sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Pre-Days D, E & F - London!
So the next morning, I had a leisurely English breakfast at the B&B, and then took a taxi to the Winchester train station. I had purchased a First Class train ticket ahead of time online. It wasn't that much more than a regular ticket and I figured I'd be tired of traveling at that point. While the area & aisles were a bit more spacious in First class, there wasn't *that* much difference. The biggest thing for me was that the train car was pretty empty, so I could just park my luggage in the aisle rather than having to find a spot at the end of the car.
It was a pretty uneventful ride, and in well under an hour, I found myself in Waterloo Station. OMG, was Waterloo Station HUMONGOUS! I really had no clue which of the many exits I wanted, to get to the road to my hotel. I asked a worker if I should grab a cab or not, and he said I'd spend more time getting the cab then it would take me to walk there. So, with my luggage in tow (where *were* those Adventure Guides? ;-) ) I walked the couple of blocks to the Park Plaza County Hall. I got to the traffic circle that the station worker had described, and there was the Park Plaza. In the middle of the circle. I was a little perplexed as to how I was to cross & get to it. As I started to circle around & look for a crossing place, I saw, on my side of the street, The Park Plaza County Hall. It seems the one across the road was just The Park Plaza. How confusing! But at least I didn't have to brave the traffic!
At first they said I was too early to get a room, but by the time I'd finished checking in, a room was ready. I went up to my room on the 1st floor (what we'd call the 2nd floor. In Europe, the 1st floor is the Ground Floor, and then what we'd call the 2nd floor is the first floor. It's confusing, but as long as they mark the floors well, it's OK). I'd gotten a really great deal on this hotel, so I wasn't surprised to not have a view of the Thames or the London Eye (which were just a couple of blocks away). But I was surprised to find that my room overlooked the restaurant on the ground floor. I was well above the restaurant, so it wasn't like people were looking in my room, but it was odd. The nice thing was, I got some natural light from the windows of the restaurant, so I could tell what the weather was like, etc.
It was a very nice room, and larger than what I'd been led to expect in England. There was a lot of marble and frosted glass. It was very modern-looking.
After I got settled in, I decided to head out and get some lunch, and then head across the Thames to the Houses of Parliament & Big Ben. This is the view from just around the corner from my hotel. That's the County Hall, and, behind it, the London Eye. It's amazing how the London Eye is visible from areas all over London.
I found a Chinese place that had an interesting looking menu which included, of all things, some curries. I decided to go for the curry, and it was very tasty. After I finished with lunch, I walked across the Westminster Bridge. I was really in London! There they were, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. (Or, more accurately, St. Stephen's Tower. Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the clock tower.)
Westminster Abbey!
The flying buttresses of Westminster Abbey.
I knew we were visiting this area, and taking some tours as a part of the ABD, so I spent this time just wandering from building to building, taking tons of photos and absorbing the fact that I was really in London.
My first Red Phone box. I was hardly the only person taking pictures of this!
This monument shows the various uniforms worn by the women who served in World War II.
I then decided to catch a bus to Trafalgar Square. I wanted to check it out, plus I'd read in National Geographic that the #15 double-decker bus from Trafalgar Square to St. Paul's was a nice ride that went past a lot of nice architecture & monuments.
Trafalgar Square and the Nelson Column, built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar.
A fountain in front of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. I just thought it was an interesting composition!
I've heard that this plinth is waiting around to have a statue of Queen Elizabeth II. In the meanwhile, it has this cool ship in a bottle. It's really quite a bit more HUGE than it looks!
The countdown calendar for the London Olympics.
I caught the #15 bus, and climbed up to the upper deck of the double-decker. The whole front of the bus was taken up by a group of Asian tourists. I wanted to see the sights, so I sat up amongst them in an empty seat. Their tourguide spoke English, so he & I chatted a bit, and I found they were all from Korea. He asked where I was from, and when I told them, they went "Oh! Ohio! Yes! Yes! Ohio! Ohio!" I guess Ohio must be pretty popular in Korea! ;-)
Then we came up to St. Paul's Cathedral, and I got off the bus. The weather was pretty gloomy at this point, but St. Paul's was just beautiful.
I walked around and took several pictures of this stately Cathedral.
After that, I walked up the steps to the entrance, and found that the Cathedral had closed at 5. However, they hold a service there after 5, called Evensong, and anyone is welcome to go into the Cathedral to attend the service. I went in, and found a seat under the fabulous dome of the Cathedral. I noticed signs that said NO photography was allowed, with or without a flash. It just killed me, because the inside of St. Paul's is ABSOLUTELY, AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS, and my fingers itched to document it in pictures. But instead I just sat there and absorbed all the beauty, and tried to memorize it. The carvings, the statuary, the paintings, the mosaics. Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! To be seeing all this, while listening to an Angelic choir sing the Evensong service was just an amazing experience.
After Evensong was over, I went in search of a quick dinner. Right on the edge of the square surrounding St. Paul's, there was a store called M&S To Go, which is basically a "fast food" offshoot of Marks & Spencer's department stores. It was aisle after aisle of pre-made meals of all sorts & description. I got a salad, yogurt, a scone and a fruit cup, and sat on the steps of St. Paul's to eat my impromptu Dinner. A few pigeons were staking me out waiting for me to drop something, but I didn't really think they'd enjoy the quinoa and cranberries of my salad, and I wasn't going to share my scone! (The steps of St. Paul's are where the Old Lady from Mary Poppins' "Feed the Birds" is from. I've heard they really don't want you feeding the birds there any more).
After I was done, I caught a bus to head back to my hotel. I could have taken the Tube, but I decided I really wanted to sight-see on my way back.
Returning to the Park Plaza County Hall.
Once I got back to the Hotel, rested up a bit and checked in online, I decided to head down to the Thames and check out the London Eye. I thought it would be cool to ride it at night. As I walked down there (the weather had turned fabulous!) I stopped in various spots to take some night-time photos of the London Eye.
Continued in next post.
So the next morning, I had a leisurely English breakfast at the B&B, and then took a taxi to the Winchester train station. I had purchased a First Class train ticket ahead of time online. It wasn't that much more than a regular ticket and I figured I'd be tired of traveling at that point. While the area & aisles were a bit more spacious in First class, there wasn't *that* much difference. The biggest thing for me was that the train car was pretty empty, so I could just park my luggage in the aisle rather than having to find a spot at the end of the car.
It was a pretty uneventful ride, and in well under an hour, I found myself in Waterloo Station. OMG, was Waterloo Station HUMONGOUS! I really had no clue which of the many exits I wanted, to get to the road to my hotel. I asked a worker if I should grab a cab or not, and he said I'd spend more time getting the cab then it would take me to walk there. So, with my luggage in tow (where *were* those Adventure Guides? ;-) ) I walked the couple of blocks to the Park Plaza County Hall. I got to the traffic circle that the station worker had described, and there was the Park Plaza. In the middle of the circle. I was a little perplexed as to how I was to cross & get to it. As I started to circle around & look for a crossing place, I saw, on my side of the street, The Park Plaza County Hall. It seems the one across the road was just The Park Plaza. How confusing! But at least I didn't have to brave the traffic!
At first they said I was too early to get a room, but by the time I'd finished checking in, a room was ready. I went up to my room on the 1st floor (what we'd call the 2nd floor. In Europe, the 1st floor is the Ground Floor, and then what we'd call the 2nd floor is the first floor. It's confusing, but as long as they mark the floors well, it's OK). I'd gotten a really great deal on this hotel, so I wasn't surprised to not have a view of the Thames or the London Eye (which were just a couple of blocks away). But I was surprised to find that my room overlooked the restaurant on the ground floor. I was well above the restaurant, so it wasn't like people were looking in my room, but it was odd. The nice thing was, I got some natural light from the windows of the restaurant, so I could tell what the weather was like, etc.
It was a very nice room, and larger than what I'd been led to expect in England. There was a lot of marble and frosted glass. It was very modern-looking.
After I got settled in, I decided to head out and get some lunch, and then head across the Thames to the Houses of Parliament & Big Ben. This is the view from just around the corner from my hotel. That's the County Hall, and, behind it, the London Eye. It's amazing how the London Eye is visible from areas all over London.
I found a Chinese place that had an interesting looking menu which included, of all things, some curries. I decided to go for the curry, and it was very tasty. After I finished with lunch, I walked across the Westminster Bridge. I was really in London! There they were, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. (Or, more accurately, St. Stephen's Tower. Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the clock tower.)
Westminster Abbey!
The flying buttresses of Westminster Abbey.
I knew we were visiting this area, and taking some tours as a part of the ABD, so I spent this time just wandering from building to building, taking tons of photos and absorbing the fact that I was really in London.
My first Red Phone box. I was hardly the only person taking pictures of this!
This monument shows the various uniforms worn by the women who served in World War II.
I then decided to catch a bus to Trafalgar Square. I wanted to check it out, plus I'd read in National Geographic that the #15 double-decker bus from Trafalgar Square to St. Paul's was a nice ride that went past a lot of nice architecture & monuments.
Trafalgar Square and the Nelson Column, built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar.
A fountain in front of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. I just thought it was an interesting composition!
I've heard that this plinth is waiting around to have a statue of Queen Elizabeth II. In the meanwhile, it has this cool ship in a bottle. It's really quite a bit more HUGE than it looks!
The countdown calendar for the London Olympics.
I caught the #15 bus, and climbed up to the upper deck of the double-decker. The whole front of the bus was taken up by a group of Asian tourists. I wanted to see the sights, so I sat up amongst them in an empty seat. Their tourguide spoke English, so he & I chatted a bit, and I found they were all from Korea. He asked where I was from, and when I told them, they went "Oh! Ohio! Yes! Yes! Ohio! Ohio!" I guess Ohio must be pretty popular in Korea! ;-)
Then we came up to St. Paul's Cathedral, and I got off the bus. The weather was pretty gloomy at this point, but St. Paul's was just beautiful.
I walked around and took several pictures of this stately Cathedral.
After that, I walked up the steps to the entrance, and found that the Cathedral had closed at 5. However, they hold a service there after 5, called Evensong, and anyone is welcome to go into the Cathedral to attend the service. I went in, and found a seat under the fabulous dome of the Cathedral. I noticed signs that said NO photography was allowed, with or without a flash. It just killed me, because the inside of St. Paul's is ABSOLUTELY, AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS, and my fingers itched to document it in pictures. But instead I just sat there and absorbed all the beauty, and tried to memorize it. The carvings, the statuary, the paintings, the mosaics. Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! To be seeing all this, while listening to an Angelic choir sing the Evensong service was just an amazing experience.
After Evensong was over, I went in search of a quick dinner. Right on the edge of the square surrounding St. Paul's, there was a store called M&S To Go, which is basically a "fast food" offshoot of Marks & Spencer's department stores. It was aisle after aisle of pre-made meals of all sorts & description. I got a salad, yogurt, a scone and a fruit cup, and sat on the steps of St. Paul's to eat my impromptu Dinner. A few pigeons were staking me out waiting for me to drop something, but I didn't really think they'd enjoy the quinoa and cranberries of my salad, and I wasn't going to share my scone! (The steps of St. Paul's are where the Old Lady from Mary Poppins' "Feed the Birds" is from. I've heard they really don't want you feeding the birds there any more).
After I was done, I caught a bus to head back to my hotel. I could have taken the Tube, but I decided I really wanted to sight-see on my way back.
Returning to the Park Plaza County Hall.
Once I got back to the Hotel, rested up a bit and checked in online, I decided to head down to the Thames and check out the London Eye. I thought it would be cool to ride it at night. As I walked down there (the weather had turned fabulous!) I stopped in various spots to take some night-time photos of the London Eye.
Continued in next post.
Part 3 is up now! 
