Chapter 82 - London - Sightseeing 2

You see so much from the top level of the double decker bus. Here are some examples of some buildings that caught my eye. I don't know what they are, but I enjoyed seeing them.

Wouldn't it be great to live in a flat in this building?


What a lovely iron gate


How about this for a view down the street?


Some more interesting buildings








Some of the winged victory statues






St. George's Hospital, founded in 1733, is a famous teaching hospital, research center and medical school.


Nothing gets in the way of tea time!


Victoria Station, opened in 1860, serves nearly 80 million passengers each year.


This intricate iron gate is quite interesting.


Imagine this knight on the side of the building keeping eternal watch for invaders.


Waterloo Station, the scene of so many old movies, opened in 1848.


I can just see Vivien Leigh or Robert Donat rushing through here. Last year over 88 million passengers came through this station.


Meeting under the four-faced clock is a traditional rendezvous in Britain; they say "under the clock at Waterloo." I remember seeing this clock in so many old movies - "The train's about to leave - will he/she make it in time?"


I thought this little pavilion along the banks of the Thames was quite lovely.


The famous ferris wheel is one of modern London's well known landmarks. Called the London Eye, it's 443 feet high, the tallest in Europe. Opened in 1999, it rapidly became the most popular tourist attraction, serving over 3.5 million riders annually. There are 32 sealed, air-conditioned capsules, each holding 25 riders who can walk around. It takes 30 minutes to make one revolution and moves so slowly that it doesn't stop; there is plenty of time for riders to walk on or off.

Needless to say, this acrophobe didn't ride it. The last ferris wheel I rode was at the 1966 Ionia County Fair in Michigan. I swore then I'd never ride another one, and that's a vow I mean to keep!

Chapter 81 - London - Sightseeing 1

Remember the "Friends" episode when the group went to London for Ross's wedding? Joey kept exclaiming, "London, baby!" That refrain ran through my head while Colin and I rode on the red double decker bus. We went on 'The Original Tour,' which is London's most popular (that's what it says on their brochure). It's an off/on tour which was great for me since I was able to get off when I wanted to see something more closely, but it allowed me to ride all over the city. I would never have been able to walk it. We didn't do the river cruise since although it was mid-May, it was freezing cold. It was quite a thrill to see up close the places I'd only seen on TV and the movies.

Big Ben, nickname for the bell on the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third tallest free-standing clock tower in the world.

A clock tower was first built here in 1288, and the current Big Ben, built in Gothic Revival style of limestone cladding and cast iron, first began ticking in 1859. It is 315.9 feet high, and there are 334 limestone stairs to the top of the tower. That's a climb I'd never make!

Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster. The first palace on this site was built in the 11th century and served as the residence of monarchs. After several fires and renovations, the palace was almost totally destroyed by a fire in 1834.

The current Palace was built in Perpendicular Gothic style over 30 years beginning in 1840, covers eight acres and contains than 1,100 rooms. The House of Commons chamber had to be rebuilt after German bombing in 1941.

A view of Big Ben and Parliament from up the Thames


Buckingham Palace, the official residence of British monarchs, was initially built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703. Acquired by George III to be the "Queen's House" for Queen Charlotte, it was later enlarged in the 19th century and remodeled to its present form in 1913. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live in it as her official residence after her accession to the throne in 1837.


The Queen's flag is flying over Buckingham Palace which means she's in residence.


We had gone to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, but a policeman told us it wasn't happening that day because the Queen was hosting a special ceremony for the families of British soldiers in Afghanistan.


It was exciting to see it because although the Changing of the Guard takes place almost every day, this is a less common event.






You've seen pictures of Englishwomen in their hats at formal occasions and frequently shook your head at some of the choices. Every one of the women at this event wore a hat, many matching their outfits, many of them quite bizarre to behold.


Part of the fountain at the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain


We saw these painted elephant statues all over London. The guide explained that various designers and artists decorated the 154-lb statues to raise awareness of the plight of Asian elephants which are more endangered than their African cousins.


Here's a row of them in Hyde Park. Over 250 of the statues were dotted around London before being sold at auction at Sotheby's in June.


Statue of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician, most famous for her work with sick and wounded British soldiers during the Crimean War.


Colin went another day to see the Changing of the Guard.


Kate's flat was located on the Baker Street Line of the tube (subway). When you exit the trains to street level, you see these Sherlock Holmes silhouettes.


I got a big kick out of them because Bob and I are huge fans of the Sherlock Holmes movies, but only the ones starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.


Colin took this picture of Kate and me on Mother's Day. We ate at a fabulous restaurant near Hampton Court Palace.


Of course no trip to London is complete without shopping in trendy stores. Kate and Colin had a good time.


For Bob's benefit I'll say I didn't buy anything.


This is the Royal Court where many famous trials have taken place.


More London sightseeing next time.

Chapter 80 - Random Sights Again

In this blog I thought I'd take a break from my London trip and show a few random sights around this area. I don't think I've shown any of these before, but I wouldn't be surprised if I had. Senility is creeping in.

People always love to have fun at the pool during the summer.


This is the city pool in Siegendorf.


This is the Children's Festival at Burg Forchtenstein. Kids everywhere love to play with baby animals.


They had all kinds of booths with carnival games, face makeup, wooden swords, etc.


We saw this hot air balloon one day in Eisenstadt. It's advertising ice cream.


This farm in nearby Pottsching is representative of all area farms in late summer.


This barn looks a few hundred years old.


This quiet pond in nearby Zagersdorf is an oasis of serenity.


Sunflower fields are common in this area like this one in nearby Zemendorf.


This perfect flower will never grace a vase; they're grown for the oil.


This bench invites respite in a miniature park in Eisenstadt. I thought it was concrete at first, but we think it's fiberglass.


Two-way traffic, speed limit about 44 mph.


This is to let you know a village is coming up with the little island designed to slow traffic down. I especially like the exclamation point.


It does seem to slow the traffic down although people will wildly pass you to get to the village first - they save about two to three seconds.


This is the typical two-way traffic and speed limit sign you see on roads outside the villages. Speed limit is 62.5 mph.


This is supposed to deter drunk driving. I don't know if it works, or if it's because of the strict punishments for drunk driving, but when they hold big events downstairs at Burschi's, we saw taxis dropping off and picking up all night long.


You can see the 1638 date on this old wall in nearby Wulkaprodersdorf.


A close-up of the wall


The World War II Memorial in the village


The Wulka River may look like a sleepy creek, but appearances can be deceiving. Because they don't have drainage ditches over here like we do in Houston, this little river can overflow its banks and flood basements and streets in the village. They've had to call out the army to help after flooding.