London: London Eye, transport, shops and miscellaneous

This is the last of my posts on my recent London trip.  (Then onto Edinburgh posts.)  I am going to squeeze in our London Eye trip on our last morning with some random photos and reflections.  London Eye is just across Westminster Bridge so we took the tube to Westminster station and also spent some time around the historic British Government buildings.

Big Ben was on Sylvia's list of things she must see in London.  So she was excited when we walked out of Westminster station and was confronted with the huge clock tower of Westminster Palace.  (For pedants, Big Ben is actually a nickname for the largest bell and the tower is called The Elizabeth Tower.)  It is one of those icons that we see in culture and London souvenir shops so much that to see it in real life is a reminder of that is so awe-inspiringly large and beautiful.  

As an aside, when I look at Big Ben I can't help think of the family in National Lampoon's European Vacation being lost in London and the constant refrain of "Look there's Big Ben."  It is funny but also true that it is a landmark that can be seen from many parts of central London and even from our plane home.

I have never been inside Westminster Palace to see The Houses of Parliament and now that I am older and more interested in politics (and have a sentimental memories of Yes Minister), I think maybe I would find it interesting.  Sadly we did not have the time and Sylvia did not have the inclination.  Maybe there will be another trip in which I can see it.  Even so, just seeing the details of the building was amazing.  Like Big Ben, it is such a well known site that it is easy to take from granted.  Seeing the details makes it less of a hackneyed symbol of British Parliament and more of an architectural wonder.

It was no surprise that tourists flock to this section of London.  So many tourist shops and incredible architecture can be seen here.  This is a view from the west side of Westminster Bridge.

Westminster Bridge which spans the Thames River is actually quite beautiful.  Originally opened in 1750, it was replaced in 1862 as a seven arch, cast iron bridge with Gothic detailing.  It is the oldest of the bridges crossing the Thames in central London.  It is mostly painted green because that is the colour of seats in the House of Commons which is the nearest to the bridge.

From the Bridge there is a great view of Big Ben and Westminster Palace.  It is a very popular place to take selfies but it is so big that it is hard to fit into a photo.  Which I assume was one of the motivations for building the London Eye. 

Before arriving in London I had read about the National Covid Memorial Wall that was created in 2021 by bereaved families and activists to remember those who died of Covid.  It is strategically situated directly across the Thames from Westminster Palace (the Houses of Parliament).  As you can see, there is a tally of deaths on this gate near Westminster Bridge.

The Memorial Wall stretches from Westminster Bridge for 500 metres and is a striking visual display of the sad effects of the Covid pandemic on the UK.  Hand-painted red hearts represent each death and it is a place for the bereaved to visit and write their messages and memories.  It was originally planned to be temporary but now there is talk of making it permanent.  I would have loved the time to walk along and read the hearts but we had a time booked for the London Eye.

This was my second time riding the London Eye.  It was new and exciting the first time in 2002 and expensive the second.more recently  Online advice was to book ahead for a discount.  I wasn't sure of our plans and only booked two nights before and had to pay full price of £42.50 each.  Once we had paid I enjoyed the ride although it felt slow.  (The sort of ride where you couldn't wait to finish and then wondered why you hadn't paid attention to more details once it was over.)  

The pods don't actually stop so you have to jump on a slow moving vessel.  By luck we were among the first to enter so I got this almost empty photo of the interior of the pod.  In the middle is a wooden slatted seat but people mostly gathered around the windows with their cameras.

It was fun to get a birds eye view of London but I don't know it well enough to spot many sights.  Sometimes it was just fun to see the pods around us, which look quite spectacular this high up.  You can see how tiny Westminister Palace looks from the top.

As the wheel brought us further down towards the West of London, we got closer to Westminster Palace and Big Ben.  With some zoom I got a far better photo of it from this perspective than I could get from the Bridge or the opposite shore.

We got to see some other London icons.  Buckingham Palace is the large building just above all the trees.  It astounds me just how much parkland surrounds the royal residence.  In the middle of such a huge city!  

The buildings in the foreground of the photo are government departmental buildings but I can't remember which ones.  (Foreign Service or Economics?)  A voice from a loud speaker announced some of the significant buildings at regular intervals.  I could not always follow.  A father pointed out buildings to his kids but I didn't really take it in.  The Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street was also nearby.

To the East we could see St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Shard and the City.  You can see the dome of St Paul's above among all the City buildings.

I love this photo of one of the pods coming down near the esplanade where the crowds make their way to the  fast moving queue to ride the London Eye.  The pod looks like a flying saucer invading the Earth; just like in a Doctor Who episode or War of the Worlds.

Once we were off the London Eye we went to Westminister Abbey and then took the bus to Mayfair to see the Wallace Collection.  We went past the Parliament Square Garden where there are many statues of famous political figures and we saw a colourful corgi statue (which I looked up online and it seemed to be one of the The London Heritage Quarter Platinum Jubilee Corgi Trail in 2022 that was to be auctioned off so I am not sure how it ended up here.)

Red double decker buses are a common sight in London.  The English Tea Bus decoration in the photo amused us.  I am not sure if it was a special tour bus but there a few afternoon tea bus tours online.  We found the regular red buses a good way to see more of London. 

We had quite a few bus journeys through areas - such as Bloomsbury, Hyde Park and Nottinghill Gate - that I am quite fond of but did not get time to explore on foot.  We took the busy back to the hotel a few times and enjoyed seeing the streets en route to Kensington.  Above is Harrods department store in Knightsbridge that was on our route.

The best view was on the upper level in the front seats.  The above view shows both why it was easier than it used to be but was often still slower than the tube.  When I was first in London, I found that working out where to get off a bus could be confusing in streets I didn't know.  But now they have digital displays advising on the next stop, which combined with smart phone apps (such as Moovit) make it much easier to look out for a stop.

A problem that has not changed is London traffic.  It has always been busy.  I remember there were transit lanes to deal with it when I lived in London in the late 1990s.  Now there is a congestion charge: a whopping £15 per day.  Sometimes the buses could only crawl along their route due to the volume of traffic.  I heard someone behind me on a bus say "... and they pay a congestion charge to be stuck in this traffic."  So true!  At least the London public transport is cheaper: £2.70 per trip on the tube (zones 1-2) with a daily cap of £8.50, and £1.75 per trip on the bus with a daily cap of £5.25.  Surprisingly, it was cheaper on the bus. 

As well as avoiding the traffic, the tube had a few advantages.  One is that many of the tube stations are beautiful historic buildings.  The one above is the elegant Victorian arcade with attractive motifs when you came out of High Street Kensington tube, which was a few minutes from our hotel.  (For railway station enthusiasts, check out 150 great things about the Underground.)

While the buses have now got far better signage with the dawn of the digital age, it was always a wonder how easy it was to navigate the tube thanks to really clear signage.  Lists of stations and connections at every turn as you make your way through the curved tunnels of the station, including on the station and always on the trains as well. 

Some historic signage in stations has been retained such as this  "way out" sign at Covent Garden underground station.  Exits are well signed but not all are so easy to get out.  Once you make your way through the labyrinth of tunnels at the end of a tiring day, it can be dispiriting to see that your only option on the way out is stairs.  Some stations have escalators, and there were some information about which online, but when the nearest station to our hotel did not have a lift or escalator, all we could do was drag a heavy suitcase up a flight of stairs.

As well as gorgeous heritage stations, some also have fun artworks and posters.  We went back and forwards past the Gloucester Road station a few times but never got out there.  Of course I wanted to but had to satisfied with a photo on the go of the strange subterranean creatures in the exhibition by Monster Chetwynd: 'Pond Life: Albertopolis and the Lily'.  This lizard brought to mind Mr Lizard in the iconic Australian books by May Gibbs about the gumnut babies.  

Although not everyone can see this station, more accessible is the brilliant project of Poems on the Underground that occasionally intersperses adverts on trains.  They are very welcome because there is not too much to see out the window between stations on the tube.

All over London interesting buildings that catch the eye and make you wonder at their history.  Unfortunately there was so much to see that I often had to pass by such buildings with a fleeting thought and maybe a photo.  This photo is the Camden Eye opposite the Camden Town tube station.

The iconic underground sign (or roundel) is such as brilliant representation of the London transport system and London itself.  It sits atop most tube station buildings as a beacon, it is used in fashion and is popular in souvenir shops.  There is a book written about it called Logo for London.  The above artwork was near the Whiskers and Cream cat cafe near the Upper Holloway station.  Sylvia and I also loved the "Mind the gap" announcements because it would make us thing of a classic scene of Minions boarding an underground train  in the Minions movie.

You could not walk far in London without seeing a souvenir shop, usually with lots of red white and blue.  Paddington, London icons, tea towels, fridge magnets, key rings, rubber ducks, nodding queens, phone boxes and double decker buses were all common.  I have not adjusted to King Charles being the monach and found it both weird to see his face on so much and also that there was still so much  merchandise with Queen Elizabeth II on it.

While I don't drink coffee, I was well aware the British coffee is not up to scratch compared to Melbourne.  I hear it has improved since I was first in the UK and found people excited about the Seattle Coffee Company.  There are plenty of new kids on the block now.  Sylvia loved the orange mocha latte and iced matcha blueberry latte at Blank St Coffee.  This is a New York company which had quite a few stores. Those hats on the coffee cups were so cute that I looked them up.  I think they are part of the Big Knit fundraiser for charity.

I wish I had a better photo of the Oxford St Selfridges Department Store building.  My photo does not capture the awe and beautify of the rows of ionic columns.  This store in Oxford Street was built in 1909 and is the second biggest retail premises (after Harrods).

We visited on en route to Mercato Mayfair when we were low on energy and time.  We headed to the basement to look at the food hall and the kitchenware.  The food was amazing and yet again I found myself tempted by pricey but gorgeous crockery. 

It was worth going inside just to see the wonderful historic interior.  We managed to leave Selfridges without a purchase.  Just tourists passing through!

After we visited the Wallace Collection, we wanted a quick meal before heading back to the hotel to pack and get an early evening before taking the train to Edinburgh.  There was plenty on offer in Mayfair.  We ended up at Pure.  Earlier in the afternoon we had bought excellent chips at a street food booth.  We had wanted the haloumi kebabs with salad, pickles and chips but it felt too messy for food on the run so I just got chips.  They were excellent but I needed some more wholesome food.  Pure was a casual food outlet where we could eat quickly and go.  I really enjoyed my Souper green soup served alongside a Halloumi toastie with hummus, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and tomato relish.  And a can of wild berry kombucha.  It was just what I needed.

When I first visited London, my sister told me that I must take photos of red phone boxes and photos with people in them.  Digital photography had made it easier to take photos without people in them but I still think of Fran when I take a photo of a phone box.  I used phone boxes a lot when first in London.  My parents had given us a reverse charges card so we would keep in touch.  These days many phone boxes are more shabby and the ones cared for seem more for tourist purposes than utility.  But they are iconic and I am glad there are still ones about to see, especially around Westminster Palace.  (You can see more reflections in my post on travel in the 1990s.)

We saw so much in our week in London and yet it felt like we had only scratched the surface.  When it comes to the veritable feast of tourist experiences in London, I often think of Samuel Johnson who said "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." So much to see and so little time.  I cannot say if I will return but I am happy I we were able to see so many favourite places and interesting new ones, and that Sylvia had a great time on her first trip to London.