Day 12 & 13 – London

9/22-23/2006 – Day 12 & 13 – London

This morning we transfer to Paris Gare du Nord station for our train ride on the Eurostar to London.  When we get to the station, there is a protest going on because of a transportation union strike.  The strike delays the train departure for a couple of hours, but we eventually leave. 

The journey to London St. Pancras International takes a little under 3 hours as we travel at about 180 mph.  Once in London, we hop on the tour bus and work our way to the hotel near Kensington St.  We pass many great looking buildings, such as this one.

As we are driving along Kensington Rd, we pass the Albert Memorial an ornate 176 foot tall Gothic memorial remembering the late Prince Albert, which opened just 11 years after his death in 1861.  By the late 1990s the Memorial had fallen into a state of some decay.  A thorough restoration including cleaning, repainting, and re-gilding the entire monument as well as carrying out structural repairs and in the process the cross on top of the monument, put on sideways during an earlier restoration attempt, was returned to its correct position.

Across the street from the Hyde Park and the Albert Memorial is the Royal Albert Hall.  It is a concert hall and is one of the United Kingdom's most treasured and distinctive buildings.  It can seat 5,272 people.  Queen Victoria gave the name Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences in 1867 during the ceremony of laying the Hall's foundation stone. 

Tomorrow, we do a city tour of London and later in the day, we will do a boat tour on the Thames. 

Back on the bus this morning 9/13, we are traveling around and pass the north entrance of Westminster Abby.  This magnificent and world-famous building is England’s most important church and has been the site of every coronation since that of William The Conqueror in 1066.  It was here on June 2nd 1953 that Queen Elizabeth II was crowned.  In 1560, the church was granted “Royal Peculiar” status which means that it belongs to the ruling monarch, and is not governed by any diocese of the Church of England.

Now at St Paul’s Cathedral which was built between 1675 and 1710, after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and services began in 1697.  The present Cathedral, is at least the fourth to have stood on the site.  This was the first Cathedral built after the English Reformation in the sixteenth-century, when Henry VIII removed the Church of England from the jurisdiction of the Pope and the Crown took control of the life of the church.  This is the view of the west entrance. 

Inside, piers with attached Corinthian columns separate the nave from the aisles.  The bays, and therefore the vault compartments, are rectangular, with saucer-shaped domes.  From this angle, we are looking from the Choir east.  Check out the artwork on the ceiling. 

Just outside of St. Paul’s was this car parked by the curb.  Not sure if it is a current cab or one that is here just for show.  In either case it is a pretty nice looking car.

Shortly after our visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, we head over to St. James Palace.  There we can see a couple of the Queen’s Guard by one of the entrances.  Carmen gets close for a picture, but not too close.  After all he does have a M-16 with a bayonet.  The Queen’s Guard are infantry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the United Kingdom.

We move around the building and come to the Friary Court.  The Accession Council meets to declare the new monarch from the deceased monarch's line.  Once the monarch takes the sacred oath, the Garter King of Arms steps onto the Proclamation Gallery overlooking the Friary Court, and announces the new monarch.  Aside from proclamations, the Gallery is used for other ceremonial functions such as the christening of Prince George.

We are following the Diana Princess of Wales memorial walk along the Mall when we see these horses coming down the road.  The British Army has regiments of Horse Guards, called the Queen’s Life Guard.  We see the Horse Guard parade heading to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the horse parade.  Now this was completely unexpected.  At the right place at the right time, I guess.

Speaking of Buckingham Palace, here is a view as we head to the Royal Mews.  Buckingham Palace is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the center of state occasions and royal hospitality.  The building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 and acquired by King George III in 1761.  The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden, will visit later, is the largest private garden in London.

Visiting the Royal Mews is a collection of equestrian stables, of the British Royal Family and is on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.  Built and completed in 1825 the current Royal Mews holds state coaches and other carriages, along with about 30 horses.  Here is one of those carriages. 

Besides the old horse carriages, the Royal Mews also holds their newer modern counterparts, the state motor cars.  Check out this Royals Royce.  It is probably armor plated for protection. 

We leave the Royal Mews by way of the Buckingham Palace Gardens.  This is a 39-acre garden.  The Garden boasts 325 wild-plant species, 30 species of breeding birds, and over 1,000 trees, including 98 plane trees and 85 different species of oak.  James I established a plantation in 1608 of mulberries for the rearing of silkworms on the site.  Unfortunately, the wrong type of mulberry bush was chosen and the scheme came to nothing.  Here we can see the back of Buckingham Palace. 

It is late as we prepare for our River Thames boat tour.  We meet the boat at the Tower Pier and are soon on our way.  As the boat turns around to head east, we can see the Tower of London complex. 

Heading east, we motor by the London Eye.  The London Eye is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames.  The structure is 443 ft tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394 ft.  When it opened to the public in 2000, it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel.  The wheel's 32 sealed and air-conditioned passenger capsules are numbered from 1 to 33, excluding number 13 for superstitious reasons.  Each of the 10-ton capsules represents one of the London Boroughs, and holds up to 25 people, who are free to walk around inside the capsule, though seating is provided.

As we continue up river, we come to Big Bend and the Parliament building.  Parliament in England dates back to 1295 with changes along the way.  The Palace of Westminster make up the central Parliament building and built in 1016. 

This is the Shakespeare Globe Theater.  The one we see today is a reconstruction.  The original theatre built in 1599, destroyed by a fire in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, and then demolished in 1644.  The modern Globe Theatre is an academic approximation based on available evidence of the 1599 and 1614 buildings.

Nearing the Tower Bridge, we have a great view.  Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge built between 1886 and 1894.  The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. 

Passing under the bridge, we get a close shot of the tower, bridge and pedestrian walkway. 

Before disembarking, we get another full view of the Tow of London complex.  It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest.  William the Conqueror built the White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, in 1078.

We are back at the hotel soon enough and are getting ready to fly out in the morning.  We must say this has been a very good trip and we enjoyed ourselves. 

 

As with any blog, you will see the last entry first, which is this page.  If you look to the left side of the blog page, you should see an archive listing each daily entry of the trip.  Simply select the oldest date to start the first entry and work your way up the list to this last entry.  By the way, if you have enjoyed this travel blog and have not seen our other travel blogs you can find them at this web address: 

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You should see a list of the blogs for each of our trips, this trip, our previous trips, and any future trips we might go on. 

Thanks for reading our travel blog.  Bob and Carmen.