London Bridges

London is one of my favorite international cities to visit.  I've been here a dozen or so times that I can think of, mostly on business trips, which has limited some of my ability to sightsee.  This time, I had only a half day to spend in the city, and it was a Sunday afternoon at that, which meant many places would be closed or closing early.  I'd arrived at noon, so by the time I got to the hotel, back to the tube station, and into the cityit was already time for dinner.  I headed to Leicester Square, my favorite starting point, and found a place in China Town (when in London, always try the Chinese or Indian food...).  From there, I meandered down along Trafalgar Square (cordoned off for a music concert that evening) and hopped a bus to Westminster.

Being a Sunday, Westminster Abbey is closed for sightseeing, however there was an evening service at 1830, and I was just a few minutes late for the opening.  Walking from the entrance to where the service was being held, I was amazed at how many burial markers were on the floor.  It's literally a who's who of English history...  and I didn't get anywhere near the royal crypts.  The service was short -- by the time I arrived, the vicar was halfway thru the sermon.  The pipe organ is immense, and sounded incredible... After the service, we all exited down the center aisle, and I couldn't help thinking of all the people who had walked that same aisle, including Charles and Diana for their wedding, and Diana's casket for her funeral.  I paused for a moment at Churchill's tomb, which is right next to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior from WW-I, and then the staff asked everyone left from the service to leave, since they wanted to go home and we were now sightseeing... Got to love British efficiency.

Following that, I headed across the Westminster Bridge, and walked along the south bank of the Thames.  It was low tide, so there was a lot of exposed rock and sand along the edges, and there was even a little "beach party" going on underneath one of the water taxi piers.  I also passed the rebuilt Globe Theater and the Tate modern art museum.  Somehow, in 20 years worth of visits to London, I'd never seen the Globe Theater...

Each of the bridges has its own character -- there's the boring bridges like Westminster and London, the somewhat ornate Blackfriar's, and the more modern looking Millenium Bridge, which is for pedestrians only and Golden Jubilee Bridges, which are physically attached to and flank the Hungerford Bridge, built in the 1860's.

 One of The Queen's (my Queen, not QE2) favorite places is the Tower of London.  We've both been there for tours, but it takes on a special character at night, when all the tourists are gone and all that's left are its walls.  Had my digital camera not eaten up some images (the card was somehow corrupted, the modern equivilent of film being jammed...), I would have had some really cool night shots.  Unfortunately, I was only able to salvage three or four...

And then there's the Tower Bridge... beautiful in its own overbuilt, gaudy way...

In all, I walked a total of more than three miles, including the walk up to Tower Hill, where I hopped back on the tube to return back to the hotel.  My feet and legs were a little sore, but that's the fun part of visiting London.  If you don't get out and walk, you miss a lot.