After the show ended, I had a final day in London, perhaps my last, who knows, before flying out to Athens on Saturday. After a slow start, I had seen most of what I wanted to see, but today was the final wrap up. Westminister Abbey and the British Museum. I’m talk about the British Museum in a future post, but today is all about the Abbey. The place amazed me the first time I came here, oh so many years ago. And now the amazement continues. It’s as though time has stood still for over a millennia since it’s completion on 1060 AD. Like St. Paul’s, the staff at…
Bit’s and Pieces
We’re going to be a bit of a mish mash today. There are a number of images collected during the time Oceanology was ongoing. Some, here, some there, a few odds and ends: ExCel Center: Oceanology is held at the ExCel Center every other year, except for 2020. You know all about that by now. Typically I stay somewhere mid-London and then take the appropriate tube line to meet up with the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) system, which heads East from London. ExCel Center is at the Custom House stop, which puts you literally at the main entrance. You can go one stop further, which I did the first time…
St. Paul’s Cathedral
In 2020, when this trip was initially scheduled, I had booked to entries into St. Paul’s Cathedral, one for me and one for Melanie. As we have discussed, that trip didn’t happen, so when it came time to organize this trip, I looked at seeing if I could use the passes. There wasn’t anything of note on the website about the topic, so I sent an e-mail into the contact address on the site. It took a week or, but they responded and simply said I could use the passes that were originally sent out at any time, including the extra’s we had paid for. With only one minor exception…
the Eye
I’ve been to London numerous times now, and I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for “the Eye“, or more precisely “The London Eye”…. The amusing part is it’s been owned/sponsored by a different entity virtually every time I have visited, which is admittedly every 2 years (except for that blasted Covid thing). Currently, lastminute.com is the name to grace the wonderful attraction. Can’t help but wonder who will be the next one. Anyway, after leaving the home of the world’s most famous detective, I made my way across London for my 1700 booking on the The Eye. When Melanie and I were scheduled to come over in 2020, I had…
221b Baker Street
So, from last time, after wandering around in the rain for a bit, fruitlessly searching for one of the London Landmarks with an open booking schedule, I refocused my search a little closer to where I was. And there it was, 221b Baker Street, the “home” of the worlds most famous (imaginary) detective, Sherlock Holmes. Being a bit of a Holmes aficionado, I headed in that direciton. It was a few short blocks away, and the first thing I noticed what that there was an extended queue (line, for those non-Anglophiles) waiting to enter. Dang. Right next door is the “London Beatles Store”, albeit obviously for sale…: Being a Beatles…
Portobello Road
Way back, when I was in college, the last summer before graduation, I decided to do a study abroad session courtesy of the UNO Innsbruck International Summer School. This is a 7 week summer school program in Innsbruck, Austria. I was in need of 2 courses of “fine arts” to complete my engineering degree, and this seemed like a great way to get that done. As part of the study program, they were offering a 3 week tour starting in London, heading down through Paris, across through Pisa and finally winding up in Innsbruck. So the summer began with a plane ride to London with the 40 or so other…