4 January 2018
London. What a place. It’s hard to describe London, as it is so energetic, historic, complex and, in many ways, endless. So I delved into Google and found the following quotes which align with my thinking.
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford. — Samuel Johnson
London has the trick of making its past, its long indelible past, always a part of its present. And for that reason it will always have meaning for the future, because of all it can teach about disaster, survival, and redemption. It is all there in the streets. It is all there in the books. — Anna Quindlen
If London is a watercolor, New York is an oil painting. — Peter Shaffer
I particularly like the last of these as, while these two great cities have a lot in common, they are also totally different places providing totally different experiences.
I love London. When I first visited in 1992, after spending 3 weeks or so in Europe, it felt very familiar — almost like a home away from home in a way. This was I think partly due to the heavy doses of British TV I experienced through the 70’s and 80’s, but also because we are very like the British in many ways (except in producing fast bowlers).
We ended up having some fabulous accommodation at No. 1 The Mansions in Earl’s Court. We had a full kitchen with washing machine and dryer, plus were also given access to a smart phone with unlimited free phone calls — both domestic and international! They even provided fresh bread and milk plus coffee for the plunger. Only a short walk to the Underground too, which made exploring London so easy.
The sights
We started off by doing some sightseeing on a double decker hop-on-hop-off bus, and then explored most of the more popular areas on foot. Other than skipping the London Eye (queues were very long), we ticked off most of the major things.
Buckingham Palace …
Piccadilly Circus …
Oxford Street …
A few nice pubs …
Carnaby Street …
Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben was wrapped up in metal scaffolding and plastic sheeting, hence his omission from photos) …
The Tower of London and Tower Bridge …
Portobello Road markets …
Trafalgar Square …
Regents Park …
And Greenwich …
Night photography along the Thames
On a night when Nicole and Katelyn went to see the Matilda musical, I had a night photography outing along the Thames. Very cold, but well worth it.
During our trip to Greenwich to straddle the Eastern and Western hemispheres, we also caught up with an old work colleague of Nicole’s and her family, which was really nice.
The weather was generally kind to us — mostly dry and quite cold.
So that was London — a great place to visit with so much to take in. Next stop, Singapore! But that’s another story …
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