london

London is a great international and all too British city but the crowds!

I stayed in Kensington (Park International) a good hotel in a convenient but not overly crowded area. A couple of interesting places to eat a nice polish place La Daqoise for potato pancakes and The Muffin Man for breakfast and tea(coffee). You're only a quick tube trip away from most parts of London.

There are too many books about London life but I ended up with a newer book by Nick Hornby who wrote High Fidelity. A Long Way Down is about 4 people in London who meet while planning to jump off a building. Not nearly as depressing as it sounds these four characters show different parts of life in London. And Hornby who wrote "About a Boy" manages to bring comic relief in along the way.

The center of London's tourist, theater, and other night life Piccadilly Circus wiki is lovingly lorded over by Eros and surrounded by neon signs ala Times Square. Why called a circle because it's a circular open space at a road junction, better than calling it the Piccadilly roundabout.

Eros over Piccadilly

What is Eros aka Cupid doing in staid old London - he's not. It's a statue of his twin brother Anteros the god of selfless love - it was statue dedicated to charity.
However that's a fact that clearly the crowds of young locals and tourists are blissfully unaware of and are looking up to Eros for guidance for the night in swinging London.

Speaking of night life, I saw the comedy "49 Steps" a light spoof of the early Hitchcock film. They play around with intentionally cheap props such as running in place on top of boxes to simulate a train top chase. It's jolly good fun.

On the darker side, I saw Patrick Stewart as Macbeth. A dark dingy WW II bunker is the stage and this time the captain of the enterprise and the x-men goes down into the darkness. The London press which has seen more versions of Macbeth than I have raved about it. I loved the witches rapping. Also did a nighttime London Walk on Jack the Ripper but the group was so big it was split into three groups all of which were too big. And skip Pompidou for desert too much cost too little flavor.

I didn't get to any hot new London clubs because I was too busy seeing the Richard Thompson band at the roundhouse. A newly redone stage from the sixties with one of longest lasting singer songwriter guitarist from that era. He played several songs from his new album and had the crowd going crazy.

I also John Hiatt solo at the Barbicon a modern fancy theater in a rougher area. The audience so polite. I saw three concerts in England and the crowds only got excited when they were forced to stand at the Roundhouse. On the the bright side they were not as obnoxious as some American audiences but also not as much fun.

Portobello is the famous street market selling antiques and tourist items. There are several markets throughout London. Camden Market for one aims for a hipper but still touristy ambiance.





The British museum has a great exhibit on the Enlightenment in a extra long library styled room they traced the development of enlightenment from the classification of knowledge through the change that made us base our awareness on what could be found and tested. There were also tons of cool artifacts and weird stuff (technical terms).

Also check out Ciao Bella a very popular family run Italian restaurant.

St James Park stretching from Buckingham Palace towards Trafalgar Square, just one of the great parks in town.

Watching the crowds watching the guard

I was on tourist duty watching the crowds watching the guards watching the crowds, it looks like stressful duty standing and having your picture taken with all manner of tourists.




I watched a part of the 202nd anniversary celebration of the Battle of Trafalgar and watched cadets parade in front of dignitaries while the band played.

Westminster Abbey

London's Canals

I didn't know that London had a canal system but it has been cleaned up and renovated. People fish in it, live on it, live near it boat shaped buildings, walk, jog, and bike along it. A great escape from the crowds and traffic.

If you're lucky you'll get to watch a boat cross through because the locks are unmanned. When your boat reaches the lock,
you must enter the lock, close the gates and change the water level, and then open the lock yourself.

London Tours had a special tour walking past the London Canal museum, along the Regents Canal, and ending up at Camden Locks. wiki

Big Ben

Crack in the Tate

First it was London Bridge falling down and now the new Tate Modern Museum has a crack in its floor. Well actually this one was designed by the artist Louise Bourgeois. It's great fun, you can stick your foot in the crack, just stare at in wonder, or watch everyone's reaction to it.

Another tourist

London is a very international city welcoming people from all parts of the world and now it seems from parts unknown.

As I said the crack in the Tate was very popular - everyone wanted to see it.

Walking Millennium Bridge at Night

London spruced up for the Millenium with a new walking bridge and the eye.

The Eye

The eye is nice but not worth the long wait. The best part of the visit was eating at Wagamama a very popular chain of Japenese ramen noodles restaurants - served quickly on communal tables with attitude. The food was great. The Strada Italian chain next door isn't bad either.

Inside the Eye

Top of the Eye

One of the most famous roads in the world and an obligatory stop - Abbey Road.

Sunset on Londons Alberts Monument

Even though the sun has set on Victoria and Albert's England world power it's still chasing the moon with a mixture of classic British culture, British kitsch, and an international flair.

Chasing the Moon

Return to UK