Londinium

We set off from home (and our friends really made us feel like it was home) in a taxi to the train station.  Much modernized since my last visit!

Well, the ticketing and so forth was all modernized, and the trains themselves were as well, but the tracks were probably exactly the same.

An hour and three minutes later (much faster than the train to Inverness) we were at London Victoria, and minutes later picked up our red, white and blue tour bus, right outside.

Don't think we stayed with this bus for long, because it is, after all, a hop-on/hop-off tour, and we did much hopping, as well as walking around the city.

First, we came upon Buckingham Palace.  For a brief while we thought we would get to see the changing of the guard, because we were there at the perfect time... but there was no ceremony today.  We could go back on Wednesday, but we will probably be doing something else.  Still, we took a lot of photos.  As did the thousands of other tourists that thronged the place.

Next, the Palace of Westminster, a.k.a. the Houses of Parliament.  The tour guide tricked me into saying that this tower was Big Ben, which of course, it isn't.  Big Ben is the bell that lives in the tower, not the tower itself.  And I knew this, but it slipped my mind.  No, really!

Just across the river and down a bit is the London Eye. This would be a great vantage point to photograph London, but the 28 minute rotation period is dwarfed by the 3-hour queue outside to get in.

All over London, there is construction.  Literally, everywhere you look.  And some consider this a bad thing.  But I believe that London is not a 2,000 year old city that is built, rather a 2,000 year old city that is still being built.  And that promises an exciting future.

St Paul's cathedral, seen from the top of the bus.  Why didn't I go inside?  It wasn't the prospect of paying an entrance fee that put me off, it was the prospect of being enthralled for hours, and missing a glimpse of everything else.

The same can be said for the Tower of London.  Which, I came across unexpectedly, when we jumped off the bus to see Tower Bridge.

Stupid Bajan always thought it was called Tower Bridge because it had towers.  I only realised today that it got it's name from the fact that it is right next to the Tower of London!

Walked across the bridge, and took a photo or two of some of the modern architecture in the city.

Many bemoan the newer designs, and give them disparaging names.  Above, you can see The Shard, and below is The Gherkin and what must be what they call The Can Of Ham.  Now, I am just fine with this new architectural direction. 

If new, 20th and 21st century buildings are constructed using Tudor, Georgian, and other styles from the past, what will Londoners of the future point to and describe as the architecture of our time?

Any way, after crossing Tower Bridge, we walked along the Thames, where we bought an iced cream cone, and enjoyed the view of the Tower of London...

...and Tower Bridge itself, seen from a slight distance.

I kept catching glimpses of The Shard between buildings and trees, and think this would be another great photographic vantage point!

As we walked, we passed HMS Belfast, which is famous (as far as I can tell) for blowing itself up almost immediately after being launched, by running into a mine.  (Who can understand these people?)

We finally came to, and crossed London Bridge.  And no, London Brdge is not Falling Down.  It is a fine, sturdy, modern bridge, if a bit plain.  The original London Bridge was sold to a Texan with mega money and micro brains, who thought he was getting Tower Bridge, and didn't realize his error until the bridge had been re-erected in Texas.  The canny Londoners sold it to him because it was Falling Down!

The Shard again.  It kept appearing, when you least expected it to.  Then again, it's pretty hard to miss...

Anyway, we re-crossed the river at London Bridge, and walked back along the Thames to hop-on at the very point we'd hopped-off.

Here is the statue of Boudica, famous queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe, who gave the Romans hell with her chariot, before taking poison when finally defeated.  And here also are some of the throng of other tourists we rubbed shoulders with all day.  (We know, as tourists ourselves, we are no better than they.)

An anatomically incorrect lion in Trafalgar Square.  Apparently, the sculptor had never seen a lion, so he modeled the statue off of his dog and a stray cat.  Or something equally unlikely.

Derek remembered a photo of his father standing in front of Nelson's Column so here is Derek doing the same.  (Did you know the column leans over like that tower in Pisa?  Oh, you're not going to buy that?  Ok...)  This statue of Nelson isn't as good as the one at home.  It is taller, but ours is older by a couple of decades, and more!

Any Bajans still remember Curly Smith and the Trevose Hotel in Bayswater? Here is Marble Arch, which reminds me of those good old days.  After visiting the arch, we took a walk down Oxford Street, before returning to hop onto our bus again.

Around this time, my camera battery died, and I had to switch to the phone. Which was starting to look iffy on battery as well. It grabbed a shot of the three Golden Divers in Coventry Street.  So far, nothing has explained their significance. But who can resist the allure of naked women jumping off a tall building?

Here is the famous statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus.  Only it isn't Eros at all, rather his twin brother Anteros!  (Who knew?)

Our tour was nearly over, so we soon found ourselves back at Victoria, and after a coffee, we hopped on the train for Brighton.  An hour and a cab-ride later we were sitting down to a tasty meal with our friends, and telling them the tale of our day in The Smoke.

So, I will close now, but first, I will say that on our way down from London, I spotted the name of one of the stations through the window, and snapped a picture.

This one's for you, Keith, my old mate!