Decked out for the Holidays

Oxford Street

One of the great things about visiting London during the holiday season is seeing the City decked out in lights and festive decorations.  One of the best places to see this is the Oxford Street/Regent Street shopping area.  We were able to maneuver through the throngs of shoppers and revelers out on a Monday night to snap a few pictures.

Carnaby Street

Regent Street

Carnaby Side Street

Tower Bridge & Thames River Cruise

Tower Bridge seen from our Thames River Cruise

The Tower Bridge spans the River Thames adjacent to the Tower of London and is the city's most famous and iconic bridge.  The drawbridge raises and lowers for ships and other large boats to pass while the walkways across the top allow for great views up and down the river.  As with the majority of London bridges, you can walk as well as drive across (the Millennium Bridge is pedestrian-only).  Many people picture this bridge when they hear the name London Bridge and the song London Bridge is Falling Down.  However, London Bridge is a much plainer bridge.  The old London Bridge was dismantled and sold to American Robert McCulloch who had it shipped to the United States and

London Eye

reconstructed in Lake Havasu, Arizona where it stands today.  Legend has it he thought he was purchasing the Tower Bridge, but he supposedly denied that to be the case.

We took a Thames River Cruise in order to see the city from a different vantage point.  From the river, we got excellent views of the Tower Bridge.  Mona and I walked across Tower Bridge, exploring the areas on both sides so we only sailed from Tower Pier to Westminster Pier next to Parliament.  Mom did the full cruise experience and sailed up to Greenwich from Tower Pier and then all the way back to Westminster.  During our cruise we got great views of the London Eye, the Customs House, the Tate Modern, and many other buildings too numerous to mention.

Selfie outside Westminster Abbey after
the organ recital.

We capped off our Sunday evening with a visit to Westminster Abbey for a free organ recital.  Although we were not able to tour at that time, it was nice to be inside and listen to such a grand organ in a glorious space.  This year's current organ scholar Jeremy Woodside played for 30 minutes. His first piece was actually an arrangement of Sleigh Ride -- certainly not what I was expecting to hear - and the other two were 20th century classical pieces I was not familiar with but were enjoyable.  The finale was just what you wanted to hear -- loud and sustained so you could experience the fullness of the space and reverberation of the sound once the piece concluded.  A nice way to cap our Sunday night in London.

Tower of London

Tower of London along the River Thames
as seen from the Tower Bridge

The Tower of London is probably best known today as the location where the Crown Jewels are kept.   However, throughout history it has been used as a royal residence, a prison, a place of execution, and even the royal mint.  The Tower is actually a castle and is considered to be one of the Historic Royal Palaces just like Hampton Court or Kensington.  Built by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest of London in 1066, it is a complex of several buildings surrounded by a double perimeter wall and a double moat, although one moat is dry today.  You can read a much better description about its history here.

Given the crowds we've been experiencing, we decided to visit the Tower of London right when they opened on Sunday morning at 10:00am.  I booked the tickets online the night before so we wouldn't have to stand in the ticket queue, and that turned out to be the right call.  We arrived a few minutes before 10 and after picking up the tickets at the Group Ticket window and bypassing the long lines waiting to purchase tickets, we were able to get in the queue waiting to enter the castle.  Bryan - 1, Crowd - 0.  

Where the Crown Jewels are stored

Mom's top priority for visiting the Tower of London was to see the Crown Jewels.  I suggested we do that first before the crowds built up.  Outside the building where the jewels are stored is a Disney World-style maze of stanchions and pipe that lead you in a zig zag pattern that makes you feel like the line is never going to end.  There was not a soul in that area and we walked right into the building.  Bryan - 2, Crowd - 0.

As we walked through the area where the crown jewels are kept, we learned about their history and use.  We saw coronation crowns, scepters, maces, plates, and the largest punch bowl I have ever seen -- over a meter wide and deep enough to hold 144 bottles of wine.  I'm not sure they still actually use the punch bowl because it looks like it weighs a ton and must be a pain to keep polished.  Unfortunately, they don't allow you to take pictures so I don't have any to share here.

Mom with a couple of Yeoman Warders,
more commonly referred to as Beefeaters

Once we finished seeing the crown jewels and exited the building, the Disney World-style line maze was completely full of people.  By the time we were finished with our visit, the line left that area and went down to the other end of the complex and doubled back upon itself.  If I had to guess, it would have been a minimum of a two hour if not three hour wait to see the Crown Jewels.  Bryan - 3, Crowd - 0.

Mona and I also toured and climbed through the various floors of the White Tower which is where the Tower of London gets its name.  We saw many displays of armament  and weaponry used throughout the centuries.  There is also a small chapel on the top floor that had a very simple elegance to it.  We even got roped into joining a group of reenactors who were demonstrating Christmas customs and traditions from the Norman period.  All in all a great visit on a very crowded day.  Who says you can't beat the crowd?

Best laid plans . . . . .

We're really enjoying our apartment on Pitt Street in Kensington.  One of the reasons we picked it is because it's only a short five minute walk to the Kensington High Street tube station.  We're using the tube and bus system extensively while we're here as it's extremely convenient to get around and visit all of the places we want to see, or so we thought .......

They are doing a lot of construction work during the "festive period" which wasn't being advertised when we made our housing arrangements.  Fortunately the Notting Hill Gate tube station is close by and served by a different line.  All of the buses that serve our neighborhood stop there, so we can hop on any of them and be there in 5 minutes.  Thank goodness for that.

London at Night

During our jaunt to the Tate Modern, we traveled by St. Paul's Cathedral and across the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames.  A couple of my favorite shots --

St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge seen from the Tate Modern

St. Paul's Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge

Art at the Tate Modern

After dinner Saturday night, Mom decided to rest up so Mona and I went out to visit the Tate Modern which is open until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays.  As the name implies, the Tate features modern art, from the works of Picasso and Salvador Dali to living artists with whom we're not familiar.  With apologies to my artist friends and art aficionados, I've divided this into Art I could Do/Why is this Art? and Art I Can Appreciate.  All of these are currently on display at the Tate Modern.

Art I Could Do/Why is this Art?

 
Why is air conditioning duct or random squiggly painting renowned art that is exhibited at a prestigious museum?  Wood painted in a multi-colored block pattern?  I think I could do these.


Art I Can Appreciate

The Three Dancers by Pablo Picasso

While abstracts don't appeal to everyone, I certainly appreciate their artistic merit.  They say one man's junk is another man's treasure.  Can the same be said for art?

Variation on the Form of an Anchor
by Tristram Hillier

British Museum

Rosetta Stone

After the Portobello Market, we decided to finish our afternoon at the British Museum.  Of all the museums we've been able to visit, this is probably one of our favorites.  Where else can you see the Rosetta Stone,  Egyptian mummies, ancient Greek and Roman artifacts that pre-date Christ, a giant head from Easter Island, and samurai armor from medieval Japan?  Best of all,

Portland Vase -- Roman glass vase circa
25 BC - 15 AD 

it's free.  The building is enormous, and you easily can lose track of time wandering from gallery to gallery.  Even though we've been before, we only scratched the surface during our visit, so maybe we can find time to
return before we leave London.

Easter Island Statue Hoa Hakananai'a