West of Trafalgar is Parliament and Buckingham Palace. East of Trafalgar lie the various institutions of Finance and Law. Both are iconic of London, but neither reflect the typcial person. That lies North of Trafalgar.
Heading north of Trafalgar, we made our way to Leicester Square. Usually a pleasant park, it was closed and boarded up for renovations. But around here and along other various little streets lie a multitude of Theatres, the equivalent of New York's Broadway.
Capital Radio London is here as well. I still find it hard to believe that while we enjoyed the music of the British invasion freely at home, only pirate radio stations played the music of the Beatles and Rolling stones. (It is worth watching the movie Pirate Radio.) Capital Radio was the first station to broadcast such music in 1973. But it too soon became "old fashioned" and refused to play the new music of Punk that was emerging at the time.
yes, it's time for the dr. goebbels
show!
there's a tower in the heart of london
with a radio station right at the top
they don't make the city beat
they're making all the action stop
a long time ago there were pirates
beaming waves from the sea
but now all the stations are silent
'cos they ain't got a government license
wanna tell your problems
phone in from your bedsit room
having trouble with your partner
let us all in on the news
if you wanna hear a record
or get the word from Aidan Day
he picks all the hits to play
to keep you in your place all day
capital radio
in tune with nothing
don't touch that dial
(The Clash) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfL9R2Wrhck)
Walking along, we made our way to Covent Garden. It used to be the convent garden of Westminster Abbey. (I am not sure how it lost the 'n' to become Covent.) Since medieval times, it was amarket, but produce stopped being sold in the 70's and today it is a market for lovely little odds and ends, with buskers entertaining the crowds.
Small intertwining streets are to be found in this area, filled with boutiques. Entering a little alley called Neal's Yard, we came across a colorful little nook. A saxophonist and pianist played, while others ate, and we took in the sights and sounds of the neighborhood.
Stepping back out, we came across a delicious cheese store called Neal's Yard Dairy. The salesgirl quickly offered us to sample the various cheeses. Cheese from throughout the British Isles can be found here, and the samples were all delicious. We bought three of the cheeses, a Colston Bassett Stilton, a Lincolnshire Poacher cheddar, and a Cardo-Tilleye goat cheese. We could easily have bought more.
Meandering about, we came across Denmark Street. Filled with music stores, it too has its own history. One music store called Regent Sounds Studio was where the Stones, Beatles and others recorded their music. The Kinks even made a song called Denmark Street.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cuhPnuRVWU)
Soho came from a hunting call, but this area reminded us less of New Yorks Soho, and much more of Grenwich Village. It is a lively neighborhood, with relaxing parks, with a slight peppering of porn shops that seem to cling on.
Finding a pub called "The Crown," we sat to rest our tired feet and enjoy a pint of beer. As we drank, we read on a wall a bit of history of the pub, and it included one of Mozart's earliest performances at the age of 9.
After our beer, we wandered a bit further through the streets of Soho until we stumbled out onto Oxford Street, a shopper's paradise. Oxford streets stretches for several blocks towards Oxford Circus, filled with affordable fashion shops.
But we were headed down the next street, Regent Street towards Piccadilly Circus, filled with higher end shops.
And nearby, were the unaffordable shops, but still a joy to look into the windows. One restaurant we passed had 30g of caviar for 95 pounds, and another plate of caviar for 350 pounds. But we were not that hungry, so we kept on walking.
The police were still out in force, and I noticed the ingenious device over the laces of their boots. A hard stomp over the laces of even the strongest boot couold disable a person. The boots of these bobbies had a protective shield to stop this maneuver.
Our feet tired, we made our way back to our trusted route 23 bus, and headed home for the day.
Cheers,
Hera & Anthony
