This website is mostly to help me remember where I've been
--when I get too old to remember on my own!  :-)
 

      
 You should be able
      to drag any picture on this website to your desktop and open/print
      it.


      
This will produce a MUCH
      larger picture, nice for finer details.

From June 22, through July 22, 2004, I had the pleasure of "residing" in the UK. My journey started 
uneventfully enough with a United flight from San Diego (2 p.m. departure) through Chicago to Heathrow in 
London (arrival 11:10 A.M.). I took the Heathrow Express train (65£) which is a direct, non-stop 15-minute
ride directly to Paddington station--the end of the line. [The monitary exchange rate at this time is rather
poor, taking about $1.93 U.S. to make 1 British pound (£).]

After the long flight I was glad to be able to walk, and I was determined to travel on foot for most of my 
stay not just as a form of exercise, but to expose myself to the city/landscape as much as possible.

Forty five minutes of dragging my single, carry-on sized suitcase landed me at my hotel, the Ridgemount, at 
65 Gower Street, (45£/night including English Breakfast) virtually around the corner from the Goodge Street 
Tube on Tottenham Court Road and 2 blocks from the British Museum.

For the first 7 days I wandered afoot about the streets 
of London,visiting landmarks and Museums, snapping 
photos,and just hanging out in general.  

The picture to the left is the London Eye, 457 feet 
(137m) tall; 32 class capsules each holding 25 people.


The view from up there is magnificent--on a clear day
anyway, which I was fortunate enough to encounter on 
the day I took my "flight."  In this shot you can see
the proximity to Westminster and "Big Ben" just across
Westminister bridge form the Dali museum and London Eye.

It might interest one to know that "Big Ben" actually
refers to the bells within the clock tower, not the 
clock itself.















Central on the skyline in the picture to right (which I
took from the Eye) is the 620 foot tall BT Tower and 
just across the river is Charing Cross Station with a 
river bridge straddled on both sides by a really
impressive pair of pedestrian bridges. 
[Hungerford Bridge--below]




The Millennium Bridge (below)is a pedestrian walkway leading across
the Thames toward St. Paul's Cathedral, designed in 1675 by Sir
Christopher Wren after the great fire of London destroyed half the
City.




As one travels downriver this interesting building can be seen 
virtually at river's edge.  Also seen on a a river walk is the 
Swiss Re Tower, aka "The Gherkin" shown below rising on the skyline
behind the Tower of London.












Seen below is the White tower building,
part of the Tower of London.  The Crown 
Jewels are located in the Tower, which is
replete with interesting history, stories
of beheadings (Lady Jane Grey (17) and
Anne Boleyn among them)



Below is a model of the Tower of London grounds, pretty much as it
has been for hundreds of years. I took a lot of shots, but this
model is a pretty good summary, all in all.  Do visit the Tower
and take the tour given by one of the 35 Yoeman Warders who
actually live in the tower with their families.













The "Big Bus Company," whose buses are seen
all over the city has a great tour deal. You
pay one price and can hop on and off the bus
wherever you want for 24 hours. A river tour
is included in the price of the ticket, so
if you time it right, you can spend half a 
day on the river, going to the "Barrier" and
allowing plenty of time to visit the National
Maritime Museum at Greenwich. The two pictures to the right, below, are of the Zero Degree Meridian, established 
in the 1600's.



Out of courtesy to those unfortunate individuals who still have only dialup internet connection --
page loading time can take a while for them when a page is full of pictures-- I'm going to move on to 
the next page. Just click the arrow....