London two!!! I Have Arrived!!

London, England
I have arrived!

So after breakfast, he goes to his meeting and I'm free to run around London as I please. Whoopee! Cross the street down to the bus station I go, camera in hand. Take one of the free buses to the airport and down to the picadilly line. You have to hear me to this because it's so funny. Every time the tube stops, this woman's voice comes across the line, very clearly stating: "Please mind the gap between the train and the station. This is...a picadilly line to ... cockfosters."

Off the tube and up to Green Park I went to catch the tour buses. Let me just say that there is so much still that I want to see that I have to go back again. It's impossible to see everything in just one day...it'd take at least a week.

There were many interesting things. Of the 600 pictures that I took, obviously they can't all be posted on the blog. This one I thought was very neat.

These houses were very interesting indeed. The cinder pots at the very top are said to be rare but I saw them all over the place. It was typical for all houses to have a fireplace in each bedroom if not in each room. This caused horrendous smog. Because of the pollution, they then switched to smokeless coal before capping the chimney's off for good.

Spire Church

This is the side of the Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum.

This was shot through a narrow opening in the bus top. This is a picture of the Peter Pan Park.

Beautiful aren't they.

Another tavern. This one was rumored to have been visited by Charles Dickenson.

Paddington Station

There is supposed to be a big Paddington Bear statue nearby as well.

This building has a very gothic look to it.

All Souls Church

and this would be the schedule of the All Soul's Church

Kensington Palace

Japanese Embassy. The line was down the block!

This isn't just the street name, it's also a bus station.

Awwwmmmm....I'm telling......

I thought this was pretty...and it had New York on it

Hamleys.....the biggest toy store in England.

Sometimes you wanna go where every body knows your name....

This is considered a famous symbol. Eros. This is supposed to be three angels.

We're driving by and find this in the middle of a wall. This is the on/off switches for the electric in the houses. Wonder if this changes the light....

The architecture all around London was just beautiful.

I have now seen the Prince of Wales

This bar decided to have a bit different sign than the others. Note the clock. My daughter and I went through the pictures counting all the clocks. You'd be surprised just from the pictures how many clocks there are.

No kidding, another pub. This made me think of the Electric Lady in a little town I used to live in.

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collection/default.htm

Trafalgar Square
Since you can get off and on the bus as you please, and since one of my clients from work suggested strongly that it had to be seen, I got off at Trafalgar Square to see the National Gallery.

Another side of Trafalgar Square

The boat atop of the domed building in Trafalgar Square

I stood <~~~~~~~~~~this~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> far away from Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Di Vinci.. I saw the Madame de Pompedour, Rembrandt's self portrait, the impressionist paintings I learned about in college and longed to see. I just couldn't believe it. I was there. Right there and they were inches in front of me.

This was the arches over the different rooms. I'd have taken another hundred pictures if I could.
Moved, I asked the guard (remembering the instance in New Yorks gallery), if I could take pictures if I kept the flash off. Absolutely not! hmmm....perhaps I should have asked for forgiveness rather than permission. ;)

The whole floor was this parquet tile.

I had to take this one. There were more pictures of nudes in this gallery than anywhere. It's obvious they were intrigued by the human body.

Oh look, another clock!
You have to admit, it looks like a castle top.

Around the corner......

BIG BEN!!!!
See, I really was there...

PARLIAMENT!!!
I was so moved when I got to the gate that I shook. I even cried. Forever I have wanted to be here. Finally....I had made it. I was actually here.