Our London Vacation
Over this past Christmas holiday my wife Krista and I went to London. It was a trip we’d been planning for a long time, and originally it was going to be not only London, but also Paris. Then, somewhere down the line, we thought adding Rome to the itinerary would be a good idea. The Rome decision was reversed soon after, and eventually Paris was nixed as well (too many other things needed to be done here at home to take more than a week off). The vacation was almost canceled, though, when the cabin workers’ union for British Airways voted to strike over the Christmas and New Years time frame. Luckily for us and our trip, the British government stepped in and said they couldn’t strike. Now, several weeks later, I’ve finally gotten around to posting up some pictures. This batch represents barely a fraction of the photos I took, but I think they represent the highlights without boring you. So, here we go. I hope you enjoy…
This is my wife standing in front of the hotel we stayed at. I booked the place because I wanted something… authentic, not commercial or big business. After a day of climbing stairs and not having 24/7 access to vending machines and ice, not to mention a broken door to a balcony we would have liked to use, I was ready to head to the nearest Radison.
Here we are at the Tower of London, with Tower Bridge just over Krista’s shoulder. I love taking pictures of her, and getting a nice snap of the bridge was a bonus.
Here’s the Tower of London. I’m not here to give you a history lesson, but I will say that it was fascinating to walk around. Here in America we think we have history, but we’re really just children compared to places like this.
Most of our traveling around London was done via the Underground, also called the Tube. All things considered, we didn’t have any trouble with it. Most areas are clearly marked, and I don’t know if we ever spent more than fifteen or twenty minutes getting from one place to another. We only took cabs when we were either too tired to make it to a tube station, or during Christmas when the subway system was shut down.
Something you constantly hear in the Underground is, “Always remember to…”
Here is the outside of the British Museum. It’s a really nice museum, and completely free. I took loads of pictures inside it, but I’ll only post a couple.
This is something Krista really wanted to see – the Rosetta Stone. Seeing it in person was remarkable.
I just thought this was pretty. It’s Aphrodite taking a bath from water in a vase. It looks so soft, which I guess is the artist’s gift to the stone.
One day we went walking around Hyde Park, and the Memorial Fountain for Princess Diana was there. This is Krista taking a brief rest there. It was a nice place to sit and enjoy the park.
“Look, kids, Big Ben…”
Buckingham Palace was closed, which was a bummer. Looks like a pretty swank pad.
Here is Krista and I standing at the gate for Buckingham Palace.
This is just one of the many outside shots I took of Westminster Abbey, and it does not do the place justice. It is an amazingly beautiful building.
Here’s another shot.
This isn’t the original Globe Theatre (it burned down a long time ago), but it is as close a recreation as is possible. I think Shakespeare is one of the greatest literary minds in the history of mankind, and being able to absorb some of his atmosphere was wonderful.
Here’s the inside of the Globe. Not a bad seat in the place. I’d *LOVE* to see a play performed there.
Great shots, Justin! Looks like you two had a grand ol’ time. Krista is lovely, BTW, you must be doing something right.
–JMc
Thanks, John. I think so too. Now if only she’d think it.