Day 5: London/Greenwich

Just photos and captions today.

Good to see you again, Ben. Ugh, dirty sensor, but I'm too lazy to edit and repost.

Guess where we are headed.

I found a GIANT penguin. (The aquarium is next to the London Eye.)

Yeup, we are going up there., the London Eye!

I was a little obsessed with the mechanics of how the wheel was turned.

Lunch while waiting in line: Tuna salad with sweet corn and cucumbers. Dairy Free!

Almost our turn.

 

I see you.

Well, hello there.

To Greenwich we go.

Do NOT ever use one of these. DISGUSTING.

Old Royal Naval College.

Fall in the United Kingdom.

Making our way up to the Royal Observatory.

Greenwich Mean Time Line.

From where I stand.

Afternoon "tea" at The Old Brewery.

Scones with jam and jersey cream. I only ordered one.

Flight of beer. I couldn't decide, so I tried them all.

J had to use some rock climbing skills to meet Sir Walter Raleigh.

Cutty Stark.

London across the river.

Greenwich Foot Tunnel.

I rode a dog in the Island Gardens.

Dinner at Bengal Village on Brick Lane. Chicken Tikki Masala with garlic naan. (Samsung TL225)

We covered approximately 2.84 miles in Greenwich.

Previously:
Day 4: London
Day 3: London
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc



*All photos taken by me with Nikon D7000 unless noted.

Creative plans

via Oh, Hello Friend

I have a master plan for these. Let's just see if I actually get around to using them before I catch that plane to India.

Day 4: London

Given the late night that we had last night, we allowed ourselves to sleep in and move slowly. But not so slow that we would miss the 'Changing the Guard' ceremony at Buckingham Palace. At least that was the plan. We got there just in time, except that it was the wrong day. The ceremony is only performed every other day at the palace. The guards alternate days between Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Whoops. No biggie, I'm sure we can watch it on YouTube. Plus, all was not lost, as we were pleasantly surprised by the Royal Horse Guards parading up (or is it down) The Mall.

Only a small subset of the mob scene at Buckingham Palace. That's not even the line to get into the place.

Royal Horse Guards

After all the hub bub, we made our way East on The Mile to check out Trafalgar Square. Jake said that I HAD to check out the lions. There also happened to be a Malaysian food festival going on at the same time, too. 

Nelson's Column at Tralfagar Square

Lunch at Garfunkel's - English Breakfast: [Pork and Leek] sausage, bacon, flat mushroom, grilled tomato, baked beans, chips, and fried egg, served with malted toast and butter.

I couldn't resist food on a stick, and it only cost £1! New year pudding (The lady told me it was coconut pudding, I think she had her translation wrong. Probably should have asked her in Chinese.)

The sunny, blue skies gave way to grey clouds that threatened rain in the afternoon. Perfect setting to hide out in Churchill War Rooms. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures. You will just have to go and visit. It is pretty neat. 

As evening fell, sprinkles turned into rain. Giant drops of rain. It was cold, dark, very wet night. Creepy would be one word to put it. And creepy was beyond perfect for a Jack the Ripper Tour. I think I was looking up places for afternoon tea, but somehow came across the Ripping Yarns tour which started steps away from our flat.

(source)

Jimmy the tour guide.

Dinner at Liberty Bounds. Located beneath our flat.
Abbot Ale meat pie with mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and gravy. I washed it down with a pint of Abbot Ale. (Samsung TL225, sorry for the crappy shot.)

Previously:
Day 3: London
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc

*All photos taken by me with Nikon D7000 unless noted.

Day 3: London

Another early morning for us. We had a pretty full agenda set out for the day: St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and take in a theater show, Singin' in the Rain. We also got a good look at Big Ben and Parliament. In hindsight, I'm not sure why we thought it would be a good idea to hit up both religious buildings on the same day.

Both churches struck me a bit odd when I was told that photography was not allowed. I completely understand why, but at the same time, St. Peter's Basillica allows photos. I have pictures of almost every nook and cranny there. Anyways, the real highlight to St. Paul's is being able to climb the stairs to the different levels and look out on the city. It was breathe taking (maybe that came from all the stairs) and we couldn't have picked a better morning.

Even though we took our sweet time checking out the cathedral and the dark abbey, we had plenty of time to head back to the flat and rest/change before heading out for the show.

Breakfast at Paul - croissant and a soya late.

The famous dome of St. Paul's.

The front entrance to St. Paul's.
Random fact, I was laying on the ground with a wide angle lens to get this shot, and I still couldn't get all of it in frame.

Whispering Gallery - check. Stone Gallery - check. Golden Gallery - check!

View from the Stone Gallery.

View from the Golden Gallery.

Looking up from the Golden Gallery.

Lunch at Casa di Caffe near St. Paul's. Pukka-Pies: "pork based filling in a light puff pastry sleeve.

Local potato chips. They tasted like spicy ketchup.

Welcome to Westminster. This is actually 2 photos merged together in order to get both of us in the photo.
(merged using PSE 8.0)

Well hello there Big Ben.

Courtyard of Westminster Abbey.

The Rose Garden at Westminster Abbey.

Main entrance of Westminster Abbey. Those folks are actually waiting to be let in for evening service.

Dressed and ready for the show! Navy and coral self portrait. (Phone camera)

Singin' in the Rain at the Palace Theatre. (Samsung TL225)

Dinner at The Delhi Brasserie in Soho. Papadum, chutney, and mango lassi's.
Not pictured, Chicken Saag and vegetable rice; it was actually better as leftovers a few days later. (Samsung TL225)

Sorry, map for day 3. We didn't really cover much, about a mile walking from Westminster Abbey to the Victoria underground station. Nothing exciting enough to tell you about.


Previously:
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc



*All photos taken by me with Nikon D7000 unless noted.