London!!! Living in Style

Sorry it took me so long (2 months to the day), but I did take 1500 photos on that trip!


I LOVE the London Eye! To think they were going to tear it back down after the Millenium! It's quite funny, when I took it many years ago, which was a LOT of FUN, British Airways was running it and they actually called it a flight!


Here a couple of pictures of the Thames Festival parade! Their costumes were AMAZING and watching the fireworks over the Thames was really mesmerizing. They had some effects close to the water that I had never seen before, but which really worked well with the reflection in the river!

Ah the Victoria and Albert Museum! The have lots of pretty things in there, like this little toy castle, but they are most famous for their textiles! So look at all those beautiful tapestries!



Aren't they just stunning! Folks back then knew how to dress their living room walls!

Now that's what I'd call sleeping in style! I want that bed!

After admiring all those pretty things folks used to have in their living rooms and since Adrian would let me have a cat nap in that bed, I needed a pick me up, so we went to their cafeteria...

We had the most delicious pastries and a great cup of coffee in their period cafe house rooms that were decorated by single artists like William Morris for the very purpose of giving folks a stylish place to take their cuppa tea and repose before exploring more of the collected exotic wonders that Victorians had to go to the museum for, because they had never seen them. They didn't have a telly, innit!

Now after indulging the senses in all that medival or otherwise old splendor, it was quite a shock to encounter the new supermodern Dyson hand-dryer in the loo! I felt quite victorianized or provincial, but it was definitely a very pleasant shock. You slowly stick your 'ands in and pull 'em back out and the jet stream in the dohickey is so strong that is basically squeezes the water off your hands! Guess what the friendly and empathetic woman posing for me is! Yep an American tourist!

The V&A is really FUN, because it is set up for people to have fun with that stuff. So you get to touch and try stuff on and it isn't some replica either, it is the real thing! A real medival ruffled collar and a real ming vase and a real whatchamacallit that keeps those huge skirts looking stiff!

That's me leaning against a real Ming vase, when an earthquake hit us, just my luck!

Phiew, the tremor passed and the vase is still in good shape. They made those things to last for a few thousand years, a little tremor doesn't even crack the glazing!

He's nothing if not a good sport! Our Adrian :-)

Back on the streets of London, you can see, that security has been stepped up all over the place, so they have Storm Troupers guard the County Hall now!

Ah, here a few more photos from our little boat cruise on the Thames:

Tower Bridge

(Adrian told me, that a Texan was trying to buy it for good money, but got the name wrong in the negotiations, which he won and got the rather minimalist London Bridge instead (teehee))

And here the Tower of London itself: Being imprisoned in style!

But not everything in London is old! There are crass contrasts between the old and the ulta-modern coexisting in close proximity. I don't know about you, but I love it! Nothing worse than having a bla, non-committal, non-offensive piece of misguided architectural cowardise water down a citiscape of magnificence!



I dare you to say "weather whale, wheater whale, weather whale" really quickly!

The Houses of Parliamant!

Here the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament! The cradle of democracy! We had to squeeze within 8 inches of shiny black Uzzis to be let in. Sad really!

After all that a pint in a comfy London Pub was well deserved! Here's and cheers to Englands Public Houses!

The next day we popped round Downing Street 10 and 8 especially since I had just read that they have a new cat after Cherry got rid of the old one and then they got rid of Cherries husband. They are all called Howard and they are allowed to roam free, so I just wanted to have a look, if the kitty was around, but no luck. The guard did give me a very stern look because I was giving the backyards of the PM a very close look for any signs of Howard, which he obviously couldn't know.
Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves!

Adrian wanted some cheese for his crackers, so we went to do some grocery shopping in style. Lunds and Byerlys, Kowaskie's etc eat your heart out!

Shopping for luxuries in the Luxor Hall!

After a stroll in Hyde Park I really needed a pit stop and as I walked down the steps to the public convenience I was preparing myself for the worst because the smell did not bode well, not well at all! So I was not prepared for the best, which was this brightly lit, spick and span bathroom with tasteful mural tiles depicting scenes of the city and greating me with a smell of roses, yes I said roses and I meant it.

Hahaha, a traffic light for people on horses!!!
As it is getting evening we paid our respects to Queen Victoria who is sitting on her thrown with a... er...a...thingy of sorts...
The day is nearing it's end and so is my stay with Adrian in London. Good Bye Adrian and London until next time, hopefully soon! (sniffle)