Moving Fast Around London!

1. Hello people!

Started out bright and early yesterday! First on the list was coffee! Loaded up a huge Americano, and the race was on….

Buckingham Palace: 

Walking up from the Victoria Station Starbucks, here’s a close up of the surrounding exterior wall. Lots of Brick and mortar.

Once I got around to the front entrance, the grand scope of the building came into view…

 

 

 

Here are a few shots from the front architecture, and statues. The detail and workmanship is pretty awesome up close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, the guards were on patrol. See the video on Facebook. I wasn’t too sure if I could take video of these Dudes….so I snapped a quick pic of some coppers through the open gate…

Really impressive stuff!

If you go back to the map at the top of this blog, the front of the Castle is at the east side.

 

 

 

 

Moving on…

It was a stones throw away to The Churchill War Rooms, so I scooped a big fat cigar and did the tourist thing. (The Map is reversed)

 

 

 

Interesting enough, it was only down one level of stairs. I thought the rooms would be at a lower depth, but the only things lower were a section of the sleeping quarters. I took a few shot of figures portraying different roles, but the mechanical devices, guns, maps and other items were all authentic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soldiers sleeping quarters below, and here’s the main meeting room. And let’s not forget about the rationing….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, the entire main space that is open to the public was “small”, compared to the vast tunnels connecting the underground movement. That being said, with the sounds of war in the background, I thought it was a fantastic display and tour to get a taste of the hard times.

Onward and upward, I shuffled over to Westminster Abby.

What a magnificent building! Inside and out. FYI, once inside, hats off!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots to see and discover. If you want a full write up of each, I recommend using Wikipedia. It’s very thorough, and I used it to read up on before I wandered in.

 

After I rolled out from the Abby, I leaped over to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Another magnificent building.

FYI One cannot take pictures inside. Lots of tombs. Amazing sculptures and detailed architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this time, the day was quickly getting on, so I walked across the nearest bridge towards the London Eye (big Ferris Wheel), to view it up close in the daytime…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course…Big Ben under construction…and………the “secret door”

leading out of MI6…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

……from the last few James Bond Movies.

And that concluded the day. Twelve hours of wandering…epic! The weather held out for the most part.

I thought I’d add a shot from the train platform, because it is amazing to look at, and quite vast!

 

 

Tomorrow will be epic too. In the morning, Abby Road Studios, then the National War Museum. After that, I’m really looking to top off my Northward jaunt to Liverpool with a surprise………..I’ll be staying at the hotel that has been converted from being the family home of (the 5th Beatle) Stuart Sutcliffe.

Stay tuned.

Take care..