Views around London

Summer/Fall 2002

Here are various things I've seen walking all over London...

Dave and I went to Royal Albert Hall to see Swan Lake ballet performance. Royal Albert Hall is right in front of Kensington Gardens and just blocks from our flat.

Royal Courts of Justice designed in 1874 for the Supreme Court of Judicature.

Temple Bar marks the limits of the City of London - - According to custom, "When the sovereign is about to enter the city in state, whether by Temple Bar or elsewhere, the Lord Mayor presents the sword of the city to him and he at once returns it."

Court building at Old Bailey - - Originally built in 1673 as an open air courtroom, it was destroyed in The Great Fire in 1666. Since then it was remolded/reconstructed several times. The current building was opened in 1907 and remains as London's principal criminal court. It hears cases remitted from all over England and Wales.

Monument of the Great Fire - - Built in 1671-1677 to commemorate the fire which started in a bakery on Sept. 2, 1666. This monument is 202 feet tall, which is the distance eastward to the exact point which the fire started.

London Old City Wall - - There aren't very many traces of the original city wall left. Built by the Romans during the second century, the wall was 2 miles long and 18 feet high. The Museum of London, which is next to the remains of the wall, explains the history of London from the Romans to present day.

British Museum - - Since different people come to visit me, I've been to the British Museum a couple of times. It's such a huge museum with a wide variety of things to see. There is an egyptian, north american, asian, and african section which are all great!

Waterloo Station Area and The South Bank - - After meeting Dave for lunch, I went across the Blackfriars Bridge to see the South Bank and walked south all the way down to Westminster. This is a very touristy area with shops, London Aquarium, and the London Eye.

London Eye - - You can see the London Eye as you walk all over London. It takes about 30 minutes for a full rotation in one of the observation pods. They are actually quite large clear oval pods that could hold about 25 people in each. Reaching to 135 meters above the skyline, it gives great views of London!!!

Wintertime with Dave in London - -Shortly after Christmas, while I was still in Texas, it snowed in London. Dave and a couple of the guys from the office went on top of the roof for afternoon of work.... snowman 101

Another interesting place we visited was Greenwich, home of The Cutty Sark, The National Maritime Museum, and the Old Royal Observatory. I really enjoyed seeing the Royal Observatory! Built in 1675 by Sir Christopher Wren (founded by Charles II), it lies on top of a hill overlooking River Thames and London. The building now houses a museum full of chronometers and telescopes, telling the history of man's quest for "global positioning"! This observatory marks the Greenwich Meridian (zero degrees longitude). There is an orange ball on top of the building which was dropped every day (and still is today) to signal to sailors when it was 1pm. I don't have pictures, but they do have a good website at www.nmm.ac.uk

The End

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