Posts Tagged: walk the city
Welcome to London
Big Ben in the morning.
So, as I mentioned previously, I took the tube to Westminster. I walked out of the station and looked up at good old Big Ben, shining gloriously in the morning sun. That was pretty exciting in itself. I walked along the Thames a bit, marveled at the London Eye (ferris wheel on steroids), and generally walked in circles touching on Horse Guards, Downing St, WWII memorial, and so on.
I came back out onto Parliament St and noticed more activity in a crowd gathered there. This turned out to be another day of protest by Sri Lankans demanding a cease fire between the Tamil Tiger rebels and the Government.
Crowds with signs outside Parliament.
Pretty quickly, the mass had spilled out on to the street, chanting “We want, cease fire!” and the police piled in to push them back. But before long the throng pushed police lines back and it was chaos. The police reformed a line half a block back. But then a commander came and I heard him say, “They must not reach Parliament. It must not be breached!” as he order the line off the street, effectively abandoning the streets to the marchers in order to defend the House of Commons and Parliament.
Police get pushed back as protesters break through lines.
Before too long reinforcements showed up with wagons and blocked the streets with vehicles. I stayed around too shoot for awhile, but eventually thought it was time to do some more conventional sightseeing.
Arriving in London
Earl's Court, 2009 London Book Fair
Sarah and i have arrived in London for the London Book Fair. Well, she’s arrived for that. I have arrived to accompany her while traveling and enjoy the city for three days. The flight was uneventful and as pleasant as nine hours in a confined space can possibly be. We are flying British Air. The food was fine, and we had decent red Bordeaux with dinner.
We rode the underground straight from Heathrow to Earl’s Court station, a stone’s throw from our hotel, the Barkston Gardens Hotel. After dropping off our bags and freshening up, we headed out for a stroll and then to a pub for dinner and ale. Photos and more details coming soon.
London is even more wonderful than I remember it. The first morning after arriving, I got up with Sarah, and we went down to continental breakfast in the hotel. From my perspective, the best thing about this breakfast is the toast. Soon after the server seats you, she brings you several triangles of toast, hot, unbuttered and standing on edge in a cute little rack. For a toast fiend such as myself this is quite a treat. Naturally, there is quite an assortment of condiments. The rest of the continental breakfast is fine but not particularly interesting.
Afterwards, I walked Sarah to Earl’s Court for the London Book Fair, and went on my way for the day’s exploration. I should mention right off that the weather here is just unbelievable right now, sunny and about 68 degrees, perfect for long walks in the city. I took the tube from Earl’s Court to Westminster. I walked out of the tube station and straight into view of Big Ben. I walked about taking some photos and started off in the direction of St James’s Park. But before I got far, something caught my eye. I will go into that, along with other details I’ve skipped, in the next post. Right now, I have to get back out into the city for day 2!
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