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| 1750 |
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| 2015 |
The weather was nice and clear, not too hot, and sunny with dramatic clouds at time.
In the 17th century
The Monument above once was at 62m the highest building in London. The tower had been erected to commemorate the great fire of 1666. 311 steps lead to the top, which we were too lazy to climb up, as the today's view would have been obstructed by higher buildings and construction sites all around. Given The Shard's height at 306m it's time seems long over.
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| Construction all over the city |
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| Shakespeare's Globe Theatre |
We took a tour of the
Shakespeare's Globe, which is a reconstruction of an Elizabethan theatre built in 1599, destroyed, rebuilt and later demolished by the
Puritans, who destroyed and abolished everything considered devilish. (They later emigrated to America, took their lifestyle with, in order for England to be able to return to fun and games, culture and theatre.)
We were asked not to take any pictures from the inside, so I had to steal one from the net:
On our walk along the shore of Thames we came across old and new, which made for an interesting, sometimes clashing contrast in architecture.
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| Ruins of a Church |
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| The Shard, again |
Then we hopped on an underground train and took a stroll through Soho which we didn't find very appealing, so we moved on towards Buckingham Palace.
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| Regent Street |
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| Just another pub |
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| At St. James Park |
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| Horse Guards |
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| Buckingham Palace, with loads of tourists |
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More walking in the park to escape the ever present tourists
(which we are not, obviously) |
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| A moorhen |
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| A coot |
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| Romantic setting |
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| Flowery stuff |
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| Handsome guard on handsome horse |
With our feet hurting from the long walkabout on the hard pavement we made it back to the hotel after 15kms or so. What a great city this is. But now we must return home, back to the quiet of your Black Forest setting. Our ears started buzzing from the constant traffic and construction noise, and we need a break now. But we'll come back for more another time.
What did you think of the changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace? Nice pics, I liked the pano at the end best.
ReplyDeleteDom, I was seven when I saw it the first time... I was very impressed back then, and kids still are. Today... well, it's a bit kitschy if you ask me.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed you trip to 'the smoke', it was great to see you both.
ReplyDeleteSmoke, what smoke ;-) We had terrific weather! The pleasure was all ours, John. Thanks a lot!
DeleteThat's what Londoners call the city - a hangover from the times of the infamous London smogs (a mixture of fog and severe pollution).
DeleteMore great photos.
ReplyDeleteFunny those damn Puritans, they took a lot of the fun out of the country with their puritanical ways. Well there wasn't much fun to be had back in the day when they invaded. I mean settled. But their puritanical ways seem to permeate our culture today and it is so rigid and uptight compared to Europe.
For almost two decades they did indeed, Brandy. The Brits must have been very happy when they moved overseas with their Puritan ways. And it explains a lot... why the US is what it is in some ways...
DeleteThank you for the photos. One of these days I'll make it to Europe for a visit.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the pano. It almost looks like a painting.
Richard, if you and Bridget wanna come... we'll make room for you should your travels lead you to the Black Forest.
DeleteNice photos. Now I need to go back to London for a visit - it's been too long.
ReplyDeleteNice photos! I have never been to London, but would love to go.
ReplyDeleteSonja, I'm with Canajun.....my time in London was so enjoyable and went far too fast. Your great photos bring back memories of things I saw and now awareness of the too many that were missed.
ReplyDelete