London, England - Part V

Pictures enlarge if you click on them.

View from Trafalgar Square, with Big Ben in the background

London Underground Station at Trafalgar Square - "Mind the Gap"

Mural on a Wall on Building in Soho

View of the the river Thames

The London Eye

The British Airways London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, opened in 1999 and is the largest observation wheel in the world. It stands 443 feet high. It is located on the banks of the River Thames it offers great views over London. Since opening at the turn of the century, the London Eye has become the most popular paid for UK visitor attraction, visited by over 3.5 million people a year.

View from the London Eye

Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye

Catherine and I inside the London Eye


Catherine and I inside the London Eye


Catherine in the London Eye

View of one of the "passenger pods" of the London Eye with the river Thames in the background.

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London, England - Part IV

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Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is a drawbridge in London, England over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London and is sometimes mistakenly called London Bridge, which is the next bridge upstream.

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress The Tower of London, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is an historic monument in central London on the north bank of the River Thames.
The Tower's primary function was as a fortress, a royal palace and a prison. It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint, a public records office, an observatory, and—since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

Royal Residence at the Tower of London

Raven Keeper at the Tower of London

When Catherine and I were visiting the Tower of London we asked one of the "Beefeaters" or Yeoman Warders if we could have a picture taken with him. He said sure. That night when we went back to the hotel, his picture was in the newspaper and it said he was the head Raven Keeper.

Yeoman Warders fill the post of Raven Master. The story goes that, when the observatory was in the north-eastern turret of the White Tower, The Astronomer Royal complained to Charles II that the ravens were interfering with his observation. The King then ordered their destruction, only to be told that if the ravens left the Tower the White Tower would fall and the Kingdom with it.

A limited number of ravens were therefore allowed to remain. They are cared for by the Raven Master, a Yeoman Warder whose job it is to ensure their well being. They are now an established feature of the Tower.

Guard at the Tower of London

The British Royal Jewels are kept in the building behind Catherine

Yeoman Warder giving a tour of the Tower of London

Catherine and I took a tour of the Tower of London giving by a Yeoman Warder. The Yeoman Warder on our tour told us that they were all retired British Military non-commissioned officers.

Crypt at Saint Martin's in the Field

Because of its prominent position, St Martin-in-the-Fields is one of the most famous non-cathedral churches in London. It is well-known for its "open door" policy under which the church is open to the public at all times of the day and night, its work for the homeless, and its regular lunchtime concerts. Many now-famous ensembles performed at the church, including the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the New Trinity Baroque, and the London Soloists Orchestra.

There is a popular Cafe in the Crypt, where jazz concerts are held. All profits from this goes to the activities of the church with the homeless. The crypt is also home to the London Brass Rubbing Centre, and art gallery and a book and gift shop.

London St. Pancras Train Station

St. Pancras station is a railway station in north central London, between the new British Library building to the west and King's Cross station to the east. It is the southern terminus of the Midland Main Line, and is the main departure point from London for services to the East Midlands, via Leicester to Sheffield and other parts of Yorkshire.


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London, England - Part III

Pictures enlarge if you click them.Catherine and I in London

Catherine with an iconic red London telephone booth

Buckingham Palace

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

I'm not sure what building is shown in this picture. I took it as I was walking away from Buckingham Palace. Is it part of Buckingham Palace? If you recognize it let me know.

Covent Gardens

Our lunch at Covent Gardens

Catherine at Covent Gardens

Westminster Abby

Founded over 1000 years ago, this is the burial place of kings, statesmen, poets, scientists, warriors and musicians. The Abbey has seen all 38 coronations since that of William the Conqueror on Christmas Day 1066.


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London, England - Part II

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Catherine with a couple of Bobbies and the red double decker buses in the background

Number 10 Downing Street




BBC World Headquarters

Parliament and Big Ben

Hungerford Bridge

The Hungerford Bridge is actually one railway bridge sandwiched between two pedestrian walkways.

World War II damage still visible on this monument

Offices of Paul McCartney's music publishing company - MPL Communications

During our London trip Catherine and I took a "Rock and Roll" tour that included many sights of various Beatle events, including the Apple Headquarters where the Beatles had their last concert. After failing to agree on any other venue, the band settled for an unannounced concert atop their own building, Apple's headquarters. The Beatles, accompanied by Preston, performed on January 30, 1969.

Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London and one of the Royal Parks of London. Speakers' Corner is an area where public speaking is allowed, and is located in the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London. Within this area, a speaker is allowed to talk about any subject without fear of legal repercussions. Only two subjects are off limits: the British Royal Family and the overthrow of the British government.

London Hippodrome

The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square in London. The name was in fact used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors. The name 'hippodrome' derived from the fact that animal acts were originally part of the show.

The London Hippodrome was built in 1900 by Frank Matcham for Edward Moss as a hippodrome for circus and variety performances, including large water tank for aquatic spectacles. It was reconstructed by Matcham as a music-hall and variety theatre with c. 1340 seats in 1909 and it was here that Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake was first danced in England by the Russian Ballet in 1910.

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. In one of the galleries is the Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible, manuscripts from Mozart and the Beatles, Leonardo Da Vinci notebooks, Alice's Adventures Under Ground, and Shakespeare's First Folio.

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London, England

My wife and I went on a vacation to London and Paris. My first trip to Europe was on business, so I was looking forward to making this trip and having more free time to enjoy the sights.

Pictures enlarge if you click on them. Big Ben

April 10, 2008 was the 150th anniversary of the creation of Big Ben. The 15-ton Big Ben was cast on April 10, 1858, at the foundry in east London, although it was another year before it first rang out from Parliament's clock tower. It was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which also made Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and the Bell of Hope, given to New York by Londoners on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Big Ben has given its name to one of London's most famous landmarks, the Parliament's 19th-century neo-Gothic clock tower, designed by Charles Barry. The tower is popularly known as Big Ben, although the name actually refers only to the Great Bell inside. The bell cracked soon after it was installed and officials fitted a smaller hammer and turned the bell so the hammer wouldn't strike the crack. The bell, remains in use, and during World War II, Big Ben's bongs became a sign of resistance to Nazi bombs.

Catherine waiting at the Vancouver airport

Due to the delayed flight, we arrived in London’s Heathrow airport late in the day on Sunday. We were quickly processed through customs and caught a traditional red double-decker bus into downtown London. There is a London Underground station at the airport, but I highly recommend the bus because you can see the city as you are driving through it. The bus dropped us off right at Hyde Park near the Marble Arch. The Marriott hotel we were staying at was a couple of blocks away, but just having one rolling bag each we were able to easily walk the remaining way to the hotel.

We left from the San Francisco airport early on a Saturday morning and flew Air Canada to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Always expecting a least one glitch on a trip we started our trip with one right at the beginning. When we arrived in Vancouver we were told that the aviation fuel was contaminated and the airport was having new fuel delivered by truck. In the meantime there would be a delay in the flight. We sat with some British tourists that had been on vacation in Canada. They asked where we were going and when I told them London and Paris, they said Paris was alright, but that London was just a big city. It always seems funny to me that people seem to always take the places they live for granted. In a future posting I will write about San Francisco, the place my wife and I work. Well, anyway, the fuel did finally arrive and we were late, but on our way.

My wife and I each had one small rolling, carry-on bag and didn’t check baggage. I highly recommend packing light, especially if you aren’t driving and have to lug your baggage everywhere. At the time it was also easy to carry the baggage on the plane and bypass having to wait to collect your luggage at the end of the trip.

London red double decker bus

Our original plan had been to arrive early enough to do some sight seeing on Sunday. However being very tired and jet-lagged we elected to have dinner at the hotel restaurant, Mediterrano that served Italian influenced meals and came with great salads. The hotel itself was a standard business hotel without much character, but I had accumulated enough frequent guest points staying at other Marriott hotels while I was traveling on business, that I was able to have the room at no charge for the week.

As I said we were so exhausted, that by 7:00 pm we were sound asleep. There is nothing like being on vacation when you travel instead of business when you have to be someplace whether you feel like it or not. In any case, we were asleep early and awoke at dawn greatly refreshed and raring to go.

First thing on our agenda was breakfast that was included with our room. So we were off for one of those great English breakfasts and we were not disappointed. All you wanted of pancakes, waffles, eggs, pastries, bacon, sausage, juice, coffee and of course tea.

Our plan for the day was to start by getting the layout of the city. We started out by taking a “Big Bus” tour. This is a bus tour where you can hop-on and hop-off at each of the major sights while they give you a narration. The ticket for the tour is good for 24 hours, so even after you have heard all the narration you want it is still a convenient way to get from sight to sight.

Trafalgar Square

One of the stops on our bus tour was Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square is a square in central London that commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The square is dedicated to the heroics of Admiral Horatio Viscount Nelson (1758-1805,) who's likeness is depicted by an 18 foot-tall statue atop the 172 foot column in the center of the square. The British national hero, Admiral Nelson, was killed as he defeated the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The statue was designed by E. H. Bailey and the column by William Railton in the 1830's. The relief sculptures on each aspect of the column's base done by Ternouth, Woodington, Watson and Carew. Additionally, there are four large bronze lions, created by Edward Landseer, guarding the base of the column.

Trafalgar Square

Landseer Lion

The lions at the foot of the monument actually have dog paws instead of lion (feline) paws as the creator, Sir Edwin Landseer, had never seen a lion.

Catherine in front of the Landseer Lion


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