A Day in London (Part Three)

The next leg of our lengthy walk through central London was along Whitehall, the street which connects Trafalgar Square with Parliament Square.

There are a number of imposing government buildings along the street.

The Women of World War II Monument honors the contributions of British women to the war effort.

The Cenotaph is memorial which was originally dedicated those who died in World War I, but it now also honors British troops who died in World War II.

Whitehall ends at Parliament Square, and there it is... Big Ben, or as I explained in the last post, the Elizabeth Tower.

I don't know if some sort of event was going on, but the Goodyear blimp was flying overhead.

We crossed Westminster Bridge for a view of the Thames River.  On the opposite bank is the London Eye.

The other side of the bridge offers the classic view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  But in the late afternoon, the buildings were a silhouette against the sun.

Looking toward modern high-rise buildings upriver

The Palace of Westminster, or Houses of Parliament as seen from the bridge

 

Although Parliament has met here for centuries, the current palace is relatively new.  It was built in the 1840s in Gothic Revival Style.

Just a block away from the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey.  The Gothic church was begun in the 13th century and has been the site of royal coronations, funerals and weddings.

At this point we went back to Whitehall to find someplace to eat.  I know that restaurants near major tourist attractions are not the best places to eat, but we were too tired to search farther afield.  We went to a pub and ordered fish and chips.  The meal was rather bland.

After walking for hours, there was no way that I wanted to walk all the way back to Paddington Station.  Fortunately, the nearby Charing Cross subway stop was on the direct line to Paddington.  There we caught the train back to Heathrow, and then the quick bus ride to our hotel.  It was a great day.  We saw many of London's most famous sights, but by the end of the day we were exhausted.

A Day in London (Part Two)

After passing Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial, we headed down The Mall, the boulevard which heads toward Trafalgar Square.

Poking above the trees of St, James Park to the right of The Mall, we caught sight of Big Ben.  (Technically, Big Ben is the nickname for the great clock bell, but most people use the term to refer to the clock tower attached to the Houses of Parliament.  The tower, which is London's most iconic site, was officially named the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.)

Continuing down the boulevard we stopped to look at the statues of Queen Elizabeth's parents, KIng George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.  Elizabeth II must have inherited her longevity genes from her "mum", since the Queen Mother lived to the ripe old age of 101.  On the other hand, her father George, a heavy smoker, died at the age of 56.

Next to the statues is a carving showing King George and his Queen visiting the common people of London during the bombardment of London during the Battle of Britain.

A little farther down The Mall, we saw another rather imposing monument.  We climbed up the stairs to see what it was.

It was dedicated to Frederick, the Duke of York, the second son of King George III and the commander of the British forces during the Napoleonic Wars.  (I have to admit that I never heard of him.)

Beyond the monument is a short, plaza-like street called Waterloo Place.  It contains numerous monuments.

I know that London leads the world in the number of museums, but I have to wonder how it ranks in the number of monuments and statues.

The Mall ends at the Admiralty Arch, a former government building whose central arch provides access to Trafalgar Square.  The archway is now blocked with construction barriers, but there is still a narrow passage for pedestrians.

I read that the building is now being renovated as a luxury hotel (to be operated by the owners of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York).  I suspect that's the reason for the barriers.

Passing under the Admiralty Arch we come to Trafalgar Square with its column honoring Admiral Nelson, the victor in the naval battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars.  The square was also closed off due to construction work.

On one side of the square is the National Gallery of Art.

Adjacent to Trafalgar Square is the Church of St Martin in the Fields.  The present structure was completed in 1724, but there has been a church on the site since at least the 13th century.

Our long, long walk in London, will continue in the next post in which we will head down Whitehall, the road which leads to Big Ben.

A Day in London (Part One)

We stayed for two nights at our hotel near Heathrow Airport so that we could have a day to explore central London.  I had already purchased tickets online to take the Heathrow Express from the airport to the city.  The train is the quickest way to get there, but it is more expensive.  However, by buying tickets well ahead of time there was a considerable discount.

We took the six minute bus ride to Terminal 5, and went down to the terminal's train station.  The train was boarding as we arrived.  It is a comfortable 20 minute ride into London's Paddington Station.

We didn't see any bears at Paddington Station...

...however we did see this humorous sculpture of a bubblegum chewing policeman called "Bubbly Bobby".

We walked a few blocks through an attractive neighborhood...

...until we reached Hyde Park, one of the largest royal parks in London.

The park features a long lake known as The Serpentine.

The lake is home to a large population of waterfowl, especially ducks and swans.

At the end of the park is the Wellington Arch, commemorating the Duke of Wellington, the general who won the Battle of Waterloo against the forces of Napoleon.

Nearby is a more recent monument honoring the more than 55,000 airmen with the RAF Bomber Command who lost their lives during World War II.

From there it is a short walk to Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the monarch of the United Kingdom.

In front of the palace is the Queen Victoria Memorial, honoring the queen who reigned for 63 years when the British Empire was at its peak.

From there we walked down The Mall (which was closed to automobile traffic, perhaps because it was Sunday) toward Trafalgar Square.

More from London in the next post...

A Long Night's Journey

Last night we traveled across the Atlantic to England.  Unlike my ancestors who made the long journey by boat from Europe to the U.S., we went in the opposite direction on British Airways.

We arrived at Mexico City International airport three hours before our departure time at 10 PM.  I was very impressed with the renovations that were made to the terminal prior to the World Cup.  Even more than that, I was impressed with the smoothness with which everything operated.  In all my travels over the last fifty years, I don't think I have ever had a more effortless check-in process.  Perhaps it was the hour of day, but we encountered no line at all at the British Airways desk, nor going through security.  The staff at security were very pleasant.  It was less than  a half hour from the time we arrived at Terminal 1 via Uber, to the time we reached out gate.

Departure was from the same hall from which I left on Lufthansa for Germany a couple years ago.  Unlike then, plenty of seating has been added for waiting passengers, and everything seemed more organized.

By the time we had a so-so meal at one of the restaurants on the concourse and visited the restroom, it was time to board our flight.

No, we did not fly on first or business class, but I did splurge on Premium Economy seats.  British Airways definitely makes Premium Economy feel more special than just offering more legroom.  We received a small amenities bag, and we had very comfortable headphones instead of just cheap little earbuds.  The beverage cart offered free liquor, beer and wine although I stuck to water and orange juice.  The flight attendants were very pleasant. The menu of supper and breakfast offerings sounded very gourmet.  It was just OK, but was at least served on real dinnerware.

On the negative side, although we had plenty of legroom, I think the seats could be more comfortable.  I kept sliding in my seat and had to constantly pull myself up.

Unfortunately we were seated behind a family with a crying toddler.  It was annoying but her crying was sporadic, and, since I was wearing my headphones listening to classical music, it was not that bothersome.  Her parents were actually more annoying.  I don't know how they were allowed to board with so many pieces of carry-on luggage but they filled the entire overhead bin above us.  (Fortunately there was room in the bin across the aisle.)  The father was constantly up out of his seat and taking stuff out of the bin or putting it back.  At least our stewardess told them to put their seats in an upright position when supper was served.

I have never been able to sleep on a plane, and this time was no exception.  I spent the night staring at the flight map as we made our way across the Atlantic.  At last we arrived at London Heathrow airport.  Here a some photos from our descent...

You can make out the Thames River down there.

Heathrow Airport was the complete opposite of our pleasant experience at the Mexico City airport.

Heathrow is so confusing, and it seemed like we had to walk for a mile to get to immigration (Yes, it made that long walk getting off a plane at Mexico City airport seem like a piece of cake.) Then after immigration there was another trek to get to the luggage claim.

I had studied videos on YouTube on how to get to our hotel by bus.  With no problem we found the platform where the bus would take us the short distance to our hotel.  The bad part was that there was no place to put luggage.  I thought that odd for a bus that serves the airport.  The driver must have taken lessons in Mexico, and I had to hang on for dear life as he negotiated turns and roundabouts.  The aisle was on an incline, and when I let go of my suitcase for a moment it went rolling halfway down the aisle. I had to go after it.  This jet-lagged traveler was completely frazzled by the time we reached the stop in front of the hotel.

At least the hotel is very satisfactory.  I booked a room at the Premier Inn, part of a chain of budget hotels.  I stayed at a couple of them on a previous trip, and they have been good value for the money.

The room is clean and comfortable, the staff is very helpful, and as you can see, the room is quite spacious for a European hotel.

So, now it is the next day.  I got a good night's sleep, and I feel as if I have adjusted to the time change.  Today we will take the train into central London and do a bit of exploring.