London, second visit

[giradman]

Construction cranes are everywhere in central London. Buildings that survived the blitz and buildings from the 50's and 60's are being demolished to build glass office towers.

Well, like I said, my last visit was probably 25 years ago - googled some London City Scape images - does it yet look like the one below - curious? Dave
.

 

[scifan57]

Well, like I said, my last visit was probably 25 years ago - googled some London City Scape images - does it yet look like the one below - curious? Dave
.

It's quite different now. This photo is approximately the same view, taken by me from the top of the dome of St. Paul's cathedral last August.

 

[J. A.]

Great photos, Johanna! You are so making me jealous; I miss that city so much. I visited it many times when I lived in England.

Enjoy your visit and keep the pictures coming.

Marilyn

I'll try to post pictures, and I'll add the ones that don't load when I'm at home, next week.

 

[J. A.]

First thing we did today, was visit Westminster Abbey. We were lucky, there was just a small crowd waiting for entrance.
It was not allowed to take pictures in the church, so I can't show my own photos. These are from Wikipedia:

Here's the nave, barely visible the tomb of Isaac Newton.

The tomb of the Unknown Warrior, with soil from the main battlefields, and capped with Belgian marble.

The Coronation Chair - where British monarchs sit for the coronation.

 

[skimonkey]

Love seeing your pictures Johanna! I've never been to London, but would love to go sometime. Enjoy your time there, both of you!

 

[giradman]

First thing we did today, was visit Westminster Abbey. We were lucky, there was just a small crowd waiting for entrance.
It was not allowed to take pictures in the church, so I can't show my own photos. These are from Wikipedia:

Thanks Johanna for bringing back some memories - so many interesting people buried or memorialized in that place (for those interested, look @ the Wiki Article) - now I was not much interested in the kings, queens, or politicians, but the composers, writers, & scientists - just a short list of some of those I found many years ago on a number of visits - Dave

Muzio Clementi, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, George Frederick Handel, Issac Newton, Henry Purcell, and Ralph Vaughan Williams

 

[scifan57]

You got there at just the right time, then. It's much busier in summertime. Your posts make me want to jump on a plane and go for another visit. I'm enjoying each of your posts as they appear.

 

[islandman]

How strange it is to read these posts as I seem to have visited London so many times as I have never lived more than a couple of hours from the city, but having said that, I am three hours away now.

I hope you didn't get caught up in the fire yesterday when part of the city had a major power failure.You might find this interesting:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...London-offices-dramatic-blaze-takes-hold.html

 

[J. A.]

Love seeing your pictures Johanna! I've never been to London, but would love to go sometime. Enjoy your time there, both of you!

Thank you!

 

[J. A.]

You got there at just the right time, then. It's much busier in summertime. Your posts make me want to jump on a plane and go for another visit. I'm enjoying each of your posts as they appear.

We also thought that the Easter holidays are a better time to visit London. It's different than in August 2013, especially when I think of the gardens here. Some of the trees in St. James's Park are in bloom right now. It's beautiful!

 

[J. A.]

How strange it is to read these posts as I seem to have visited London so many times as I have never lived more than a couple of hours from the city, but having said that, I am three hours away now.

I hope you didn't get caught up in the fire yesterday when part of the city had a major power failure.You might find this interesting:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...London-offices-dramatic-blaze-takes-hold.html

We're fine, and I didn't even know about this fire until now. Thank you for the article! It looks like the power failure was near our location.

 

[islandman]

We're fine, and I didn't even know about this fire until now. Thank you for the article! It looks like the power failure was near our location.

If you are looking for something slightly different and free, you might like the Roof Gardens in Kensington. This is the link, http://www.virginlimitededition.com/en/the-roof-gardens/the-gardens

 

[J. A.]

Next station was Millenium Bridge. It was stormy, and when I was in the middle of the bridge, I had to hold my camera tight, or else I'd have lost it. I didn't dare taking out my iPhone to take a picture. Here are the photos taken with my Canon:

Taken on the bridge:

Zoomed in - just a little:

We were heading for St. Paul's Cathedral afterwards.

 

[J. A.]

If you are looking for something slightly different and free, you might like the Roof Gardens in Kensington. This is the link, http://www.virginlimitededition.com/en/the-roof-gardens/the-gardens

Looks interesting. Thank you!

 

[islandman]

Looks interesting. Thank you!

and you might never gain access to Buckingham palace through the front door,but you can enter via the side door as in http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/royalmews where you will see all the State Coaches ect. I'm unsure of cost, am trying to do this quickly before you go out. If you are interested, as you face the palace, the entrance is on the left down the road a bit.