30 May 2015 - Either side of the Thames for an afternoon of exploration of London

After putting up a sheet over the window to cut out some early light, we actually managed to sleep a bit later. Phew!  A quick walk to the park for a bit of energy use, then some shopping before the crowds although there were already so many people around, and a bit of school and then time for adventure!

From our lounge room window - My friend Cathy requested house photos!

View from our kitchen

 We decided we would take the Tube to Embankment and start our exploring along the Thames and see what famous sights we would come across!  Unlike travelling with time constraints, we have the time to walk and look and ponder instead of dashing from one tourist site to the next.  Indeed, a luxury.

Plaques such as this are worthwhile taking the time to read.

 Embankment was a good choice of station.  We came out, right near the Hungerford Footbridge, seen on so many movies of London!  First we turned left to see Cleopatra's Needle, the gift from Egypt, which had lain in the sands in Alexandria for centuries before finding its resting place by the Thames.  Further, as a point of interest, there was a plaque, which gave details of how the monument was damaged by a bomb dropped by German planes in 1917.

The sphinx by the Thames

London's Cleopatra's Needle - we also saw one in Paris!

Three kids on a sphinx

The London Eye and Hungerford Bridge

Damage from the 1917  bomb

W.S. Gilbert - where was Sullivan?

 With so many possibilities, we thought we would walk over the Hungerford Bridge, to the South Bank. People, people everywhere, buskers, street entertainers, festival atmosphere.

The Hungerford Bridge.

St Paul's Cathedral

Busker on the bridge

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.

Chasing bubbles with Tim on Southbank!

Classic London photo!

Little Luke, Big Ben and some buses

One of the many buskers.

We had seen the news of riots here a few days ago protesting against the austerity measures of the Cameron government.  Today there were protestors but no riots.  We kept to the opposite side of the road but it was all peaceful and a bit interesting!  This wasn't the only group of protestors and police we saw on our wander through the streets.  In fact, London, in my memory, was always a hot seat for protestors and public voicing of dissatisfaction, so little has changed.  Clearly, there is still lots of poverty and still lots of disappointment and still people struggling to make ends meet.  The cost of housing here is phenomenal.

Love a good protest where the number of police are disproportionate to the number of protestors.

Pink and green fumes filled the air.

Wonderful windows of Westminster.

The London Eye had GIANT queues.

Statue at end of Westminster Bridge.

All eyes open and to the front...and a few hints of smiles...

I'm loving being back here and showing my home for 3 years to my family!

The sky and clouds today were the perfect backdrop.

 We were intending on going into Westminster Abbey but decided outside was good enough as it cost 20 pounds per adult!!  Having seen many wonderful churches recently, including the Notre Dame in Paris for free, we decided it wasn't worth it.  However, just to the west if the entrance is St Margaret's Church, a lovely church with history of its own and worth a look through.  Some of the memorial stones displayed dated back to 1600's!  Even the stained glass windows depicted people in clothes from that period, so my old church craving for the day was satisfied!  The kids who are somewhat bored of old churches played on the grass outside while Karl and I enjoyed the interior.

St Margaret's, next to Westminster Abbey.

St Margaret's was rebuilt from 1486 to 1523, although a church has stood on that site since 1200's. It was dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch.  Walter Raleigh was buried there and Winston Churchill was married there!

1509 Stained  glass window to commemorate the betrothal of Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII

Large window and altar.

It is not a big church.

This memorial was dedicated to a kindly man  and written in old English.  I was drawn to look at it because the two people were wearing ruffed collars, fashionable in 1600's.  It is great that pieces such as this survived the thrashing London was subjected to in WWII.

As we walked through and past the familiar scenes, we saw Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and others and a perfect spot for hand stands!

When I lived in London (1988-91) there was an ongoing vigil for Nelson Mandela: "Free Nelson Mandela"

Big Ben and flags of the Commonwealth.

Perfect spot for hand stands

And Luke is improving his hand stands!

And a leap...

And then there was Churchill

To the women of World War II and double decker bus.  I loved this memorial of overalls and how the women have been remembered as so important in World War II

We walked past 10 Downing Street, which had a large police presence and small number of protestors and a milling crowd of tourists.  Being a sunny Saturday, tourists and Londoners alike were making use of their city.

Annika and Luke posing with the horse

Coloured coordinated with the guard! The horse neither bit nor kicked...

Through St James Park where again there were people and squirrels aplenty.  I have words from movies and musicals about London whirling through my mind as we pass by the places mentioned.  I recalled Eliza Dolittle singing about going to St James so often she will call it St Jim! - and that will be us  - not the proper and prim bit just the St James bit!  There are so many songs and movies which feature London and we are here!

A World War II memorial at St James Park

Archways leading Buckingham Palace

Lone horseman heading up from Buckingham Palace.

The Union Jack

Shaun the Sheep...

Finally, we got to Trafalgar Square!  There was Nelson's column, the 4 lions and couple of fountains, several posing statues, and the National Gallery....and  lots of people!

The lion's kings

Nelson's Column

Lion fodder

The National Gallery

Crowds today, we will leave our visit for another day.

Several Yodas and a skeleton were seeming hanging in midair and there was a Batman, too.

I remembered St Martins in the Field, opposite Trafalgar Square, as a quaint old church with a basement/crypt where there were facilities to do Brass rubbings - pretty low key 25 years ago.  It is still a quaint spot but is better known but good to look around.  We went up the stairs to the main church and sat for a while.  The ceiling was decorative but the windows very plain. This old church, in its current neoclassical style was built from 1722 but archaeological evidence suggests some kind of Christian centre on the site from 406 AD.  That's quite a history! It is known as the church with open doors for its care of the homeless of London.

There were a few people milling around at the front of the church who quite suddenly assembled and were the Festive Orchestra of London - a 10 or 11 person ensemble who launched into Vivaldi's Four Seasons and made me gasp at their beautiful sound. The architecture lent itself to magnificent acoustics and the haunting sound of the harpsicord among the string instruments was amazing.  I felt so blessed to be able to hear and enjoy, Vivaldi's music, so well played, in two memorable locations: last time on the streets of Paris and this time in the heart of London!  We were so glad that we had just sat and waited for a while.  

The kids were tolerant of the seasons, but Annika did say she was glad there were only 4 seasons!  In front of us sat an extremely cute little girl who said; "What's that loud noise?" every time the music reached a presto/allegro and brought smiles all round!  Then, as the musicians took a break, she suggested that they should sing "Twinkle, twinkle little sthar"!  The orchestra kept practising little bits that they need to perfect, so that was our cue to go.  So special!!!

The Festive Orchestra of London - note harpsicord - an ancient beautiful sound and also modern window of the cross.

This is the concert we heard rehearsed!  SO fortunate to be there at the right time!

You are never far from a Tube station in London and we easily found one! We took the train from Charing Cross back to our station.  We are so used to the efficiency of the big cities' metro systems and London is no exception.  There is rarely a wait for a train on the London Underground.  We were home in no time.