Great Expectations - II
My second visit to London was quite unexpected. My cousin Aparna had to come to the UK for a week for some business meetings and she decided to extend her stay to spend the weekend with us. So on Saturday 9th December we accompanied her on a trip to London.
This time we began our excursion from London Bridge which we had not seen during our last visit. After a short train journey and an even shorter tube ride we arrived at London Bridge station and walked towards this bridge. This is the bridge immortalised in the famous rhyme but it is often confused with the magnificent Tower Bridge which is the next bridge downstream. On the opposite bank of this bridge is the Monument to the Great Fire of London. It was the only bridge over the Thames in London until Westminster Bridge was opened in 1750. We started walking along the riverside towards the Tower Bridge. It was a chilly morning and the riverside was practically deserted (we were too early).
We walked past Hay’s Galleria which was actually a wharf for the docking of tea clippers; today it is a shopping arcade and only a plaque remains to remind people of its history. Docked near the London Bridge pier is the warship HMS Belfast which is open to the public. The riverside also has several offices including the famous London City Hall building. We also had a magnificent view of the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.
The Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge (its span swings upwards to allow smooth passage of large ships) with a tower at each end. Two walkways connect the tops of the towers and they are open to the public for exhibitions and events. By the time we reached Tower Bridge the walkway had not yet been opened to the public and since we had a lot of ground to cover, we decided not to wait for it to open. We walked across the bridge and arrived outside the Tower of London. The Tower of London is a royal palace and it has been at various times in history a royal residence, a fortress, a prison for high profile prisoners, a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint and also an observatory. Today it is a tourist attraction and the current location of the crown jewels of the royal family.
From the Tower we went by tube to Westminster. The Westminster Palace and Abbey are located right outside the tube station and though it was very crowded we had a good view of the Big Ben and the London Eye. From here we walked across St. James’ Park towards Buckingham Palace well in time for the Changing of the Guards ceremony. The place was packed with tourists and all the best spots had been taken; we squeezed into an available position along the sidewalk near a traffic signal and waited for the guards. Unfortunately the sun was shining right into our camera lens which made it very difficult if not impossible to take good pictures. Although we had a very distant view of most of the companies of guards, the Mounted Guards passed right alongside our sidewalk. And since it was a Saturday, the road was open to traffic and our view was frequently blocked by vehicles stopping at the signal. Well, we learnt our lesson – the best day to watch the ceremony is Sunday (when the road is closed for traffic).
From Buckingham palace we crossed Green Park and emerged onto Piccadilly Road. We walked around the St. James’ Market which was a collection of stalls selling exotic products like Egyptian statues and scarabs, ancient coins, plenty of toys, jewelry, clothes, etc. From here we took a bus to Trafalgar Square and then the tube to Baker Street.
After a quick lunch we headed to Madame Tussauds to see the well known waxworks. Madame Tussauds is located in the same building as the London Planetarium which is currently closed for refurbishment. The best part about Madame Tussauds is that you can touch the exhibits, take pictures; there are no restrictions except for specific exhibits. So we met the likes of Tom Cruise, David and Victoria Beckham, Robbie Williams, Sean Connery, John Travolta, Will Smith, The Beatles, Steven Spielberg, Marilyn Monroe world leaders like George W Bush, Tony Blair, Mahatma Gandhi, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, past Kings and Queens of Britain, the present Royal Family, other famous people like Charles Dickens, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, Van Gogh, Piccasso, Neil Armstrong, the list goes on and on. There was a very realistic Spiderman and a gigantic figure of The Hulk. There was a special ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ exhibit complete with the stars of the movie, a treasure chest and the set of the ship. There was also a realistic reproduction of a tourist with a camera. I actually moved aside to let her take a picture before I realized she was fake.
From here we moved onto the Chamber Live exhibit. The Chamber regular exhibit deals with famous criminals and crimes, torture equipment (like the Guillotine, there is an authentic looking wax replica and as you pass under it, the blade drops menacingly toward you) and more. Chamber Live has real people dressed up in scary outfits, in spooky surroundings, with menacing sounds in the background and they try and frighten people as they pass through. There are corpses all over the place, people with bloodshot eyes and it looks quite terrifying in the semi darkness. My knees were wobbling as we came out of Chamber Live.
We were then directed to the special Spirit of London exhibit. It was like a roller coaster ride with the card shaped like London Taxis. These cars moved along rails through the city of London at the time of the Great Fire. There were exhibits about the life and times of people, t he rebuilding of the Cathedral, entertainment during that period and much more. It was magnificent. And at one point during the ride, they take a picture of every car and if you like your picture you can collect it from the reception for a small fee.
Thereafter we went to watch a short animated film in the London Planetarium dome called ‘Stars of the Galaxy’. It was all about a group of aliens discussing the meaning of stars (as in famous personalities) and then undertaking an expedition to Earth to catch sight of these stars and ultimately stumbling onto the dome and imagining the audience to be the stars. Very juvenile, but quite enjoyable.
It was a fascinating experience, some of the waxworks looked absolutely real, Chamber Live was thoroughly scary, Spirit of London was amazing.
We then went to Oxford Street to catch the early Christmas shopping and the decorations. Aparna shopped for chocolates, souvenirs and gifts for her family. It was truly a perfect trip – We caught the train in the morning with seconds to spare, we made it to all places on our itinerary well in time and had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Join us as we relive the day through this photo album
This time we began our excursion from London Bridge which we had not seen during our last visit. After a short train journey and an even shorter tube ride we arrived at London Bridge station and walked towards this bridge. This is the bridge immortalised in the famous rhyme but it is often confused with the magnificent Tower Bridge which is the next bridge downstream. On the opposite bank of this bridge is the Monument to the Great Fire of London. It was the only bridge over the Thames in London until Westminster Bridge was opened in 1750. We started walking along the riverside towards the Tower Bridge. It was a chilly morning and the riverside was practically deserted (we were too early).
We walked past Hay’s Galleria which was actually a wharf for the docking of tea clippers; today it is a shopping arcade and only a plaque remains to remind people of its history. Docked near the London Bridge pier is the warship HMS Belfast which is open to the public. The riverside also has several offices including the famous London City Hall building. We also had a magnificent view of the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.
The Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge (its span swings upwards to allow smooth passage of large ships) with a tower at each end. Two walkways connect the tops of the towers and they are open to the public for exhibitions and events. By the time we reached Tower Bridge the walkway had not yet been opened to the public and since we had a lot of ground to cover, we decided not to wait for it to open. We walked across the bridge and arrived outside the Tower of London. The Tower of London is a royal palace and it has been at various times in history a royal residence, a fortress, a prison for high profile prisoners, a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint and also an observatory. Today it is a tourist attraction and the current location of the crown jewels of the royal family.
From the Tower we went by tube to Westminster. The Westminster Palace and Abbey are located right outside the tube station and though it was very crowded we had a good view of the Big Ben and the London Eye. From here we walked across St. James’ Park towards Buckingham Palace well in time for the Changing of the Guards ceremony. The place was packed with tourists and all the best spots had been taken; we squeezed into an available position along the sidewalk near a traffic signal and waited for the guards. Unfortunately the sun was shining right into our camera lens which made it very difficult if not impossible to take good pictures. Although we had a very distant view of most of the companies of guards, the Mounted Guards passed right alongside our sidewalk. And since it was a Saturday, the road was open to traffic and our view was frequently blocked by vehicles stopping at the signal. Well, we learnt our lesson – the best day to watch the ceremony is Sunday (when the road is closed for traffic).
From Buckingham palace we crossed Green Park and emerged onto Piccadilly Road. We walked around the St. James’ Market which was a collection of stalls selling exotic products like Egyptian statues and scarabs, ancient coins, plenty of toys, jewelry, clothes, etc. From here we took a bus to Trafalgar Square and then the tube to Baker Street.
After a quick lunch we headed to Madame Tussauds to see the well known waxworks. Madame Tussauds is located in the same building as the London Planetarium which is currently closed for refurbishment. The best part about Madame Tussauds is that you can touch the exhibits, take pictures; there are no restrictions except for specific exhibits. So we met the likes of Tom Cruise, David and Victoria Beckham, Robbie Williams, Sean Connery, John Travolta, Will Smith, The Beatles, Steven Spielberg, Marilyn Monroe world leaders like George W Bush, Tony Blair, Mahatma Gandhi, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, past Kings and Queens of Britain, the present Royal Family, other famous people like Charles Dickens, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, Van Gogh, Piccasso, Neil Armstrong, the list goes on and on. There was a very realistic Spiderman and a gigantic figure of The Hulk. There was a special ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ exhibit complete with the stars of the movie, a treasure chest and the set of the ship. There was also a realistic reproduction of a tourist with a camera. I actually moved aside to let her take a picture before I realized she was fake.
From here we moved onto the Chamber Live exhibit. The Chamber regular exhibit deals with famous criminals and crimes, torture equipment (like the Guillotine, there is an authentic looking wax replica and as you pass under it, the blade drops menacingly toward you) and more. Chamber Live has real people dressed up in scary outfits, in spooky surroundings, with menacing sounds in the background and they try and frighten people as they pass through. There are corpses all over the place, people with bloodshot eyes and it looks quite terrifying in the semi darkness. My knees were wobbling as we came out of Chamber Live.
We were then directed to the special Spirit of London exhibit. It was like a roller coaster ride with the card shaped like London Taxis. These cars moved along rails through the city of London at the time of the Great Fire. There were exhibits about the life and times of people, t he rebuilding of the Cathedral, entertainment during that period and much more. It was magnificent. And at one point during the ride, they take a picture of every car and if you like your picture you can collect it from the reception for a small fee.
Thereafter we went to watch a short animated film in the London Planetarium dome called ‘Stars of the Galaxy’. It was all about a group of aliens discussing the meaning of stars (as in famous personalities) and then undertaking an expedition to Earth to catch sight of these stars and ultimately stumbling onto the dome and imagining the audience to be the stars. Very juvenile, but quite enjoyable.
It was a fascinating experience, some of the waxworks looked absolutely real, Chamber Live was thoroughly scary, Spirit of London was amazing.
We then went to Oxford Street to catch the early Christmas shopping and the decorations. Aparna shopped for chocolates, souvenirs and gifts for her family. It was truly a perfect trip – We caught the train in the morning with seconds to spare, we made it to all places on our itinerary well in time and had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Join us as we relive the day through this photo album
