Sunday, November 17, 2019
A poor night's sleep battling jet lag would not deter me from enjoying a day of sightseeing/exercise in the Capital!
The entrance to these BEAUTIFUL
gardens, a park really, was about 50
meters across the street from my hotel
Of course, someone was trying to make
a Pound Sterling on the Lord's Day
A monument of some sort as one
enters huge Kensington Gardens
Are there ferocious bears
in Kensington Gardens?
It was a GREAT morning
for a brisk stroll!
A weeping willow losing
its leaves for the Winter
Just a great place too clear ones
mind while walking
"Physical Energy"
by
George Frederic Watts (1817-1904)
I found more physical energy as the day wore on, I think.
A memorial to Queen Victoria's
beloved consort Prince Albert
Cool looking elephant . . .
. . . and a bison too!
Both of these animal themed statuary groupings were at corners of the Prince Albert Memorial.
BYSO early morning practice?
The famous Royal Albert Hall,
a performing arts Mecca
James Blunt was a THE singer
during my first EuroBall year
in Catania, Italy for the 2008
Catania Elephants season
Interesting statue behind the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal College of Music
Two powerful . . .
. . . pieces of art flanking a
building's main entryway
Red as in brick
Memorial to the 1956 Hungarian Uprising
If memory serves me, there was an EPIC and violent Water Polo match in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics when the USSR and Hungarian teams met up after the Soviets had crushed this Hungarian Uprising
COMMIE BASTARDS!
"I'm forever blowing bubbles . . ."
Really HUGE bubbles at that . . .
. . . and little ones was well
The assembled children and adults, up to and including me, loved this man's magical ways with soapy water.
On to Leicester Square
via the Tube
It's on the edge of
London's Chinatown
An award winning
gay bar in Chinatown
Who knew?
This is THE place to go for discounted
theater tickets to London West End plays
It is located in Leicester Square and I found a great ticket at a reasonable price for a 3:00 p.m. matinee today. More on this play later in this post.
The entrance to this Christmas Market
is about 10 meters from the place
where I bought my show ticket
Since Europe does not celebrate our traditional November Thanksgiving Holiday, I have no problem with these ubiquitous Christmas Markets that are popping up all over the Continent this month.
Lots of traditional Christmas
ornaments were to be found . . .
. . . as were some beautiful
non-traditional ones
The Bard overseeing the
Leicester Square Christmas Market
It is chilly, a colorful scarf
would just thing if I had any
room in my carry-on bag
Golden tear drop ornaments
Charlie Chaplin was in the house
So many delicious flavors of fudge!
"Forgive me Father for I have sinned . . .
. . . three times . . ."
And it was worth any atonement you need me to do for you, Father!
DELICIOUS!
Swiss Canton heraldry in London
Not sure why there is a Swiss Court here, but I liked it!
I continued my leisurely stroll to Piccadilly Circus to locate the exact location of the theatre for my matinee today.
The Criterion Theatre
I saw a play, a rollicking spoof of Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, at this very same theatre a little over a decade ago.
Hopefully The Comedy About a Bank Robbery will be just as much fun.
The view from the from the
entryway of the Criterion Theatre
out towards Piccadilly Circus
It was still about two hours until showtime, so I trudged onward . . .
As it turns out I wasn't far
from Trafalgar Square, where
I visited last night
This lion looked even
better in the daylight
That's Big Ben at the end of
the lion's sightline
The fountain at Trafalgar Square
Same fountain, different view
I found a plaque that I did not see
last night that confirmed that I was
right, it IS an Assyrian piece of art
One last look at
Trafalgar Square
A memorial to Humanity
The colonies could certainly use a large dose of humanity in these troubled times.
Love this quote on
the Humanity Memorial
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church
The first official mention of a church at this site exact site near Trafalgar Square came in 1222 A.D.
This current church at this historic and holy site was erected in 1721 A.D.
I went in, I was long overdue for a church visit . . .
That window behind the altar
would make it tough for to
concentrate if a religious
ceremony was taking place
The London Coliseum
Home of the English National Opera
Mulled Wine sounds AWESOME!
Lots of cool shops down
this area's small side streets
A mini-business entrepreneur
Buffet?
I do need to re-stock my energy stores before my play.
Maybe here?
No, that is definitely
NOT what I need
Nice window display
Again with a no
No here as well
Hurry up and make a decision!
Maybe if I head towards . . .
. . . Covent Gardens?
No dice, nothing struck my fancy
I liked this but they don't
really serve sustenance now do they?
Lots of brick buildings in London
f you have not noticed
Interesting mini-arcade
What the . . .
One of England's great
mystery writers on the 20th Century
Love her work and, wouldn't you know it, her memorial was right in front of . . .
. . . this restaurant run by people
from NAPLES!
They served a spaghetti bolognese that was outstanding!
NOW I was both mentally and physically ready for a two hour and 15 minute West End comedy!
But first a political protest in front
of the Criterion Theatre against the
Turkey recent incursion and treatment
of the Kurds
"Nothing to see here, keep moving please."
This show turned out
to be absolutely HILARIOUS!
The view from my Second Row seat
Selfie in the Criterion Theatre
The sky was pitch black when
the play let out at 5:15 p.m.
But Piccadilly Circus took up the
slack when it came to illumination
I wanted to make one more stop via yet another short Tube ride before calling it a night to . . .
Christopher Wren's
masterpiece Cathedral
The front of St. Paul's
was beautifully lit up
As was its famous Dome
I entered the Cathedral as an evening Anglican religious rite was getting started.
Out of respect for King Henry VIII's religion and because of all the signs saying not to, I took no pictures.
I also remembered Henry VIII's penchant for loping heads off of those that disobeyed and/or angered His Royal Highness.
It seems as if EVERY four to eight
year old English girl that I've seen
the last two days speaks EXACTLY
like Peppa Pig!
I would have racked up bigger
totals if I hadn't spent so much
time sitting down at the play!
No, none of my 6.2 miles today was running.
Oh well, what price glory?
Tomorrow, I will head by train to visit Sophie Johnson at Cambridge University where she is currently studying for her PhD.
Sophie is the daughter of our longtime family friends Susie and Mark Johnson who reside in Seattle.
But still . . .
London is indeed a
GREAT city!
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