London and vicinity

These are the places I went to, where I took pictures. I probably walked 20 miles or more in total, and lots of trips on busses, tubes, a boat, and a taxi. There is so much more to see, and I'd even like to revisit the places I went to. I'll definitely be going back.

Leaving London

The door to my hotel when I checked out...the takeoff...and the route. Ended up in Economy, but as most space-a fliers will attest, any seat is a good seat.

Last meal...if my flight goes as planned

Not all pubs are the same. My favorite is The Queens Arm. Good food, attentive staff. Not the typical bar food either. I had the roast guinea fowl with Savoy cabbage, mashed potatoes and gravy. I finished it with apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. That's a bottle of water, not wine. The best meal I've had here. The worst was McDonald's--yuck. 

AJ

My Street

I can walk around without a map now for the most part. My hotel is a few hundred meters from a main street where there are plenty of shops and restaurants.

Docking in Westminster

Yes, it's kinda raining. Barely. It's warmer when it rains. 

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/hGbKfkpqiyg

AJ

Old Royal Navy College

Used to be just what it says, but is now a part of a regular university. It's 300 years old.

Maritime Museum

Horatio Nelson was a hero back in the day. He led a lot of old battles at sea. Over the years he had been blinded in one eye in one battle, suffered a concussion in another, lost his right arm in yet another, and was finally killed at Trafalgar. The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic wars (1803–1815).

The Brits won the battle and the war. That's the uniform he was wearing at the time. 

His left shoulder shows the bullet hole that killed him.

AJ

Speaking of GPS...

They wanted to charge 5 quid to stand on the Prime Meridian. I went outside and found it myself! Yep, there's an app for that too.

The Time Ball

The top pic is as seen from the Thames River. Back in the day, ships set their clocks by it. The ball would lower at exactly 1300 each day, and was managed by the royal observatory. Accurate clocks were the best way to determine longitude, important if you wanted to go somewhere in the world. The only thing that changed this was satellite timing, and GPS--a modern invention.

The original Cutty Sark

She specialized in quickly getting tea from China in the 1800s.

London Tower

The Tower Bridge, next to The London Tower, the Queen's castle on the bottom. I didn't make it in there.

Change of plans

While at morning chow I decided to try a trip to Greenwich. It's nautical Mecca for England. The prime meridian, Zulu time, national maritime museum, etc. walked to bus, got off at Westminster station and a short walk to the dock. Rick Steves came thru again--he said to show a travelcard for a discount--saved about $8 US. Boat left 5 minutes after I arrived.

End of day 3

Getting off the bus and walking to the hotel. I came across Westminster Cathedral at night. And some dark streets (walked a little faster). I'm hooked on these giant chocolate bars I brought to the room. You can't see them cuz the wrappers are in the garbage can already!

Leicester Square

This place was busy at 11:00PM tonight. Took the bus there to get some grub. It's kinda like the Vegas strip, Times Square, with a little bit of Chinatown thrown in. Really cool. I really like the panorama feature of the iPhone.

Westminster Abbey bells

These things were going off all day. Not annoying--but I'd hate to try sleeping through it.

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/e8LwNH5iK0s


AJ

Churchill War Room

Also a museum. The war rooms are left as they were when Germany surrendered. Everything is underground in a bunker.

Amazing Grace-Bagpiper in London

Best tune ever on the Pipes.

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/PsYc7jOqE00


AJ

Old Lang Syne bagpipe

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/6h2vYyrwWWw


AJ

The Irish spring song

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/gbPEBo6LMp8


AJ

Bagpiper on Westminster Bridge

Links above to some of his tunes. I love the bagpipe. It doesn't look easy.

Panoramic of London proper

Who says the weather in England is always rainy?

Fancy

Nice breakfast and bus ride to the eye. It's early enuf to see a few drunks from last night still walking around. One harassed the bus I was on--I told him to go pound sand up his ass and he got off, flipping me off the whole time. US diplomacy in action.
The eye was a must see.

London Eye

Left the room and walked to the diner. It was closed. Then I realized two things: I didn't have my travelcard, and that I get a free breakfast in my hotel, so I went back.