Thursday, November 09, 2006
Walking around London
Last night we had an evening free of either travel or pressing commitments, and since my colleague had never been here before we walked around London, stopping at a different pub roughly every mile or so.
We are staying at the Landmark Hotel on Marylbone Road near Regents Park, and began our journal by walking down Baker Street to Oxford Street, the center of London's shopping district, and then right on Regent Street toward Piccadilly Circus. Americans will be relieved to know that we are not the only people who commercialize Christmas long before anybody in their right mind wants to be thinking about it:
These flashing blue banners ran the entire length of Regent Street. It is at once garish and impressive, in a Christo-esque sense.
At Trafalgar Square my colleague honored Lord Nelson (at this point having stopped at two of the four pubs we would visit on this journey):
From there we walked down Whitehall Street and crossed Westminster Bridge in the shadow of Parliament, which really is beautiful at night:
If that's not a reason to defend the West, I don't know what is.
Finally, we crossed back over the Thames to Buckingham Palace. Here's your blogger at a little after 9 pm last night, three pubs into the evening (which explains the wobbly camera, I'm sure).
We took a cab back up to the Regents Park area where we visited a fourth pub and finally got some food, but the photography was pretty much done at that point.
I'm going to be in meetings all day and then have to fly to Lyon, so this may be my last post until Thursday evening. Consider it an open thread to do (civil) battle on a subject of your choosing.
9 Comments:
By 
, at
Thu Nov 09, 08:25:00 AM:
I hope you dropped on on Sherlock at 221b Baker Street.
By 
lilfeathers2000, at
Thu Nov 09, 10:03:00 AM:
What a grand walk you took.
Blessings
By , at
Thu Nov 09, 10:24:00 AM:
There you will always know the time bucuase of BIG BEN and its four clock faces and happy visits to 221-B Baker Street ELEMENTARY MY DEAR WATSON
By MrSurly, at
Thu Nov 09, 11:38:00 AM:
London is by far my favorite overseas destination and, as you no doubt know, is a city with many terrific walks. It's unfortunate you did not have more time to visit Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms, something every visitor to London should see once. It's facinating to see how Churchill's government functioned while under siege in WWII. There's also a map of the Atlantic which was used to show the movement of ship convoys between the U.S. and Britain. The North Atlantic is a sea of tiny holes, each hole representing a convoy of supply ships. It's an amazing visual display of the U.S. committment to the Allies durng WWII.
By , at
Thu Nov 09, 03:06:00 PM:
Those double decker buses always fasinated me i mean just think how many passangers they can carry. ENGLAND SWINGS LIKE A PENDULEM DO.BOBBIES ON BICYCLES 2 BY 2.WESTMINSTER ABBIE, THE TOWERS OF BIG BEN,THE ROSIE RED CHEEKS ON THE LITTLE CHILDREN
By Assistant Village Idiot, at
Thu Nov 09, 11:59:00 PM:
London is no longer my favorite foreign destination.
But you should have asked for advice, TH. In that area you could have gone to the Golden Eagle pub and sung old songs around the piano. When I was last there we did a medley of WWII songs.
By Cardinalpark, at
Fri Nov 10, 12:48:00 PM:
By , at
Sat Nov 11, 02:48:00 PM:
I guess you also got to see the TOWER OF LONDON its said to be huanted espeialy by the ghost of ANNE BOLINE and the RAVENS they keep there
By TigerHawk, at
Sun Nov 12, 05:14:00 PM:
