I love the bus -- you actually get to see things and if you are in no hurry, the stops don't bother you. But when the bus stops and doesn't go anywhere, then you start to wonder. When ours let us out (across from Westminster Abbey) they explained there was a demonstration and roads were blocked off.
Well, I was in college in the '70s. I appreciate a good demonstration so we went in search of it. But first, a look at the exterior of the Abbey. (We had attended Evensong here in 2012 so just wandered around the exterior a bit.)
Then we crossed into the park, looking for the demonstration. All we saw was this.
Oh well. But there were some lovely statues.
I particularly liked this one. I think about it every time I turn on the news. (Commenter Maryanne in SC just weighed in on the statue. It's of Dame Millicent Fawcett, a suffragist, not a suffragette. The words are not synonyms. An online source from the UK explains "The suffragists believed in peaceful campaigning, whereas the suffragettes believed in direct action (violence and militancy). The suffragists was a national organisation, the suffragettes was a smaller organisation with 2000 members at its peak in 1914. The suffragists allowed men to join, the suffragettes did not." Thanks, Maryanne!)
So, we walked to the Southbank, and it was quite lovely. Unfortunately, the Houses of Parliament are under restoration (at least I think that's what that is -- I couldn't tell because of the scaffolding!)...
....and so was Big Ben.
But at least we could tell the time!
And there were marvelous views of the Thames and the side of Parliament that wasn't covered...
...along with the London Eye.
(The adventurous part of me would like to go on this. The part that gets vertigo when I stand on a two-step stool in my own house was happy to give it a pass.)
Still, looks fun. And dramatic!
We headed over to Royal Festival Hall to get tickets, then off to have a bite to eat.
A good burger, a couple of beers. It was delicious! (We became very fond of Frontier beer while we were in England!)
To the hall! A wonderful exhibit in the lobby on the Festival of Britain of 1951.
The displays helped us pass the time till we were able to be seated.
And what a splendid and unobstructed view.
Well, till this in front of me.
And in front of Rick.
So, at intermission we took a walk on the bridge to enjoy the view...
...and it was quite a view!
When we returned, we moved up a few seats! Much better!
I leave you with another look at London's skyline...
...and through the zoom, St. Paul's -- where we will head in the morning (and next time!)
And if Mike or Jenny or any other of my London friends can tell me what this building is...(you can see it from Southbank and Festival Hall but on the other side of the river.) This just in: Commenter Julie from Liverpool says the below is Charing Cross Railroad Station! Thanks, Julie!
I will be most grateful!
Golly another fabulous London excursion!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous vacation!! I love seeing all your pics. Have a great week, Jeanie!!
ReplyDeleteYou were lucky to be able to visit a concert, too. Great photos, thanks for sharing. Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteI would have really enjoyed going to the London Philharmonic with you. It's a great orchestra with a storied past. You probably know that its first two conductors were Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargeant, and the pedigree doesn't get much better than that. Sargeant was very well known for his keen wit, to say nothing of his formidable conducting skills. Carmina Burana would have been a great performance to attend. I have never been to a live performance of this piece but how can you go wrong with music celebrating lusty, lecherous monks? Too bad Miss Hairdo got right in front of you, but at least you were able to rectify that issue. I understand that Rick was a willing accomplice to your shopping frenzy but I suspect that this was more up his alley.
ReplyDeleteWow, can you believe they were still rationing so many years after the war? Amazing!
ReplyDeleteYou and Rick sure know how to get the most out of your trips. I'm enjoying the 'ride' along.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a good time. I really need to book myself a trip to London, I've not been for 12 months!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the London Eye... I really don't do heights. However, I did manage to get on the London Eye. y tip is to get on and sit on the bench in the middle (holding on, obviously). I managed the whole trip around doing that and still managed to see the views (though I was still glad to get off it!). Another tip is to go at night.
Big Ben was under construction when we were there in June.
ReplyDeleteVery nice to join you for the evening.
ReplyDeleteJeanie-It is all so breathtakingly beautiful, isn't it? There is so much history and character there. I love that you can share it here so we can all enjoy it along with you. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to hear the Philharmonic and so glad you were able to change your seats for a better view. I too would have to pass up a trip on the London Eye for similar reasons.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip! I'm glad you were able to move up after the intermission. I did go on the London Eye years ago when it was still new. Each pod is a big "room" and not at all scary. Once is enough though. I've not felt like I needed to do it again.
ReplyDeleteYour view of St. Paul's is my favourite.
ReplyDeleteIt's Charing Cross railway station. Looks great lit up in the evening. Julie ( Liverpool)
ReplyDeleteLondon Philharmonic . . . how wonderful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos even with the scaffolding ...
Liked the night lights . . . not a fan of blocked views at a concert.
Making a move mid way is great when it works.
Mention of a protest, we were in the middle of one at the Colosseum in Rome.
I think I will rephrase that, we were on the edge, not the middle.
A certain energy comes to,play in a protest.
I am loving being on this trip with you!
That looks like a wonderful way to spend an evening in London. Too bad you had the hair in front of you (and if you are short like me it happens too often). I have been up on the eye twice, once at night and once during the day and it gives you a great view. But with vertigo, it might not be such a good idea. :) Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to spend a night in London. You can't beat the Philharmonic. The lady in front of you reminds me of every time I go anywhere. That's why I prefer to sit close to the stage. Glad you could move. I would have thought the tickets were for specific seats, so it was good that was not the case. Westminster is lovely, isn't it? You can feel the history, I'm sure. Looks like you were still having a wonderful trip, too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed seeing your lovely pictures Jeanie. I couldn't do London Eye either :) Beautiful statues.
ReplyDeleteSo lucky that you managed to set other seats at the Philharmonic after the interval, otherwise you wouldn't see anything.
Westminster Abbey looks quite impressive. I had to smile about Big Ben´s clock. Oh, the London Eye.... for no money in the world - sadly!
ReplyDeleteBurger and beer, oh, yum, and here I sit with my avocado-smoothie, how sad is that ;-)
Food rationing in the 50´s... I never knew.
See? See??? That always happens to me, too, the tallest person sits right in front of me! The night-view is wonderful.
Thank you for sharing your photos and experiences - the architecture is just so beautiful. Love that menu, too!
ReplyDeleteSo impressed with all you did while not being up tp par! Kudos!
ReplyDeleteWow, kiddo! You and Rick had an amazing trip. These posts are like presents. Thank you for sharing all these stories and beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteThe statue of the woman "Courage calls to Courage" - I thought it was Sylvia Pankhurst but it's not. It's Dame Millicent Fawcett, a suffragist. Which made me look further into why she was a suffragist and not a suffragette. The words are not synonyms. An online source from the UK explains "The suffragists believed in peaceful campaigning, whereas the suffragettes believed in direct action (violence and militancy). The suffragists was a national organisation, the suffragettes was a smaller organisation with 2000 members at its peak in 1914. The suffragists allowed men to join, the suffragettes did not."
(the more you know...) :-)
How wonderful to go to the London Philharmonic. We love a good symphony. I was surprised to hear you could change seats and have time during the intermission to go take those awesome photos outside.
ReplyDeleteSo cool to take in the Philharmonic while you were there! I'm glad you were able to move up to seats with a better view after the intermission!
ReplyDeleteOne of the memorable parts of my London trip was seeing St. Paul Cathedral. We climbed as high up as we could go and the views were amazing!!
Oh, those people at concerts with big heads and big hair! how I hate them! I'm glad that you had the chance to move up a few seats for the second half! What nice photos, feels like summer looking at them. Don't you think that night view from the bridge is the prettiest! It was bad luck to catch the Houses of P. in scaffolding, and yes, it is restoration. In view of the muddle and chaos there, I'm starting to feel our Parliament should be relocated into a modern and purpose building somewhere central in England, like, say Birmingham or Manchester, and get rid of all the flummery and tradition that is now starting to symbolise our creaking old political system!I was so impressed with the Reichstag bulding in Berlin, which had done a marvellous and symbolic restoration to the old Nazi government building, facing up to the past (and keeping some of the war damage as part of the design) but also making the building itself symbolically reflect the new Germany they were replacing the bad old past with.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, forgot to say, it is Charing x railway station, I think the top floors might be offices but you know I am not quite sure. Maybe it's a hotel!
ReplyDeleteWow! Excellent tour - I enjoyed every minute! So many lovely sights seen with your beautiful photos. So funny about your 'blocked view'. I am with you on staying grounded and not going up on the London Eye, but it sure is amazing to see. xx Karen
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing trip this must have been...and I love that red bus, too. ox
ReplyDeleteFun with a walk with you around Westminister and Southbank! It look so strange not to be able to see much of Parliament and Big Ben... but nice they kept the clockface of Ben visible! We've never been up in the London Eye either... I don't like heights much, so it spooks me, though I love the idea of it and the view at the top. Where's my courage there?! ;) How wonderful to catch some music at Royal Festival Hall!! Pity your great view of the stage was blocked. :/ London at nights... sooo beautiful... *sigh*...
ReplyDeleteHello Jeanie, wonderful views of London. I like the night time photos, the lights are so pretty. The scaffolding reminds me I have a photo of Big Ben covered in scaffolding too, mine was from 1985. Fun times and great memories for you and Rick! Enjoy your day and have a happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteAnother fun adventure! For some reason riding in Ferris wheels really bothers me so I don’t go on them. I don’t get vertigo real easily but it definitely messes with my senses! Too bad the House of Parliament and Big Ben were under construction. Too bad your view to see and hear the Philharmonic orchestra was so challenged but at lest you got to improve on it later on. The evening pictures are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteJeanie!!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Absolutely stunning photos!! Thanks so much for taking us along on your trip!! Thanks too for taking the time to stop by and visit and to comment!! Especially on my post about Blogging!! I just realized that I was not following you! How could that be! A few years ago when I had to start a new blog because my old one got hacked, I lost all y followers and everything got a bit screwed up. I am now following you and added you to my Blog Roll which I still use and love!!
Have a great weekend!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Jeanie, I always love seeing Westminster Abbey and Big Ben (but not in scaffolding). I would love to go up in “The Eye”, but I am not crazy about heights. I enjoyed another lovely post from London!
ReplyDeleteSo excited to see your London posts today, Jeanie! My seven hours in London was NOT nearly enough! I cracked up at all the little things you put in here... Blasted tall people! They ALWAYS sit infront of you at a concert/play, etc. ;) The information on the Festival of Britain is really interesting!
ReplyDeleteWhen my brother Gene and his wife Linnea took my kids and myself to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, we went in a number of antique shops and one in particular had a war museum in its basement area. Very nice! In case you ever get over that way during your England travels. I picked up some WWI postcards for my husband (who collects war/military memorabilia) there and took a bunch of photos. When they are out of hock from storage, I'll write up a post or two from then. :)
Happy Friday and I hope you are keeping warm up north. This weekend is supposed to be a whopper. Heading to the teens ourselves here in North Central Texas. p.s. Our offer was accepted on the second house and we will move in Feb. 28th.
Hugs,
Barb :)
So many famous buildings to see. I think London is lovely and to go to a concert was a brilliant idea. Love all the photos. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about your adventures!
ReplyDeleteYou sure do know how to get the most from your travels! I found it very interesting. I didn't know Westminster Abby was so beautiful! So interesting about the Suffragists verses the other.
ReplyDeleteI got queasy just looking at that ride in the sky!
What a great trip you and Rick must have enjoyed. I loved each and every pic and will go back for another look. On our trips to London we always enjoyed riding buses, you get to see so much whereas the Underground is fast but you miss seeing so much. I think Rick's plan was great, except for the blocked view! We went to Evensong at St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey. Also the 11:00 AM service. Wow, thinking about this trip and seeing your photos has me wanting to return. I just hate everything had scaffolding!
ReplyDeleteWow - I bet you were tired at the end of that day - lots of walking about and sightseeing. I had to smile at the"obstructions" at the Philharmonic. Bob and I heard the Philharmonic play at Red Rocks with James Taylor. It was wonderful - both setting and music.
ReplyDeleteComments from so very many people. Love it as usual. Too bad you couldn't record the concert! Love toyou both.
ReplyDeleteWow, so many interesting sites to see in London. Love that ferris wheel picture! Westminster Abbey is so grand. I remember reading about that place in all the old magazines about Diana. That is a cool picture of the RED bus. And a great picture of Rick. The burgers and beer sound GOOD!
ReplyDelete~Sheri
I'm still enjoying your trip, Jeanie. That London Eye looks fascinating but a bit intimidating. I barely made it up the Seattle Space Needle, so don't think I could do that either..Happy Weekend..Judy
ReplyDeleteA concert sounds just perfect. We also attended evensong there on our last trip. The Eye hardly felt like it was moving. Actually because I do like wild ride I was a bit disappointed, but the view was wonderful. Fascinating to come across a protest too. It always makes traveling most interesting to have these surprises.
ReplyDeleteI think I read they are rewiring and replumbing all of Parliament House, and generally giving it a good spit and polish outside.
ReplyDelete