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England-Scotland Day 19 ( Part 1)– Tower of London and Tower Bridge


21 April 2010

We planned 2 and a half days to explore London before our flight back home on 23 April 2010, assuming that flights would be resumed by then. This was too short a time for a place like London.

A call to our travel insurance agent reassured us that we would be paid compensation for any cancellations of flights due to the Icelandic volcano eruption. Not bad. We may be forced to extend our vacation in London but it will be partially funded by our insurance claims.

The plan for the day would be to visit the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the attractions near the Thames, including Madam Tussauds. This time of year in London, we may get to experience all 4 seasons in a day. Although it was warm when we left the apartment, we lugged our warm clothing along as it would get cold at night.

Journey to Tower of London via subway was easy. Nearest station is the Tower Hill station and from there, a short walk to the Tower.

Outer Walls of Tower of London as we walked towards the entrance.


Trinity Building seen on way to the Tower of London from Tower Hill Station.

Siege weapon  outside the Tower of London – looked quite basic.

Once inside, Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters), dressed in red, will guide visitors and tells interesting and sometimes funny stories related to the places within the Tower of London.

We listened to stories about who gets beheaded and where, ghosts and some stories and legends too. We were also free to walk around on our own.


Raven at the Tower of London. At least six Ravens are kept at the Tower, at all times. There is the belief that if they be absent the kingdom will fall.


Traitors' Gate.


Tower of London, UKThe White Tower with Beefeater.


Fanciful cannon. Is this really a weapon used for war?

Tower of London, UK

A pigeon flying from Ruins to Beauty.



Within the grounds of the Tower of London is the Jewel House where the crown jewels are displayed. No photographs were allowed for security reasons. When I visited this place back in 1986, the attendants at the entrance hung some confiscated photo negatives as a warning…half in jest. This time round, no such gruesome display of violence. Here we get to see some of the world’s largest diamonds.

The armoury was quite fun to visit. Suits of armour and weapons were displayed.

Armoury Museum, Tower of London, UK

Armoured Horse in armoury museum, Tower of London.


Suit of armour of a king.


One of the two Japanese suits of armour offered by the Japanese Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada to John Saris for King James I in 1613, now in the White Tower of the Tower of London.


Fancy rifle.


Trying out how it feels like to have the Gauntlet around your arm.


Exploring the insides of the castle. Mechanism for the heavy portculis gate.


Lion of St Mark. We saw this in Venice!


All in all, we spent about 3 hours visiting the Tower of London and it was about 1 PM when we left the place. Right outside, we get to see the next London icon, the Tower Bridge.

There was a 62 gun salute near the Tower of London for Queen Elizabeth's birthday celebration. The guns seemed to be firing at the HMS Belfast, moored right across the Thames river.

HMS Belfast on the Thames River.



Here is a video of the gun salute. Quite funny. Every time the gun fires, the baby will cry. LOL.

After watching the 62 gun salute, we walked along the Thames, across the bridge and try to shoot some photos of Tower Bridge.

Sculpture is the focus here, not the bridge.


Tower Bridge, London

Crossing the Tower Bridge.


River Thames  as viewed from Tower Bridge.


After crossing over the bridge, we took our lunch in a small cafe by the bridge and then continued down the banks of Thames.

HMS Belfast.


Then we saw that the planes are flying again. There goes our free vacation extension.


Vapour trails of 2 planes flying on the blue sky, like 2 fireworks shooting out from the Tower.

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England-Scotland Day 19 ( Part 2) – Madam Tussauds and The London Eye

21 April 2010

From Tower Hill, we took the subway to the Madam Tussauds Museum. On the way to the wax museum, we spotted the statue of Sherlock Holmes, near Baker Street where he was supposed to have lived.

Statue of Sherlock Holmes  along Baker Street, London.


We bought a discounted combined ticket to visit both the Madam Tussauds and London Eye.

Madam Tussauds was fun to visit. We were greeted by the wax figure of Napoleon at the entrance. Then it was stars galore.


Photos sessions with our favourite and not so favourite characters included the Beckhams, Jose Mourinho, Steven Gerald, James Bond(s), Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Brad and Angelina Jolie etc. I never knew Nicole Kidman was so tall until I stood beside her, and Tom Cruise is not taller than me! 

Madam Tussauds at London

US President Obama and First Lady at the White House.


There is a section with the political figures. You get to pose with Obama and sit on his desk in the White House! 

It was kind of sad to see Princess Diana standing alone, while her sons were displayed with the Royal Family. Posing for photos with the baddies like Saddam, Hitler were also fun.

Adolf Hitler.


And of course, the characters from the music scene – Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson and Jimmy Hendrix.

Elvis Presley.


There is even a section to compete with the London Dungeon. Wax figures of Vlad the Impaler, plus medieval torture scenes were depicted.

Madam Tussauds at London

Medieval torture.


Madam Tussauds at London

Vlad the Impaler - inspiration for Count Dracula.


Madam Tussauds at London

The Rack – a form of torture.


All in all, we spent close to 2 hours in here before heading to the London Eye. En-route, we saw the Parliament House located across the Thames from the London Eye.

Parliament House on the Thames.


The silhouette of the Parliament House.


Crossing the bridge to get to the London Eye.


The London Eye is a large ferries wheel that is suspended over the Thames. Since the wheel is over water, the designer has to provide two supports on one side of the wheel on land and used cables to “pull” it in. I find the design more interesting than the Singapore Flyer (also a Ferries Wheel) which is designed like a bicycle wheel with two supports on both sides of the wheel.

Wheel over water. Hence need for innovative design to “suspend” the structure using cables and supports on only one side. 


Singapore Flyer – designed like a upside-down bicycle wheel.


Bubble cabins of the London Eye.



Design aside, the experience of being in the London Eye was pretty much similar to that of taking the Singapore Flyer. We get a bird’s eye view of the city.

View from the cabin.


 London EyeOn top of London. Photo of next car right at the top of the wheel.


After the ride, there were cherry trees to see at the park next the London Eye.

Cherry trees with cherry blossoms.


Pigeon feasting on the flowers buds.Pigeon feasting on the flowers buds.


Plus entertainment too. This guy was offering passers-by money if they could ride his bicycle. Not easy as the front wheels had been specially configured to make the bicycle unstable.

Trick cycling.


For stability, the placement of the bicycle's steering axis should be such that the axis intersects the ground ahead of the point where the front wheel meets the ground. In this case, it was not. Hence for any person used to riding the normal bike, it was difficult to ride on this bike. But he showed that he can do it easily.

Silhouette of Hungerfold Bridge against the setting sun.


Then we across the Hungerfold Bridge and walked to Trafalgar Square where the National Gallery is located.

It was too late to visit the Gallery, so I just took some photos at Trafalgar Square before going for dinner at a nearby street.

Nelson Column at Trafalgar Square. Figure of Admiral Nelson (hero of Battle of Trafalgar) at the top.


Long exposure photo of the fountain at Trafalgar Square.


We will be backed.

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England-Scotland Day 20 – Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and St James Park and shopping

22 April 2010

The Westminster Abbey, St James Park and Buckingham Palace are best visited on the same day as they are located within walking distance to each other. 

We started at the Westminster Abbey. Big Ben was visible from the abbey and it showed 10.15 AM when we arrived. We took some photos of the facade of Westminster Abbey and then bought tickets to go inside the Abbey. The ticket includes the use of the hand-held audio guide.



The Abbey is closely linked to the Royalty. The place for coronations, weddings and also funerals. Inside we saw the tombs of kings and also prominent people. Some of the most famous are Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton and David Livingstone. In particular, the tomb of Sir Isaac Newton was featured in the movie Da Vinci Code.

Big Ben showed noon when we came out. We then proceed towards St James Park.

Big Ben showing noon.


St James Park is nice for a slow walk on a beautiful day. Many locals were deployed all over the lawn, enjoying the sun. Squirrels, ducks and colourful water birds entertained us as we walked through the park.

View of Buckingham Palace from St James Park.


The view on the opposite side – Cabinet Offices.


Spring flowers.


Tulips.


It was fun to watch the ducks paddling and diving into the water for food.

Looking at the water birds. Some nests were seen on the water surface.


St James ParkNice pair of ducks.


Dafty Duck.


Emerging from the St James Park, we came to the Victoria Memorial, a large roundabout fronting the majestic Buckingham Palace.

Victoria Memorial, outside Buckingham Palace.


Colourful tulips in spring.


Victoria Memorial.


Details of the golden figurines at the top of Victoria Memorial, outside Buckingham Palace.


If we come at the right time, we would be able see the ceremonial changing of the guards. But not today.

We can see one motionless guard through the massive palace gates. Looking at this, I can help but remember one episode of Mr Bean and his antics with a similar guard. LOL.

Rifle on Left hand.


Union Jacks lining the road leading to the Buckingham Palace.


Massive gate of the palace.


Leaving the Palace and heading for some shopping.


Finished with the sightseeing planned for the day, it was time for some shopping in London. Ironically, it was more sightseeing and window shopping than actual buying of stuff. Selfridges, Harrods and Carnaby Street were some places visited.

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England-Scotland Day 21 (Last Day) – Trafalgar Square, National Gallery and British Museum

23 April 2010

This was our last day of our England Scotland vacation. Our flight from Heathrow London was at 10 PM, so there was still time to spend the day in London. We planned to visit the National Gallery and British Museum.

The National Gallery is located at Trafalgar Square where we visited a couple of days ago in the evening. This time, it was quite different, experiencing a visit to Trafalgar Square under the bright morning sun.

Nelson Column at Trafalgar Square.


At Trafalgar Square with National Gallery in back.


Entrance to the National Gallery’s permanent exhibits is free of charge. The National Galley features mostly oil paintings. The free floorplan available from the Information Desks has thumbnail images of 30 paintings considered to be the most well-known of the paintings on permanent display. These include Sunflower (Van Gogh), Madonna of the Pinks (Raphael), Virgin on the Rocks (Leonardo da Vinci), self portrait (Rembrandt) and so on. No photography allowed inside.

After the National Gallery, we decided we have just just enough time to visit the British Museum before making our way back to our apartment in Wood Green to collect our luggage and get to the airport by taxi.

It was good that we did not missed the British Museum. I found it more interesting that the National Gallery. The museum is fairly large and we did not enough time to see it all. So we went to the specific sections that showed the "must-not-miss" items and themes that we want to see.

The "must-not-miss" items in our list are:

a. Crystal Skull - saw this in an Indiana Jones movie and was amazed to see that there is such an object in real life. In fact, there were about 3 such crystal skulls. One in London (this one), one in Paris and one in private collection. Which is real and which are fakes? Nobody knows. Another work of ancient aliens or hoax from the past?

Crystal Skull - inspiration for an Indiana Jones movie. Real or a hoax from the past.


b. Rosetta Stone - Rosetta Stone with carved text made up of three translations of a single passage. it contributed greatly to the deciphering of the principles of hieroglyphic writing (top of stone). I wonder if this stone also implies that 3 different cultures are co-living together at the same place in time. If not, why have 3 different languages on a single rock (or document).

Rosetta Stone with carved text made up of three translations of a single passage. It contributed greatly to the deciphering of the principles of hieroglyphic writing (located top of stone).


c. Elgin Marbles - these were originally part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens.

Elgin Marbles - a room is dedicated to these stones that are lined up and displayed as it would have been on top of the Parthenon.


The section displaying the Eqyptian mummies never fail to fascinate us, although we have seen similar exhibits in the Lourve Museum, Paris. This museum includes mummified cats.

Eqyptian mummies. Eerie and half expecting one to come alive while we watched.


Sarcophagus.


Mummified cats.


Other sections are Ancient Greece and Rome, Middle East Assyria, and Asia.

The Nereid Monument - resembles a Greek Temple. Took its name from the Nereids (sea nymphs whose statues were placed between the columns of the tomb). Dated about 400 BC.



Section on Ancient Eqypt.


There were many other exhibits that were fascinating.

Easter Island figurine.


Baboon statue.


This Winged Lion sculpture (above) is meant to be viewed from the front or side only. Else, you will see 5 legs! This is one of a pair of guardian figures that flanked one of the entrances into the throne room of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC).


 

Venus de Milo with arms? I believe this is a replica as the real famous statue of Venus is at Lourve Museum and without her arms.


One of the two Japanese suits of armour offered by the Japanese Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada to John Saris for King James I in 1613. This is the second suit. There is one displayed in the White Tower of the Tower of London .


I believe the exhibits on displayed are slowly changed over time. So, we may not get to see some of the items on our next visit. This museum will be in my list of places to visit when I come to London again.

There are so many interesting museums, attractions and landmarks to see in London.  With our 3 days in London for this vacation, we have only seen a small portion of London. We will be back.

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Start of our Christmas break in England 2012 – a visit to Camden Market

16 December 2012

We landed in Heathrow in the morning about 7.30 AM and took the Heathrow Express train into Paddington station to meet up with Daniel who was studying in Bath. Daniel’s train was due at about 9 AM so we had some time to kill at Paddington. Now was the time to go get the Oyster cards that we would need for the next few days in London and also an opportune time to go shoot some photos.

Paddington Bear at Paddington station, London.


 Pigeon warming itself near a floor lamp in London Paddington station.


Anxious to meet Daniel, we waited by the train platform instead of the warmer lobby but it was worth it to see his train pulling into the station as scheduled.

After the hugs and greetings, we took a taxi to our hotel at Premier Inn Kensington. The London cabs were so spacious that they could accommodate 4 adults and suitcases in the passenger compartment!

It was still too early to check in to our rooms but we were able to leave our luggage in a storeroom and go explore London. London was cold in December! We took the short walk to the Earl’s Court Station. We ended up in a pub called the Courtfield to have our breakfast and watch the Club World Cup match between Chelsea and Corinthians on the live TV.  Chelsea lost.

Our plan for the day was to visit the Camden Market as the best time to visit Camden Market was on weekends. We took the subway to the Camden Town station. 

When we came out of the Camden Town tube station, we immediately notice the crowds! Then we saw the many shops along Camden High Street with eye catching and, at times, weird decor.

Camden High Street

Camden Market London


Camden Market LondonCanal lock along Camden High Street.


We saw the locks on the Regent Canal and then came to Camden Lock Market which had a mixture of interesting souvenir shops, clothes, music records and outdoor food stalls selling all kinds of international food. We regretted having a big breakfast before coming here as the food at the stalls looked yummy. 

DSC_0822International food stalls at Camden Lock Market.


DSC_0836

DSC_0831Cheese and bread.


DSC_0827Birds hoping for scraps.


 Canal boats on the Regent Canal.


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Vendors are offering food samples which tasted very nice but we have no room to eat anymore.

Steaming hot paella.


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It was not just food, food, food. Other interesting sights - brollies from a souvenir store.


Crossing to the other side of Camden High Street there were more food, antiques, clothes and souvenir stalls.

DSC_0841“Scooters” stools at food stalls.


 Meals on wheels”. Sit by the river on scooter seats to have a meal.


 View of the Regent Canal while getting a bite.

  DSC_0840Zulu figurine outside the Shaka restaurant. This looked like an interesting place to have dinner.


A bronze lion statue that appeared in the middle of the crowded street.


 Interesting “egg-shaped” objects on rooftop.


One of the interesting shops we visited was the Cyberdog. Amongst other things, this shops sells T-shirts with lights that will turn on and off in tune with music played.


 Entrance to the Cyberdog.


DSC_0868Inside the Cyberdog. This guy was dancing on the balcony above.


The final part of Camden Market we visited was the Stables Market. This place used to be a horse hospital.

Stables market – used to be a horse hospital. The indoor shops were used to keep horses previously.


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Statues of horses were all over and there were more shops selling clothes, food, antiques.

Some shops were selling clothes of the bygone era. We took a walk inside a shop selling old army uniforms, some as old as WW1 and even some “red-coats”.

 Shop selling vintage clothes.


 Statues of horses. The stall in the background sells sweet and savoury pancakes in many favours. Yummy!


By now, the jet lag was beginning to set in. From the Stables Market, the nearest London Underground station is the Chalk Farm Road station. Then it was back to the hotel for a nap before dinner tonight at the Gold Mine Chinese restaurant at Bayswater.

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