The weather outside is frightful–cold and rainy, typical London.
Steve had to work today; so, I got up and had the Small British Breakfast this morning. Not to worry, it too includes baked beans. I donned my raincoat, grabbed our Tube map and umbrella and headed off to Westminster. Popping out of the Tube we made our way down the South Bank and saw many fabulous sites to include: the National Theater, the Globe Theater, The Tate Museum of Modern Art, the Millennium Bridge, the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, the Clink Museum, the Golden Hinde1, the H.M.S. Belfast, City Hall, and the Design Museum–all on the South Bank. At the Design Museum, I purchased postcards for family and friends.
I crossed over the South Bank to the north side to see St. Paul’s Cathedral. Since the caretakers wanted £8 to visit inside of the cathedral, I decided not to take the time. Going from the South Bank to the north and back was particularly interesting. I liked the Millennium Bridge, a modern looking pedestrian-only bridge across the Thames. The rain was coming down and the wind at its worst when we crossed.
I enjoyed a hot tea at the Starbucks by the London Tower Bridge as I needed some napkins to dry off my camera lens. I was amused to learn that the London Bridge is rather plain and commonly mistaken for what is actually the Tower Bridge. I walked across the Tower Bridge and saw the largest portion of the old Roman Wall that once surrounded the City of London.
From the Tower of London, I made my way to Covent Garden. The market place there is delightful. One of the special treats was hearing a glorious soprano voice singing some of the greatest operatic arias off all time. I thought it unusual that the Market Place would pipe in such music. I soon learned it was a live singer accompanied by her portable CD player. She was entertaining diners in the hopes of selling CDs and collecting contributions.
As I milled about the Market Place, I stumbled upon a movie being filmed – picture attached above. I am very curious as to what the movie is about as one of the characters was made up somewhat like the Tinman on thee Wizard of Oz–completely silver. The shoot was taking place at one of the many small cafe’s at the Market Place.
Throughout my 3 days riding the Tube, I heard many different accomplished musicians performing–a delightful benefit of living in a large metropolitan area in which many of the professional musicians can not make a living without such supplements.
We had dinner at a British pub, the Zetland Arms, in Kensington. It seems that many pubs have colourful names which sport animals. However, I have no idea what a Zetland is. As you can see from my traditional dinner picture, the pub decor is rather unique and fun, typically dark and full of wood. To complete my taste of all things British, I ordered fish and chips with mushy green peas followed by a delicious serving of bread and butter pudding. Yummm. It was delicious. We had a good chat with a fellow named Iain. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with 3 contiguous vowels in his or her name.
The Golden Hinde was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as Pelican, but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden hind. ↩