Snowing in London
Trip Start
Feb 15, 2008
1
28
57
Trip End
May 31, 2008
London,
United Kingdom
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The first stop on our tour was Buckingham Palace, the Queens official residence when she's in town
Outside the hostel, King's Cross2
. I found this to be a bit of a dull and unimaginative structure. There's a fountain out the front and tourists like myself would normally stand there to watch the changing of the guard ceremony though it was cancelled today due to the weather. Our next point of call was Pall Mall which is where the Royals and the cultured, well to do folk go to engage in their retail therapies. If you were out for English High Tea, needed a new shave coat, china tea set, rowing jacket, imported cigars, polo outfit or any other such prim and proper merchandise, then Pall Mall would be in the right place to go. Can you believe that it is not permitted for a customer to lift a parcel in these shops? When one such outlet has faithfully served the royal family for five consecutive years they may display the Royal Standard above their shop, that's a royal coat of arms.So if this is Piccadilly Circus, where is the circus or was there ever a circus? No, circus means circle and there used to be a round-about here, but now there are traffic lights. Most tourists come here to take a photo with the huge Wall St style advertising monitors in the background, there is also an impressive fountain. Leicester Square is cinema central and there are about 5 cinemas located in this area. If there was going to be a red carpet premier in London, this is where it'd be. You can also pick up cheap West End theatre tickets here. Trafalgar Square is where London likes to enjoy a bit of a celebration, such as winning a war or maybe even beating Australia at the cricket occasionally
Outside the hostel, King's Cross
. The square also features Nelson's Column, built between 1840 and 1843 to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The 5.5 m statue of Nelson stands on top of a 46 m granite column. 10 Downing St is where the British prime minister used to live, though now he lives at number 11. Why? Because Tony Blair thought that the building's 40 rooms were a little cramped for his liking. The current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has retained residence at number 11. When we went to visit the Horse Guard's Parade there was a sudden switch of interest from the guards to the street at the other side of the guardhouse. This was London's Olympic Torch day for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and what we could see at the other side of the Horse Guards was the Olympic flame passing through the streets. I scrambled over to get a photo which shows the crowd with the passing flame hovering above. Westminster Abbey is impressive, a place of worship which will probably be most remembered for Diana's funeral. But what is even more impressive is the House of Parliament. This building is simply amazing; not only for its sheer size but also the fine detail of its stonework, gold plating on its decorative features and of cause, it's clock tower 'Big Ben'. We concluded of tour with a brief history of Guy Falk's flawed attempt to blow up the British Parliament and a detailed account of his execution by means of draw and quartering which was Briton's favourite punishment for treason against his majesty the King, it was a pretty ghastly way to go
Green Park
.I then made my way to the most famous of all London's landmarks; the world heritage listed Tower of London. The tower's moat has now been drained of its water though one must still pass through its gatehouse and over the drawbridge to enter. I joined the famed tour by one of the Tower Guards, or 'Beef Eaters'. To become a tower guard one must serve for 15 years in the British Military and reach the rank of Sergeant Major, then once selected, complete one year of historical training. Therefore these guides are in fact true military guards and not just tour guides. The guards certainly seem to enjoy what they do, especially where they have the opportunity to frighten young children with stories of violence, bloodshed and torcher. There are a lot of things to see in the tower once you've completed your tour. Of particular interest is the White Tower which is the facility's central element. The tower features, among other things, displays of battle armour and weaponry used throughout the ages. Outside the Tower of London is the best place to get a photo of London Bridge, that other famous icon. By the afternoon it had stopped snowing and was feeling a bit warmer.
