I was born a ramblin man: Lodon

Thursday, April 26, 2012

London 2012: Day One

Hello family, friends, and all who might be interested. Here begins my photographic journey to Europe. It just easier to name the post by days, though these are in no ways consecutive. I'll do my best to give details, interesting facts and info on the places in the pictures. Thanks for your support of my love for travel and well... your support of me. :)

The sunrise on the way into London.... so beautiful. ...landing at 6:55am and not being able to check in to your place to stay until 2pm... not so beautiful. haha... but alas.. all is well.

YHA Central London Hostel. This was my home in London for 5 days... Love this place and HIGHLY recommend it for anyone staying in London and want to be close to everything.

This is Great Portland St. close to Camden Town which is apart of Greater London. There is an actual City of London and then "Greater London" which is comprised of several districts/zones like City Of Westminster, Camden Town, Chelsea, etc This is probably my favorite section of London. I could totally see myself living here some day.

The first day I was there I was in a total fog. Mostly because I'd only had 4 hours of sleep the night before I left and didn't really sleep at all on the plane ride... So I walked around aimlessly for about 7 hours while waiting for time to check into the hostel. Also, the first 4 days I was in London were unseasonably warm, pleasant, and sunny... no fog. Imagine that.

There were so many people out that day, it was nuts. It was during the time of the "Changing of The Guards". Pretty popular event but honestly not all that spectacular... until the Guard Band? (I guess that's what they are) started playing MJ's THRILLER... I almost died. It was great. I talked with a couple the next day on a tour that I was on and they said that Prince Charles was out strutting around and that's why the crowds were out. Below is some snap shots from around Buckingham Palace, Victoria Memorial, St. James Park, & The Admiralty Arch.

Queen Victoria Memorial Info Link

St. James Park Info Link

View of the London Eye from St. James Park

The Admiralty Arch Info Link

The Mall Info Link

Some houses and shops on Whitehall Rd.

One of the tubes to THE Tube

Trafalgar Square Info Link

2012 Olympics Count Down Clock

View down Whitehall Rd.

This is one thing I've always wanted to do and finally got the chance to visit the only standing residence of Ben Franklin... which oddly enough is in London and not in the US. Its a fun little side tour for about 45 minutes of your time. Worth it.

I'll end here with my pictures for today. Next up... Hampton Court Palace... Where Henry VIII lived and a couple of his Headless wives...

Saturday, April 16, 2011

London: Final.... Long Live the Queen.

These are the last of my pictures from London. However... I have many more pictures to share with you all.This is a really long post, so relax and take it all in. I'm going to start with St. Paul's Cathedral. I hate that you can't take pictures in these large cathedrals (except the Cathedral of Seville, which you'll see later). They are so beautiful. So yeah, roll that footage...

This door is HUGE. It is the Entrance for the Queen. Everyone else goes through the small door on the side... I'm glad there is no respecter of persons or anything. Holla back.

This is a view of St. Paul's from across the Thames with the Millennium Bridge. Pretty cool place.

These are pictures of random things that I got on the way to The Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.

The Tate Modern Art Gallery. Pretty niffty place. Andrew Brown would really like this place.

I'm serious, don't mess with the Queen...

This was a Monastery that was around in the Middle ages. When I see places like this I can't help but wonder what has happened within these walls....

I can't remember what the name of this ship was or the church in the pictures after it. Got to love that long term memory...

Her Majesty's Ship: Belfast

The Tower Bridge.

I didn't have anyone to take a picture of me so I had to get creative with my picture taking. I put the camera on self timer and sat it on a lamp post about 25 feet away and run back over to the wall... haha. I know that looked hilarious to anyone who was walking by. There are some seriously funny pictures of me trying to get back before the timer went off... I'll save them for another time.

The Tower of London. Again... so much history. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London)

The Traitors Gate... don't want to go through there. Bad times.

This was my tour guide. He was hilarious. They are called "Yeoman Wards". They actually live on the property and still guard the tower today and have a working/living community there.

The Tower of London is a network of smaller towers that were used for different purposes. This is St. Thomas' Tower. He was in Henry VIII Privy Counsel... but not for long. (http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/morebio.htm)

This is the Bloody Tower. Heard of Bloody Mary? Well, this is where she, the first and oldest daughter of Henry VIII, had over 300 protestants tortured in her mini inquisition. Many Christ followers lost their lives during her tirade. But then Elizabeth I came along. ...She's my favorite English monarch.

Backside of Bloody Tower.

This is the top of Tower Hill. This is where most of the executions took place; only a few took place in the actual tower. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Hill)

This dude is guarding the Royal Family Jewels... I'll keep the comments to myself.

These are the Raven's nest. Interesting story behind them. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravens_of_the_Tower_of_London)

These are pictures from inside The White Tower (it's the main tower). This building has served many purposes over the years. Currently it is a Museum for the Kings Armour and Artillery. These are some pictures of that.