London - Part 5

Houses of Parliament - Where all things political happen!
It is on the River Thames.

It is also known as Westminster Hall and is officially a royal palace.

Perhaps one of London's most iconic images -

Big Ben!

The Eye of London.  This ferris wheel takes 35 minutes to ride,

however you can see most of London from it.

A view of the financial district. The London stock exchange has the distinction of 

being the only stock exchange that is open both when the US stock exchange 

and Japanese stock exchange are also open.

Another view from the Westminster Bridge.

I thought this was interesting - some kind of jack up rig.

Not sure what it was for - its quite small.

Some more great architecture.

 

I thought this was a very cool view of a street.

I don't know that name of it - I need to go back to London

when I have more than one day to see it.

The Royal Courts of Justice

The dragon at the entrance of Westminster.

It is an Inner London borough and was created in 1965
when Greater London was established

I did not know that!

Another view.

An interesting clock that was up on the side of a building.

St. Paul's Cathedral

This is where Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married.

It is a magnificent building.

Tower Bridge Most people think this is London Bridge,

which is not true.  London Bridge was sold in 1968 to Robert McCulloch 

and was later shipped to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Better pictures of the London Stock Exchange and Financial District.

London - Part 4

The Globe Tavern - I thought it was a newspaper publisher!

This is one of the many shopping districts in what is know as the West End.

I am sorry to say I don't remember which one, we went through several.

I believe it was on Regents Street.

 I love how this building curves.

This part of London is where you can do some serious shopping,

at some very serious prices.  Too rich for my blood!

To me this is a very iconic scene.

This grand building is Lillywhites,

a sports store!  Somehow puts REI or Cabelas to shame.

It is on the edge of Piccadilly Circus.
I always assume Piccadilly Circus was, well, a circus.
I had no idea it was really a large roundabout!

The famous TV screen at somewhere.

 My daughter informed me that this is not the one at Piccadilly Circus.

So I don't know where the heck it is.

If anyone does know, let me know.

Here you can actually see an image on the big screen.

The Phantom of the Opera!

To me this is what you think of when you hear -

London / Theater.

The West End is famous for theater and shopping.

Here is a play, The Caretaker,  that actor Jonathan Pryce is in.

This is Trafalgar Square.  Learn more about it.

It is one of the world's most visited sites.

It was hard to get a good picture of it due to the proximity of the bus.

A couple of the lions guarding Lord Nelson, one of Britain's military heroes
who was mortally wounded during the Battle of Trafalgar.

Once again, due to the overcast sky, the picture is dark,

but here is a faraway shot of the Lord Nelson monument.

 Just a quick look down the street from Trafalgar Square,

what do you see?  Yup - Big Ben!

London - Part 3

As I mentioned in a previous post,

I loved the architecture in London.

Street after street you have these magnificent buildings,

which usually have a business on the bottom level and

some type of housing on the upper levels.

Although I would dare say that most of us could not afford to live in them.

VERY EXPENSIVE!

I could not get over how clean these buildings look.

(I know my pictures are quite dark because of the rainy weather.)

London is a old, huge city but many of the buildings

are very white or a light color.

I thought that green part was a bit odd.

Not sure why it was that way.

A pub - it reminded me of Venice actually.

My touring was done in such a short time

but I believe this is Kensington Gardens.

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

A dark colored building.

Really there aren't that many in the heart of London.

Or at least the part I saw.

 

This is a memorial to Animals In War.

It is to honor the 8 millions animals that served during wartime.

Our guide said, "Believe me, we have kept track of every single animal.

From dogs to horses, camels to elephants and every single carrier pigeon."

 

Interesting tribute to the horse.

Two things I have learned about the British -

they love their dogs (everyone seems to have one)

and they love horses.

Springtime is starting to appear!

London - Part 2

 When I think of London, these are two very iconic images that come to mind.

The double-decker red bus and the cabbie.

 

You even have your choice of colors -

black or red. 
(Bud pointed out that there all sorts of colors for cabs -
I know that but I only took a picture of a red and black one!)

I loved the architecture in London.

This was across the street from our hotel The Gore.

I was a little surprised to find this man.

It was 9:30 a.m. along Hyde Park Avenue (Street? Place?)

Hyde Park has some very expensive, posh buildings.

I guess it is a reminder that not all people have the same good fortune.

 

This is how I toured London.  2nd story.

It was great . . . and I got rained on and froze!

Still I wouldn't go lower because you just can't get a good view from there.

The sign speaks for itself!

Here was a long queue (line) of people waiting for the doors to open -

at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

I didn't see it but I would love to go back someday and have a look.

I fell in love with London.  

Its just a breathtaking place -

beautiful buildings, historic places, theater, arts, etc.

I definitely want to tour some more.

Stay tuned for more . . .