Weekend in London

I was on leave for 3 days two weeks ago and so G and I decided to spent two nights in London. Pete Beaumont graciously allowed us to crash at his spot in New Malden, a suburb of London. We trained in on Thursday and started our sight seeing at the Tower of London.

The Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) impressed us with their knowledge of the history of the fortress, and recalled stories of Henry VIII, his many wives and the unfortunate souls who were imprisoned in the tower only to eventually loose their heads via block and axe on Tower Hill. Two of Henry's wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard apparently were executed here.

We checked out the Crown Jewels. These are very impressive and warranted security guards armed with something a little more serious than stories and legends. The Scepter with the Cross holds the Cullinan I diamond, or the Great Star of Africa, which weighs in at ~106 g and is the 2nd biggest diamond in the world. One has to stand on a conveyor belt which whisks you past the jewels, so you don't really get a chance to stand a stare, but fortunately the guards don't mind you going around the escalator 10 times.

A toilet in the White Tower. It leads straight out to the exterior walls of the building... a little drafty!

After walking, walking and more walking, we walked to China Town for supper. Its was great.. really festive and buzzing.

Crispy duck must be very popular as almost every restaurant had a couple of them hanging around. Some also had whole fried/baked squid in the windows (the yellow thing).

Then we took a walk along the southbank of the Thames. Beautiful.

Gaylene lovingly sacrificed day 2, and allowed me to indulge in the Natural History and the Science museums. One day though is just not nearly enough time (could spend two days in each one) but it was excellent.

Main hall of the Natural History Museum

The entrance to the "Through the centre of the earth" display takes you.... through the centre of the earth.

The "Rocket", the famous steam locomotive, in the Science Musuem.

Once we were all 'museumed-out', we continued with the sight-seeing via the Royal Albert Hall, and...

Kensington Palace. That night we met up with Mark and Mary-Ann.

and the Day 3 was spent in London with them seeing more sights. Here the ladies take a short break from their nattering to pose for a pick.

We started off with a walk around Borough Market. I love this place... such a buzz, and incredible array of foods.

Brownie tower anyone!

Fresh rabbits and hog hanging on the right.

The Tate Modern Art Gallery has this display on a the moment called 'Shibboleth'. Its a 100m+ long crack built into the main gallery floor. Through this piece the artist is apparently "addressing a long legacy of racism and colonialism that underlies the modern world. A 'shibboleth' is a custom, phrase or use of language that acts as a test of belonging to a particular social group or class. By definition, it is used to exclude those deemed unsuitable to join the group." So the crack is apparently a metaphor for a wide range of social issues far too complicated for me to appreciate. What I could appreciate though was my wife's comment... "this cracks me up".