I’m a little late posting these pictures, but better late than never, right? My friend Todd and I took a quick weekend jaunt across the Irish Sea to the United Kingdom and London. The story about getting there and back is one all by itself. Most Americans probably didn’t hear, but last week Ireland had a really bad flood–the “worst in 800 years,” says the BBC:
Last week’s flooding in the Irish Republic was the worst the country had experienced in 800 years, Environment Minister John Gormley said.
Mr Gormley was speaking ahead of Irish PM Brian Cowen’s visit to the parts of the country which were worst affected.
“We are talking about events which have been described as once-in-800-years,” he said.
The road between Galway and Dublin was flooded and the bus service between was cancelled. We flew out of Shannon, which is located in the southern part of County Clare closer to the worst parts of the flood. We wisely got on an earlier bus to the airport, and it was a good thing: the usually two hour drive took us four hours, and we got to the terminal just in time. The flooding backed us up in all these small towns, and at one put we were basically driving through a lake in the middle of a road. Gotta love that Irish countryside!
Anyway, our plane took off on Friday night, no problem, and we landed at Gatwick Airport outside of London. We took a train down to London’s Victoria station in Westminster and bought our tickets for the Tube (the nickname for London’s Underground, the subway system). After a couple line changes, we got off at our stop (called Swiss Cottage for the Alpine-themed pub nearby) and headed up to our hostel. The hostel was very nice and clean, and much more like what I expected a hostel to be like. After some quick dinner, Todd and I got to bed early, because we had plenty of stuff to do the next day.
We got up early and had our continental breakfast before hitting up the Tube. Except…we didn’t hit up the Tube. Turns out that our line was one of about five in the system that would be undergoing construction this weekend. Luckily, they were running replacements buses, so we were able to get into Central London. Still, it seemed like transportation didn’t seem to be going our way this trip.
Anyway, we headed down to Green Park in Westminster, which is pretty much the most posh part of London. Not coincidentally, this seemed to be the part of London most influenced by Queen Victoria and the Victorian era sensibilities. Green Park was quintessentially Victorian. You had the feeling you were walking through the English countryside in the middle of a metropolis. It was a return to nature, but an ordered, ideal nature.
But, as a reminder of the opulence and wealth of the British Empire, you had this ornate gate, as well.
The monument to Queen Victoria sits here, in front of Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace is an impressive sight if only for its size.
There were those guards you see in movies, but they weren’t in their typical redcoats. What gives, chaps? They were very poised during the Changing of the Guard, and they didn’t trip like this poor guy.
Here’s the London Eye, one of the biggest Ferris wheels in the world, from a distance.
After leaving the Palace area (we didn’t go into many of these places, since we were trying to see everything), we headed off toward Westminster Abbey. But first, we caught sight of Westminster Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop and one tall building.
The first shot of Westminster Abbey (the Anglican church) is my favorite, but it doesn’t give you the whole facade. The second is the whole facade. This is where the British monarch is coronated. It’s impressive.
Nearby is Westminster Palace, which features one of the most iconic landmarks of London, Big Ben.
Westminster Palace is where Parliament is housed, right on the Thames. It is probably my favorite building (that I saw) in London. The architecture is so detailed and beautiful in a British sort of way.
Here’s a statue of Oliver Cromwell, the bastard who said, upon colonizing Ireland in the 17th century, that the Irish could go to “Hell, or Connaught.” Connaught’s the Irish province in which I’m currently typing. It ain’t Hell, but it sure rains like hell.
Here’s a statue of George V. He was the grandson of Queen Victoria and the son of King Edward VII. He was the king himself in the early 20th century, including during WWI. Interesting fact: he was the first monarch to take the Windsor royal family name that still remains today.
Here’s Richard I, a.k.a. Richard the Lionheart. He’s most famous for being the crusading King of England and also a contemporary of the made-up Robin Hood. Another interesting fact, this time from something I learned in class and not Wikipedia: Richard lived only six months in England during his ten-year reign and spoke French. Go figure.
Here’s Winston Churchill, looking out across the street with a menacing look and a cane. You do not want to mess with him. In real life, he was also a badass, standing strong in the face of the Nazi war machine as it advanced across Europe (but not across the English Channel).
We made our way down Whitehall, the street that leads from Westminster Palace to Trafalgar Square. This is the Cenotaph, which is the monument to the British soliders lost in battle. There was also a small ceremony happening when we walked by, commemorating a Scottish platoon.
Nearby is Downing Street, the mini version of the White House. It’s where the Prime Minister lives, and the current resident is Gordon Brown. Downing Street was closed, so we couldn’t walk down it, unfortunately.
We continued on to Trafalgar Square.
One of the places we could go for free was the British Museum, which featured an amazing collection of artifacts from Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The museum also houses the Rosetta Stone, which gave archeologists the first chance to translate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
After the museum, we ate lunch in Chinatown, in SoHo. Soon after, we headed back down to the Thames to cross London Bridge. Here’s the Thames from the north side, looking east.
We crossed the London Bridge and then walked down along the Thames. There’s been a bridge at or near this area since the time of the Romans. The famous bridge built in the 19th century was bought by an American and now sits is Lake Havasu City, Arizona (weird, huh?). The modern bridge was completed in 1973.
The HMS Belfast, a World War II-era cruiser ship, sits on the Thames in between the London and Tower bridges. It’s now a part of the Imperial War Museum.
This is City Hall. Pretty cool looking.
Here’s a view of the City of London skyline. The City of London is the original site of the original city, and is only about a square mile large. The whole of what we call “London” is considered Greater London in sort of its own special metropolitan status. My favorite building in this picture is 20 St. Mary Axe, known as the Gherkin because it looks like a gherkin, which is Obama-speak for “pickle.”
Here’s a picture of the Tower Bridge from the riverbank, and then one from on the bridge itself. This is another of London’s most famous landmarks, although I was a little bummed out since the bridge is being restored and part of the support was covered up.
Across the Tower Bridge is the bridge’s namesake, the Tower of London. The Tower is actually a set of towers and a castle comprising the whole keep. The oldest of the structures dates back to 1078 and the time of William the Conquerer.
I just thought this was funny.
I think it’s flooded?
By this point in our day, it was getting dark, so we headed back up to the hostel, went out for dinner, and hung out at a few pubs. We hit the hay and were up early again so we could make it back up to Gatwick and catch our flight back to Ireland. It was a quick but unforgettable weekend. I can say I’ve been to London now, although I didn’t see nearly as much as I could have. I guess that means I have to head back one of these days. Thanks for reading.
