Our Day 12 And 13 In London

British Museum and Portrait Gallery

Yesterday we did not start our day at Trafalgar's Square, as was our custom. Instead, we took our bus to the British Museum. A gem of a museum, that one should not miss when in London, and it is free to boot.

However, the inexpensive audioguide is well worth it. It allows you to follow several very interesting tours of the museum's collections, as well as key in any item that strikes your fancy.

Crossing the gates and entering the courtyard of the museum feels like one is entering a typical "serious" museum, like so many other museums might feel like. But once you pass through the foyer, you enter the amazing, light and airy Great Court, covered by bright translucent skylight. The curves and lines of the modern staircases contrast wonderfully against the more classical entrances to the various rooms. Like the National Gallery, the British Museum feels very comfortable and inviting. There is no stuffiness to be found here at all.

The British museum probably has one of the best collections of Egyptian artifacts outside of Egypt. The same can be said of Greek, Persion, etc. In other words, if you want to see some of the best collections, you need not travel to each country, but simply to London's British Museum.

We listened to only two of the several tours, Ancient Egypt and the Parthenon. But had we more time, we would love to return and listen to the other tours as well. We did try and quickly walk through a good portion of the museum to get a glimpse of the other rooms and collections. It is far to big to take in and appreciate in a single day.

Knowing that there was still so much more to see, we left the museum and wandered about the streets of London.

We found ourselves behind the Royal Courts of Justice, stumbling upon a deligthful pub called "The Knights Templar." I ordered Bangers (sausages) and Mash, while Hera had a Sweet and Spicey Noodle dish. Both meals were great. Among other meals, I have had the traditional Fish and Chips, Steak Pie, and now Bangers and Mash. We have also had Chinese and Indian meals. Except for perhaps one meal in a very touristy pub, the food I have had in London has been exceptionally good. And their desserts are phenomenal, and I am not a dessert person!

Pubs are still very much part of the culture here despite all the changes. After work, it seems everyone comes over to a local pub for a pint, or two, or more. At the end of the work day, they are crowded, spilling onto the streets.

With the light falling, Hera decided to do some night photography without a tripod by using her Samsung Galaxy SII smart phone. We walked along now familar streets. Walked into the court of Somerset House, listening and watching its waterfalls that have a choreography all their own.

Walking further, we were once again at Trafalgar's Square. We did not start our day here as we commonly did, but it is hard not to find oneself here time after time.

We peered down the Mall at Buckingham Palace, and then walked along Whitehall towards the House of Parliament. Big Ben sounded the time as we admired the tower that holds it, along with the rest of Westminster Palace. We walked across Westminster Bridge towards the London Eye, then turned around and made our way back home.

Hera had wanted to see the National Portrait Gallery, so that was where we were headed today.

We took our familiar bus to Trafalgar Square once again, and walked into the National Portrait Gallery. Once again, it is free, but it is well worth using thier audioguide.

The National Portrait Gallery, as the name suggests, houses the portraits of notables, mostly paintings, but photography as well.

The top floor starts with the Kings and Queens, and the great personages of Court. As one walks along, we continue to see the images of Royalty, but those of the Sciences and the Arts start to appear as well. I knew so many by name, it was great to place a face to them as well.

Further along, we meet more contempory people like David Bowie, Sir Paul McCartney, and Mick Jaggar.

With rain starting to fall, we found a comfortable pub, and chatted away as we had a pint. Part of appreciating a city, includes these moments of rest. Making like a local, and just enjoying the moment.

Rested, we were back onto the streets.

One place that we kept passing day after day was Hamleys Toy Store. A five story toy store that has been delight children of all ages for over 250 years, and I can see why. It was such a joy to make our way, floor after floor, as kids squeeled in glee, and demonstrators demonstrated the various toys. Even Hera became enamoured in several of the toys, but we left, buying only a few delicious sweets.

We continued our stroll passing store after store, walking into a few now and then, before we decided it was time to make our way back home.

Photographer's note: All the photos in this particular Blog post were shot with a Samsung Galaxy SII smart phone, and re-sized for the web. You can click on each image to see the details and the image quality.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony

Our Day 10 Ad 11 In London

National Gallery, Chicago and St. Paul's Cathedral

Yesterday was a long and full day.

I have always been told that London is expensive. Yes housing and transportation is relatively expensive, but I cannot say that I have really found that London is expensive. Especially when you consider that so many wonderful museums here are free.

Yesterday, we decided to visit the National Gallery (no photos allowed inside).

Once again we made our way to Trafalgar Square wher the National Gallery is located. There is no entrance fee, and it is a real treasure. Had I more time, I would revisit this gallery several times, as there is way too much to absorb in one visit. The Audioguide is well worth the small cost. We followed the recommended printed tour that took you around the gallery to see some of the highlights. But the audioguide will discuss any piece of art you see, just key in its number and listen, something we did do when particular paintings struck our fancy.

From Botticelli to Van Gogh, and everyone in between. With over 60 rooms filled with paintings, one could easily spend a day fully appreciating a handful of rooms at a time. And with free admission, if you had the time, you could in fact do this.

What I most liked of the National Gallery, was that it felt comfortable. It does not feel stuffy and high brow. It is airy and very friendly, bringing high art, down to earth for everyone to enjoy and appreciate.

After a bite to eat, we were off to the Cambridge Theatre to watch "Chicago."

We had seen the movie which is based on this musical. We had considered several other theatrical works playing in London, but decided on "Chicago." We were not disappointed. It was a fabulous performance.

We regularly attend theatre back home, and I cannot understand why people do not attend theatre more often. If I could have people watch the "movie" and then the "performance" of "Chicago," I am sure I could convert many to attend live theatre more often. The movie is excellent, but the live performance is exhillarating. One cannot emotionally connect to a movie as one can connect to a piece of live theatre.

Again, had we more time, we would love to attend even more performances.

We crossed the street and entered a pub as we talked about the great show we had just enjoyed. Late at night, we made our way home on bus 23 as it rained.

Today, we were off to St.Paul's Cathedral. (Again, no photos are allowed inside.)

St. Paul's is in many ways the heart of London. This is the fifth cathedral to be built on this site since 604. There was a Saxon Cathedredral, then a huge Norman Cathedral that was the largest in Europe. By 1666, this Norman cathedral was starting to fall in disrepair, and the King hired Sir Christopher Wren, who had never built a building in his life, to be in charge with its restoration. Soon thereafter, the great fire of London in 1666 not only burnt down the old Norman Cathedral, but most of London itself along with most of its churches. While not an architect, Sir Christopher Wren at 33 was already accomplished in a multitude of fields including astonomy, physics, math and medicine. And his ability to get along with others, and organize people, convinced King Charles II that Sir Christopher Wren was the right man for the job. And he did not disappoint.

St.Paul's Cathedral is his crowning achievement, building what is the fourth largest church in the world. Although it is huge, it also feels warm and intimate, which demonstrates the genius of Sir Christopher Wren. He did not want the average man to feel small in the house of God.

The iconic Dome of St.Paul's that is characteristic of London's skyline, is another example of how he wanted to create something grand, but still keep the people feel they are within reach. He created a dome within a dome. The inner dome feels grand and high, but it still feels within reach as one looks up. However, he realized that "big" was a matter of perspective, and for an onlooker from the outside, and taller dome was needed for it to feel big and grand. Thus the outer dome is for the benefit for someone looking at the church from the outside, and the inner dome is for the benefit for someone inside the church.

St. Paul's Cathedral is also iconic for London's more recent history. During WW II London suffered the German bombings, then the Blitz. Once again, the area here was more or less levelled, and while the Cathedral did get some direct hits, it stood tall amongst the rubble. Defiant against Hitler, St. Paul's kept standing bravely, like Londoners did, and the rest of England.

St. Paul's is also where Nelson's and Wellington's tombs are located. Blake's and Florence Nightingale's tombs are also located here.

We did spend more time here than we had expected, as has been true for most placed we have visited in London.

Taking a quick ride in the Underground, we got out in a shopping area that we passed daily on our bus route. Hera found a couple of outfits, and though we could have spent hours more if not days, it was time to go home.

Photographer's note: During these two days I carried only my new smart phone Samsung Galaxy SII. In other words, I was free of any other camera. All the photos you see in this Blog were shot with my smart phone, edited in smart phone. Amazing, isn't it? They were only re-sized for web and my signature was added in PhotoShop. I love few of the applications I had bought prior to this trip. One of them being HDR. HDR actually shoots minimum 2 shots, like a true HDT shot. You have to hold the smart phone without moving away from the composition. Then you have several other bottons to adjust the final touch.

The photo below is an HDR happy mistake. I moved the camera during its second layer. Voila. Amazing isn't it? It created a dimentional illusion. Yup, it is my feet on a patterned floor.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony

Our Day 9 In London

Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum

Yesterday was a writeoff.

Hera awoke feeling nauseated, and then vomitted several times that morning. We spent the day at home resting.

Today she awoke a bit shakey, but she wanted to go out. So we headed off into town to see the Cabinet War Rooms. Hera was not too sure about it, but knew I wanted to see them, and in the end she agreed that it was worthwhile.

World War II was a pivotal time for the London and the British Empire. For centuries, the two super powers France and England vied and fought with each other for control of the world. But soon into the war, France signed an armistice, leaving England alone to fight off Hitler. Russia was still an ally of Germany, and the USA was trying to remaing neutral.

The Cabinet War Rooms gives us a sense of life during this time. Like the fire of 1666, London was leveled, with the exception of St. Paul's Cathedral that remained standing. Below grounds, people lived and worked fighting the War. The tour takes you through several of the rooms, with interactive displays that are entertaining to us, and extremely informative.

Part of the tour includes the Churchill Museum. Most people know of Churchill, but there is so much more to the man, and the museum does a wonderful job in bringing him back to life. From childhood photos with a lock of his hair, to various radio speeches as one walks under them. His political carreer as well as his military carreer. Again, the interactive nature of it all adds to the fun.

Atfter the museum, we again found ourselves meandering through part of St. James park before we spilled onto the Mall, and looked back towards Buckingham Palace. We walked across Trafalgar's Square and into the streets of Soho.

After refreshing ourselves with some food at a pub, we again hopped onto our familiar bus 23 towards St. Paul's Church, as we wanted to cross over the Millenium Bridge.

Built as part of the millenium celebrations, it was know as the "wobbly bridge" when it first opened, as it wobbled when people walked on it. It was briefly closed, as it was stabilized further. Today, it is a lovely pedestrian bridge that lets one walk easily from St. Paul's across the Thames to the Tate Modern Museum and Shakespeare's Globe.

We walked around the Globe and made our way back across the Millenium bridge, and soon took our bus 23 bus back home.

Hera is still not in top form, but is much stronger today.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony

Our Day 7 In London

Westminster Abbey

As the plane circled over London, Hera asked me if there were any important cemetaries near London. I replied, that the most important was Westminster Abbey itself. And that was where we were headed for today.

But we had to do some shopping first. Hera had forgotten her small external hard drive at home, and this old lap top has a tiny 60 Gb hard drive, that quickly fills with her photos. So we quickly went on-line, found a computer store, and headed there first, and picked up a tiny external 1 Terabyte hardrive.

Getting about London is quite simple. I cannot stress how important it is to learn and use the transit system of whichever city you visit, and London's system is very efficient.

During our day, as well as throughout our visit, we have noticed how polite and helpful the citizens of London are. "I'm sorry" is often heard for even the mildest bump even in very crowded quarters. It is very sad that this very polite city and nation is being portrayed world wide in such a negative light with the recent riots.

I do hope the ones responsible for these crimes are not only caught and punished, but I hope that they are also forced to "pay back" the full cost of their actions. I would go even further, and add that they should have to wear a "dunce cap" for at least a year.

Getting to Westminster Abbey a bit later than we had hoped, we had to wait a bit in line. But it moved fast, and soon we found ourselves inside this magnificant place.

Like the Tower of London, Weminster Abbey too recounts the history of the nation.

God had told King Edward the Confessor to visit Saint Peter's in Rome. Worried about the French Normans who were threatening invasion, he decided to stay home and build a church (minster) dedicated to St. Peter, west of London, thus the name Westminster. Not obeying God is dangerous in itself, and the Normans did invade. The French Duke conquered the Island and crowned himself (William the Conquerer) King of all England here at the new Westminster Abbey.

Unfortunately photography is prohibited at Westminster Abbey as well as in many other places in London, like the Crown Jewels yesterday.

Since William the Conquerer, this Church has been the site of the coronation of Kings and Queens for the past millenium. The simple wooden coronation chair can be viewed here. It was construced to sit atop the Stone of Scone that the English King Edward I took from Scotland. The Stone of Scone has an even older history, and meant much to the Scottish people. A 2008 movie called "The Stone of Desitny" (another name for the Stone of Scone) recounts the true story Scottish students trying to bring the stone back home. In 1996, the British government decided to let the Stone return back home to Scotland, as long as it can be borrowed for future coronations.

Westminster Abbey is also the final resting place of many monarchs. King Edward the Confessor is here, as well as Queen Elizabeth I who lies over her half sister Queen Mary I, and across the way from her cousin Mary Queen of the Scots whom Elizabeth had imprisoned for years and then executed.

Many other notables are also here, Newton and Darwin, Chaucer and Dickens, Livingston to General Wolfe, and many, many more.

Leaving the Abbey, we listened to Big Ben chime once again, and then walked along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, then onto the lively Soho to find a pub for a refreshing drink.

Photographer's note: The photo above of The Big Ben was shot with a 20mm Lumix lens. The photo below was shot with Samsung Galaxy SII smart phone.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony