One more weekend is over. Yesterday was a hectic day in office and so the delay. I do not know whether I will have to wait until I go back to Chennai and then write about it as the work is becoming more and more hectic.
I am too lucky to have sunny weekends in this winter, and that too in London! For those of you not heard of London weather, the best thing to compare with it is a woman's mind, you never know when it will change!
It was a new definition for me for the term 'sightseeing trip'. The London sightseeing trip costs £15. It includes a Thames cruise, which will otherwise cost £7. There a five starting points in the city and they go through five different routes. The difference is, a bus will start every 15 minutes from each of the starting points! The ticket is valid for 24
hours from the time you board the bus. Therefore, you can get down at any point, take your time, walk around, come back to the stop, and catch another one, which will be there for every 15 minutes! All are Double Deckers with open top decks! You have a map in your hands and a color code in the bus that distinguishes which route it takes. So, it is your day!
I reached Victoria station by 9:45 and took a red route bus, which covers most of the areas I wanted. I had taken one extra film roll along with my fresh loaded SLR and a recorder walkman. The DD passed through the London streets which are broad enough to contain the traffic, but narrow for me taking a snap of a building in full ! The most used term in the commentary was 'The oldest existing..' or 'The first ever...' and for every building there was something special ! It was a hard time for me resisting myself from taking snaps.
It went through one corner of Hyde Park. It was one of the places I walked through, last weekend and saw some small small crowds centred by a person standing on a platform or a milk tray ! I peeped in, but couldn't follow what was going on. Now I know what is it. This corner used to be a place for executions in olden days. This used to invite a huge crowd. It was a good entertainment for people to see a man's head been chopped off. Before being executed, he was allowed to give a last speech. So the man will air his views before death. The only restriction was he should not talk ill of the Royal family nor should use bad language.
Ages passed, people still come here to air their views. Anybody is allowed to speak on anything, and this area of the big Hyde Park is known as 'Speaker's corner'.
I got down in front of Big Ben by 11. Took enough snaps of Big Ben, the houses of Parliament, Westminster's Abbey (a famous church, where people like Sir Winston Churchill got married), and then decided to walk towards Trafalgar Square. On the way, I saw a crowd gathering near a street. I saw a group of schoolboys and girls in Scottish attire getting ready for a procession or march past. I went in to it and took some snaps of the little bagpipers and three girls gave a smiling pose to my camera! I was feeling like real professional paparazzi! I walked with the parade for sometime and then took a turn when it came to Scotland Yard street (this is old Scotland Yard. The new headquarters we see in News is that of Metropolitan Police/New Scotland Yard).
Finished my lunch, and boarded another red route. It took me through Waterloo, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is what we say London Bridge! Actual London Bridge is a normal bridge, which was built very very long ago and another strong one replaced it when it fell down. So when you hear the song 'London Bridge is falling down....' remember, it was an old, normal, wooden bridge and it really fell down.
I got down at Buckingham palace next, and spent sometime around the park nearby. My first roll was already finished! I remember loading the second one while walking with the parade near Trafalgar Square.
It was three by then. I finished the bus trip at Victoria. Took a tube to Waterloo and my plan, get to the Waterloo Pier and take the Thames cruise. I will get the free cruise only if I use it within 24 hours from the start of my sightseeing trip. I had to hurry as it will be dark by five and I should finish blinking my camera before that! I had to walk till Westminster Pier as the Waterloo Pier was closed for maintenance.
A memorable cruise through Thames followed. I saw big Ben, Tower Bridge from Thames. I now repent for not studying the Wordsworth's poems!
The Saturday ended. One more day and I think I need one more weekender to write about it.
London seems to be a museum for future built very well in the past. We should appreciate the vision of the people who foresaw the needs of a city some 100 or 200 years ahead!
