A DAY IN LONDON, ENGLAND

28 May 2012: Thom and Sheila took the train into London for the day. The objective was to go on the London Eye. We used the Underground to get to and from the main area of sights, but we walked and walked and saw lots of historical and interesting places. Next week is the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, 60 years on the throne and only three years away from being queen longer than Queen Victoria.



No, it's not a space capsule. It is the inside of the roomy pie-shaped train restroom.
One button to close, and don't forget the other button to lock!

Waterloo Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral from Hungerford Bridge



The London Eye, opened in 2000 for Millenium celebrations.

Thom at the London Eye on the River Thames, and the leaning tower of Big Ben!

 

The River Thames, Westminster Bridge, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey from The Eye

Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square are out there somewhere!

One of the capsules of The Eye as it reaches the top.
 It takes 30 minutes to go around.

Famous red London buses cross Westminster Bridge.

Westminster Abbey, where royal christenings, marriages, coronations and funerals take place,

St. James's Park, busy on such a warm day, 26 degrees Celcius or 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
Britain uses the metric system for weights, measures (except miles not kilometers), and use Celcius for temperature.

A temporary stage has been built around Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace.
A huge concert will be held there during Jubilee celebrations.

Thom at Buckingham Palace. The roads were closed due to the concert preparations.

Sheila at the gates of Buckingham Palace.

Changing of the Guards



Even the side streets are decorated for the Jubilee.
Note the warning on the street for crossing tourists.
In Britain the traffic drives on the left side of the road.

Thom on Picadilly with the banners across the road.

Posh shop Fortnum and Mason's display of Jubilee items.

The new and the old at Picadilly Circus, with the statue of Eros in the middle.

Thom in Trafalgar Square with the National Art Gallery in the background.

Thom inside the Victoria and Albert Museum on Exhibition Road.

Sheila's father was a welder who made some lovely decorative gates,
so she was pleased to see the lovely display of ironwork at the museum.

Thom with one of Britain's famous but dwindling telephone booths.

Taxi anyone?

Our only disappointment of the day: Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial. It was a hot day,
but even so, we felt that there should have been more respect shown.

Our train trip home was 99% through rural England and Wales.