We landed in Heathrow after a hard night in bad airplane seats. I think I slept about two hours. I fell asleep in the last Die Hard movie. Both the movie, and the flight, were that un-good.
Heathrow Airport was lovely, as it was on my first visit there. We boarded a train into the London city center. There were no garbage cans anywhere, but it was the cleanest public transportation you’ve ever experienced.
We got off at one train stop and hopped on the Underground. It felt like we’d walked into a Roma train station in the 1970s. If you remember the 70s or any Roman train station maybe that would make sense.
We left the Underground and walked just up the street to our hotel. We got checked in. This is our view:
The guy on the street corner pretending to catch cabs was dressed to the nines. It is so cute when the British try to be British:
As cabs go, this is a sweet paint job:
We made our way up toward Picadilly Circus, where they seem to be celebrating something about the queen. Hard to put your finger on it though. But that sure is a lot of banners. And while I like patterns, repetitious banners are a bit unsettling. Nevertheless.
We went here, for high tea:
Fortnum and Mason does tea the proper way, with leaves, not bags. That means you get a fancy strainer:
Here’s a part of our tea set:
And the food that comes with high tea. Pure carbs, but I was all about calories. Travelling around the world changes more than your sleep patterns.
Of course they sell stuff at Fortnum and Mason. Who doesn’t love a good tin?
I don’t know what Tawny Port is, but it makes a nice pattern. And I like patterns:
A friend told us to be tourists and take the double decker bus tour of downtown London, that it gives you a good lay of the land. He was right. If you find yourself in London, take the bus tour. Sit on top. And sit in the back.
One of the first things we saw on the bus tour was a giant horse. And it eats people!
London has all manner of architecture. There’s something for everyone:
There are three golden divers above Coventry Street. This site says they go mostly unnoticed. I don’t see how.
Columns? London has plenty of the Greek classical influence:
You want a weather vane topped by a ship? The British call this building Eclectic Baroque. There are domes, Greek elements, flying buttresses, Egyptian influences … so … yeah.
And then there’s terrible post-modern stuff in the financial district.
And here’s the tallest building in London, the Shard, topped out in 2012 at 1,016 feet and 72 stories. It is the tallest building in the European Union and the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Qatari investors run the joint. No one talks about how the top doesn’t all join together. The view is a good one.
And then there’s this thing, which should return quietly to the 1960s:
How about the buildings you know? Sure, we saw those. Here’s a glimpse of Westminster Abbey:
The Marble Arch was designed in 1825 as ceremonial entrance to the courtyard of the new Buckingham Palace. It was moved a few years later. Now it sits in a traffic island.
And a V-2 rocket attached to the side of the building. Nearby is the German flag. I wonder how that goes over.
The London Eye is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and was the tallest in the world when it was built in 1999. It is still third. More than 3.5 million people ride it each year:
Look kids, Big Ben!
Here’s a bit more detail of the tower, which was completed in 1858. That’s the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world.
And the Palace of Westminster, where the House of Commons and the House of Lords meet.
From a different angle:
And a closeup of some of the detail: Check out those animal sculptures:
Here are my three favorite signs we saw today. Robertsons is, and always has been, a pawn shop. It stayed in the family until the 1960s. Suddenly you’re a lot less interested. Me too.
Scottish paper, great message on Fleet Street. It has been around since 1877:
This is the best sign anywhere, and it should be sold to fans of ale and pie. It’d be a hit.
