Monday, March 05, 2007

The London Scene


Here I am in the second week of our Hannover stay and I've finally got my London pics sorted into a photo album (100 pics). And I'm not even talking about Windsor Castle, Stonehenge or Bath! Actually, my Stonehenge album is publishing as we speak, so that will be my next post.

For now, here's just a bit more of what I saw the Friday I arrived in London a week ago. You've seen my posts on the Victoria Memorial and St. Paul's Cathedral. Here's a smattering of the rest.

When I left our hotel for St. Paul's, I first walked through this Admiralty Arch before Trafalgar Square. Notice the pink taxi cab! It was one of the only times the sun was shining that day.


There he stood, Lord Nelson, one of Britain's best-loved heroes, with the loss of one arm (click pic to enlarge) and an eye! Nelson's Column is 151 feet high (46 m.); Lord Nelson himself is 18 feet tall (5.5 m.). This is what I think of when I think of Trafalgar Square. But this is also the spot, Charing Cross, which is considered the heart of London and from which all distances in London are measured.

We never went down to the River Thames this trip, except while on the bus/coach for our Saturday excursion, so I had to be satisfied with this view of Big Ben as seen from Trafalgar Square. In reality, all these famous landmarks are within walking distance. I remember how much that surprised us in 2002.


The ubiquitous red phone booths are everywhere, of course. You could do an entire art book just on phones from the UK! I remember how much we loved seeing them out in the fields by the side of the road in Scotland!

Canadian Swiss will like this because it's a pic of the Covent Garden market not far from our hotel where we went to find an Indian restaurant she recommended for dinner Friday night. It was so fun to be there at night. Magical.

Next post will be Stonehenge, a bit out of order because it was a smaller, faster album to publish. But it was also my favorite because of the ancient history it represents. Stay tuned.

11 comments:

  1. Your photos are beautifully composed, as always! It must have been great fun to walk around and see these sites. Charing Cross is the neighborhood where I hung out in 2005. So great to be in the theater district. (I saw 5 plays in two weeks.) I fell in love with London again after so many years (1975). As always, I wish we could have walked around together.

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  2. Such a great choice of photos to illustrate "being there". (I'll bet you had a lot to choose from.) Wow, it's been so long since I was there. I'm itching to go back again.

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  3. Ruth: You know, then, exactly where we were! We saw all the shows being advertised everywhere. Donica's group went to see Phantom before I got there. This is, of course, in West End. So full of life! Maybe one day we WILL visit there together!

    Karen: Yes, I picked these from the 100 in my photo album, and that album was picked from others that I tossed. Maybe you can join Ruth and me the next time. I think we could get quite a group together. :)

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  4. I just had to go through all your photos before I commented and... CS Loooves it! :) It brings back so many great memories. London IS magical.

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  5. Oh! This is so fun visually walking along with you on your trip!

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  6. CS: I knew you'd enjoy seeing Covent Garden. London really IS magical!

    Mad: So glad you joined me!

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  7. I especially love the picture of Big Ben! (that was also my nickname in college - due to my last name and the fact i am not so big..) I have only seen London for a brief few hours, and would love to go back some day. I can't wait for the pictures of Stonhenge!!
    Stacey
    (45 minutes till dolphin time! :)

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  8. London is a wonderful town and you've captured the main attractions so well! The photo album with all the lovely pictures was amazing - thanks so much for sharing!
    Hope you'll still have a lovely Hanover stay:-)

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  9. RRD: Awww. What a great nickname for you, Stacey! I'll definitely have to remember that! :)

    Stonehenge is coming up in a second. And now I can't wait to see you with the dolphins. Surely you'll have someone take a pic of you (besides the professional guys running around doing it). Have fun.

    Renny: You're such a sweetheart. Thanks.

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  10. You are hereby appointed The Best London Guide.

    I read and viewed with pleasure:)

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