Sir Francis Drake and the Golden Hinde

7 September and Sam and I went walking around for a few hours. Among other things, we did the London Underground and London Dungeon experiences [sorry, they were dark and a wee bit scary/ funny at times] and visited Sir Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hinde.

As you'll see, Sir Francis is in fine health, although somewhat demanding when sitting in his chair :-)

Enjoy!

London's Science Museum and Blackfriars station

It has been an exciting few days, so this and the next couple of posts are catch ups on the last few days...

On 6 September I went to London's Science Museum for a few hours. I was very impressed, it was well worth the visit! The museum had a wide variety of exhibits and interactive activities including steam engines, enigma machines and other IT stuff, biology and geography. The aviation stuff will be covered in my aviation blog in due course, but here are a few of the other photos. I particularly liked the old computers [they bring back a few happy memories!] and, for some reason, the "Woman's Friend" washing machine! ha ha ha

Other photos include Blackfriars Tube Station, a view of the Thames from the Blackfriars bridge and a photo of one of the local families.

Europe Trip 2011 #4: Shopping and St Pauls Cathedral

After a lazy start to the day, I ended up shopping with my sister. Apparently [none of you would believe this], I don't have enough style sense to purchase jeans and shirts for myself! Good news however, we went to the local Gap store, and after trying on EVERY pair of jeans and ALMOST every shirt, I came away with some clothing that passes the "sister style test".

The good news is that it was then time for Rochelle [my sister, not the met-guru-flying-instructor] to have a look in a store, so I got to babysit for a few minutes outside with Ferne, who, as could be expected, behaved for her uncle impeccably! :-)

Following this we split up for the day and I ended up doing a bit more sight seeing, including St Pauls Cathedral. What an awesome place this is! It would be hard enough designing and building something like this today, much less several hundred years ago! the "tourist's ticket" [permitting entry to the tower and the crypt] is a tad expensive, but the views around London are great. Here's hoping it doesn't get crowded out by skyscrapers!

Anyway, here are a few photos. Two from the outside and two from the very top of the tower/ dome looking down on the river. BTW - the red arrow in the second picture was where I took the last two pictures from. Nothing but an old iron fence and a thin walkway to stop you from falling! Awesome!

Europe Trip 2011 #3: London Sightseeing

Today was a day of sightseeing. I caught up with Simon L [around the world to catch up with someone who lives about 700kms north of me!] and we had a bit of the look around. This started with a trip on the London Eye, followed by a walk around town, including stopping outside Downing St to see the Prime Minister's residence... well, ok "see" is a bit optimistic - view from a distance past the gate and the heavily armed police!

Eventually we hopped on the DLR and went out to Greenwich. After some lunch we had a look around the National Maritime Museum, then up to the observatory. Eventually we walked down to the Thames and on the walkway under the Thames to the other side. Being a bit lazy, we took the DLR back across the Thames, then got a ferry back down to the Tower of London, then I got the tube back home.

A very busy day! Anyway, the photos are as follows:

The London Eye
View of Parliament from the London Eye
10 Downing St
New Zealand House
The DLR on the way to Greenwich
View from the Observatory
East vs West - the Greenwich Meridian

Europe Trip 2011 #2: London Aquarium

Part of my travels yesterday was a visit to the London Aquarium. It's well worth a visit if you're interested in such things, albeit a bit pricey at around GBP19 for an adult.

Pictures are fairly self-explanatory. Enjoy!

Europe Trip 2011 #1: Visit to London

Finally a blog update!

To recap, I arrived in London on Saturday afternoon [UK time]. Surprisingly, with a brisk walk from the aircraft to the immigration counters, and I was around # 8 in line, so I was through in nothing more than 5 minutes. It took longer for me to get my suitcase and wait for the pre-ordered taxi! Even then, I probably spent only 20-25 minutes in the airport terminal. So very easy this time!

I've been light on touristy things, having spent a couple of days with family, getting to know my new niece [photos on FB for those of you who have access to my FB wall]. Yesterday I did get out for a few hours, taking the tube into the Embankment station, and wandering around that area for a while, followed by taking a trip on the DLR [Docklands Light Rail]. All in all, a nice relaxing time.

Photos from this tripping around are just three photos from around Parliament. the first from across the Thames, the second from a bridge with Parliament on the left and the London Eye on the right. The last is from the parliamentary grounds [I think]

Europe Trip #24: London - 9 - The Tower of London

Straight after the Tower Bridge, I went to the Tower of London.

What an awesome place! The Yeoman Warders did a good job of introducing the place and some of the history [they were very humorous too!]. As you'll see from the photos the buildings are impressive. I feel [slightly] sorry for the guard trying to stand still with all these tourists taking photos of him :-)

Most impressive in the whole place were the Crown Jewels. Unfortunately, along with the various exhibitions [the collection of Henry the Eight's armour was awesome, although I think it is finished now], photos were not allowed, although photos were permitted pretty much everywhere else.

The final picture is a small cell. No loo [I guess that many of the occupants would not have lived long enough to need one...], nor any room to lie down and relax before an appointment with a gentleman to have ones head surgically removed in a town meeting convened especially for that purpose. Ouch!

Europe Trip #23: London - 8 - Tower Bridge

Another highlight of the trip to London was a visit to the Tower Bridge. At only 7 quid it was also one of the cheaper attractions :-)

Below are a number of photos of the bridge itself, as well as the views from the walkway on top of the bridge. The final picture is part fo the old steam-driven mechanism for raising and lowering the bridge. Enjoy!

Europe Trip #22: London - 7 - The Aquarium

I know it's been a few days, but hopefully I'll be able to finish off the posts from my recent trip in the next few days :-)

An interesting place to visit [although perhaps not at the top of the list] was the London Aquarium. Not being a fishy type of person [no need for rude comments, thanks!] I don't know a lot about these - except you'll see a stingray, a shark, a school of piranha [I didn't stick my hands in to confirm that!] and some other stuff. For those who are more knowledgeable, I'm sure you'll fill us in on the essentially details - best fried, best BBQ'ed etc... ha ha ha

The aquarium is conveniently located right beside the London Eye, so it's in a very easy place to get to [especially if you're using the tube] and well worth a visit if you're in to your fish, or if you have a couple of hours to spare. Photography is welcome, just no flash photography.