A Day in London

Another gloriously warm and very sunny day here in the south of the UK - I had arranged to meet up with my friend Miriam for lunch as she was working at her firm's London office for a couple of days.

I decided to head up early and head to the Tower before I would meet her at St Paul's... so much for plans.
The RMT union had pulled a 3 day strike on one of the Underground lines and when I got to Victoria they had closed the tube entrance because so many people were trying to use the lines that were running... so I took to my feet.

 St John's Smith Square

 I vaguely remember having been to some concert or other here with my ex husband donkeys years ago....

 it was certainly a beautiful building, bathed once again today in sunshine.












I could see a monument ahead of me, and water - yay, I'd hit the Thames!

this was the monument

 and a really pretty little park - Victoria Tower Gardens as I saw when I left

 views up and down river

 the Palace of Westminster, from the rear!

I have definitely not been here before - I usually approach Westminster from the main road and/or the tube station


I went up to see what the group of figures were - to find it was a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, called the Burghers of Calais.

 hope you can read the plaque, it is quite faded

 I went for some shots with a wide-angle lens and converging verticals which are meant to be a no-no but you do at least get lots in!

 the front of the Palace of Westminster.

 Richard I  outside Parliament.

 opposite Westminster, I should know what this is...

swapped lenses to avoid having to cross the road, taken in a gap in the traffic.

Churchill, as you can probably read.



I toyed with the idea of visiting the London Eye, just across the river from Westminster on the south of the river, but decided I wouldn't have time before meeting Miriam...

jumped on the tube at Westminster - all ok here, and headed for. my original destination!

 it's been a while since I was at the Tower

 I must have taken a different turn from Tower Hill tube station as I don't remember this sundial before, the circle around the bottom is a London timeline..

 I took a couple

 of pics as I headed past for the Tower

 the Merchant Navy memorial always catches my eye (had the wrong lens on to get all of it in)

 once again the skies were gloriously blue and it was already warm

 a large crowd surrounding one of the Yeomen Warder's ("Beefeaters" ) conducting the start of a tour... you  may recall I've mentioned these before, they are a very funny potted history of the Tower, but I wouldn't have time to join one today.

 I just had a quick walk round some of the key landmarks... Traitor's Gate where they brought prisoners into the Tower from the Thames

last time I was at the Tower I got caught in a downpour and sheltered here... no such need today.

 the White Tower - now houses a fabulous display of armour and all kinds of weapons and stuff...  didn't go in any of the buildings or exhibits today

 the Crown Jewels are in here.

 the White Tower again

 love the weather vanes on top of the White Tower

 the Tower used to be home to a menagerie, these wire monkeys are fab

wall "ornament"   couldn't see anything that told me what it represented

 great lantern

a glimpse of Tower Bridge

 part of the Cradle Tower

 I took an exit and

 I love Tower Bridge

 you get some fantastic shots from outside the Tower

 great lamp-post

 HMS Belfast on the river.  now a tourist attraction.  been many a year since I went round this, Mum took us when we were kids...

the Shard

 wide angle shot as I headed back to the tube and my lunch date!!

 the modern bulding in the background known colloquially as the Walkie Talkie

I love the juxtaposition of ancient and modern in London.. I know not everyone does though.

 bye, bye Tower!

 hello St Paul's Cathedral!

I wanted to take photos that might be a bit different... but that got everything in..

so wide angle out..

the Cathedral garden obscuring the dome

 but I noticed reflections in the office block on the other side of the road so had to change lens again.

 Becket

more reflections

 as I came round the next corner I saw a fantastic steel sculpture, a wonderful shape with holes through it, and wonderful reflections....

 you can see my new hair-do too!

 I took this of the floor plan of the cathedral, although it looks more like a shadow selfie!

 I had arranged to meet Miriam on the steps as her office is just the other side of the road (what a view!) but she must have been looking for me as I wasn't there long

 we ate in Coppa that you can see in this photo....






then, we went back to the sculpture as I had mentioned it, but Miriam had never seen it... she liked it as much as I did.

we crossed the road to see the round one, that I have seen before..

me taking Miriam taking St Paul's!

 closer up the reflections are even better in the office

 just can't resist some more dome shots!

 we walked a short way towards the Millenium Bridge and the spheres that give more reflections...

 and a great view of the Cathedral

 Miriam had to go back to work, and I headed down the road to find a tube station...

had to turn round for another look...

as I walked down the road I could hear what sounded like a demonstration, shouting and singing - and lots of police and the road was partly closed... could today get any more exciting?

there was a large crowd gathered outside a station... so I decided to keep on going and look for another one!


this link will tell you why

 so in the absence of a tube station I decided to walk along the river back to the London Eye, and see if I could get tickets for today (in the height of summer it's so packed you need to book)

 there were all kinds of things to look at...

cranes on the river or just in front of the river...

there is always building work going on in London

you can't always miss the buses going by though!

 great reflections in another tall building

 and this is on a bridge, not sure which one though... I've lost track of where I was and I don't know all the bridges over the Thames ; there are too many


(I've looked it up, it's Blackfriars Bridge)

 those fab reflections again

 the weather was gorgeous, I had long since shed my jacket

 St Paul's from the South Bank of the Thames...

post marking part of the Queen's Walk (a promenade along the South Bank to commemorate the silver jubilee in 1977)

the base of the above post

it's lovely walking along the Thames; especially on a day like today!

 St Paul's still in sight behind the cranes

 beautiful tree!

 Sir Laurence Oliver statue outside the Southbank Centre theatre complex

I love this bridge, it always make me think of a ship's sails.

 the bright yellow against the blue sky struck me

 Westminster again, from the south side of the river of course.

 these living sculptures are fabulous... they stand so still for ages.. then move... there's loads of them all over the place these days.  this one was very good

 Charing Cross train station (yes had to google it)











I was at the London Eye.   there was a large queue of people waiting to "fly"


I went to find out how long I'd have to wait... took a gulp when I saw the price..


decided it would wait for another day (hopefully I can book ahead and save some money... many pounds... it is worth it, on a clear day like today the views would have been fantastic, but...)

 so I contented myself with photos from street level


pleasure boats were doing a roaring trade today...

 seagulls flying around -

 the Eye.. looking great against the blue sky.

 climbed the steps up onto Westminster Bridge,

 fantastic lion at the top of the steps.


I haven't been over this side of the bridge for ages.

 I was surprised to see locks on one of the posts on the bridge - seen it a lot on bridges in Paris, and I saw another one on a travel programme the other day in another European city, but didn't realise it was happening in London too

(it's a lovers thing in case you don't know)

 lots of people about.  lots of repair work still going on at the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben


since the terror attacks there are now concrete bollards running along the side of the road,

 at least "Ben" has one face showing now...

 lamp posts on the bridge

 

I got back on the tube, and took a ride to South Kensington... and the museums...

 another living statue, she was great too

 Natural History museum from the side...
there were lots of school groups around so I gave that one a miss, it's always popular with schools...

 the V&A (Victoria and Albert) instead...

 the new courtyard entrance was full of plywood...

 however, my feet were starting to protest so I didn't climb the steps (you are invited to)

 looking up through part of it...

 I went inside... had a quick look at one of the galleries devoted to silver


but soon decided I had had enough- and also I wanted to be well out of London before rush hour started and the tube got too busy to use again!

 reflection outside in the courtyard entrance

this was one of my favourite bits last time I came when they opened this new entrance.

 side entrance of the Natural History museum.

 feature of the original entrance to the V&A

and walked back to the corner and the walk to the tube station (you can get to the tube via an underpass tunnel that cuts out roads and traffic, it's very useful)


Wow, another mammoth post, and another mammoth day out...
not sure yet what if anything is on the cards for tomorrow!!  thanks for looking.