese was in, we were greeted by an AMAZING view of St. Paul's Cathedral (what view of St. Paul's isn't amazing really....LOVE IT)
We were able to go into St. Paul's yesterday for a few minutes under the pretense that we were there to worship. I was so taken aback by it's beauty that we went back this afternoon for a thorough tour of the place. It is remarkable, the work that went into its construction and the importance that it has in the history of the city. Due to the fact that I have hardly visited any churches before in my life, I suppose I was not prepared for the beauty of St. Paul's both inside and out, it is truly unique and remarkable. Looking at it from across the Thames (which we did later in the day) was even more stunning. It represents an ancient time among much newer and more sophisticated buildings. To me, it looks lonely - but I think that is one of the reasons I like it so much.
But enough about that.
As you can imagine, it is easy to get hit by a car here if you are not accustomed to people driving on the other side of the road (locals claim that it is the "correct" side - I disagree). But luckily, the city has anticipated this and has conveniently painted instructions on most major crosswalks. For example, the first thing we did when we crossed this street in The City is...
The next picture is of the monument built for the Great Fire of 1666. Cool fact - if you put this monument on it's side and point it east, the tippy tip of the monument would be in the EXACT location that the fire started in - a baker's oven.
Fast forward to the other side of the Thames. We walked along the bank of the Thames and it was gorgeous! Lots of things to see, lots of great views - all in all breathtaking stuff. The photo below was taken specifically for my darling Sunshine
P.S. We hope to dine there tomorrow night
The next shot was taken further down the Thames, the famous Globe Theatre - home of Shakespeare plays in London. And tomorrow night it will be our "home" for a few hours as we watch a performance of All's Well that Ends Well.
A view of Millennium Bridge with what else but St. Paul's in the background
Here we are enjoying a pint with our lunch at a pub we found on the bank of the Thames
Before we crossed back over the Thames at the Westminster Bridge, we got a great view of the London Eye (and also a great view of the line to ride it). I must say, I never thought too much about it before seeing it in person but it really is quite magnificent. It is located on a part of the bank that is almost like an all day carnival. People in costume get paid to take photos with little children, street performers entertain the crowds, and there are lot of outdoor restaurants at which to stop and take it all in.
Last but not least, some big clock or something...
Day 3!! We started out at Westminster Abbey - didn't go in because of the ridiculously long line but did see something even better. Check out the sign below!!
Next we circumvented Parliament Square and headed to the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. Very Very cool stuff. The cabinet war rooms was basically the home of Winston Churchill and his most trusted advisors during the years that London was under attack during WWII. There are lots of narrow corridors, everything is re-enforced in steel and the entire bunker was kept a secret from the civilian world. It also gave us a chance to really see the genius that was Winston Churchill - he really was the man with the plan
You said it bulldog...
Man oh man, I don't know how they did it in wartime...
Next we headed down Great Hall, which runs from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square and one of the Streets on the right was...
No chance of getting a meeting with the prime minister though, this place has some damn good security - nonetheless lots of tourists around trying to get a peak through the gates when they opened up for deliveries
Next we walked to Trafalgar Square in which stands a monument honoring Horatio Nelson, a military hero whose final resting place is none other than St. Paul's!!
Also in Trafalgar Square is a countdown to the summer Olympics which London will host in the summer of 2012.
There were also enormous soccer balls and a giant ship in a bottle...weird
And last but not least I present a photo of the hubs finishing the pint of cider I orders with lunch this afternoon. A fitting end to this blog as I am very tired and need to go to bed.
Vicky and Al's (aka the Victoria and Albert Museum) as well as Harrod's again (Yahoo!!) and a double decker tour of the city tomorrow - I'm sure there will be lots and lots of photos.
Ciao for now!!
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