We had to walk a few blocks to reach the closest stop but it was rather easy to find. That gave us a chance to see some parts of residential London on foot. I observed the variety of flats as we ventured past them.
The first bus that pulled up was one running along the Blue Route. That was not the one we were told to take. We almost boarded, but then we saw the head sign. The one we wanted was the Red Route, which takes you on a course that includes more of the city.
When the Red Route bus arrived, my wife and I boarded and headed straight upstairs. The deck was open; perfect for photographing. Touring London by double-decker bus! Though it was a tour bus and not the typical enclosed double-decker, it was close enough.
We were provided a set of earphones before we boarded so we could hear a recorded narration of the tour. The not-so-perfect part happened when I plugged my earphones into the jack at my seat. I realized the jack was broken; no sound came forth. I tried the jack at my wife’s seat. It worked. Ok, then. I guess I’ll have to take the entire tour without the benefit of narration. You may be wondering why I didn’t just move over to another seat. All the remaining seats had filled up by then; the upper deck reached capacity when the people at our stop got on. Sitting downstairs was not an option for me. As a result, most of the details regarding many of the sights I’m going to tell you about, I had to research after I got home. I looked at this part of the tour as if I were watching a foreign movie without subtitles.
Once we got under way, one of the first things that caught my eye was a bronze sculpture of a horse’s head called “Still Water”. The sculpture rests in a small park in the same traffic island as the Marble Arch, amid the hustle and bustle of the city. It is said to be of a horse drinking water. Looking at it does give you a feeling of peacefulness. When you see it from certain angles it appears to be floating.
London is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Dozens of banners were strung across the road all up and down Regent Street. The street itself was jammed with car and foot traffic. I wonder how many city-wide events were held here.
Signs on the street let us know we were heading for the famous Trafalgar Square. I had heard of Trafalgar Square numerous times before but had no idea what was here.
The square is home to several buildings such as the National Gallery, St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Canada House and South Africa House. A number of statues, sculptures, and two fountains can be found here, all dominated by Nelson’s Column. The column is guarded by four bronze lion sculptures sitting at angles to it. It commemorates Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, the highly decorated and titled British naval hero. Nelson died during the Battle of Trafalgar, for which the square is named.
Being a public square, it has been and is the site of public gatherings and political demonstrations. Until recently it used to be the site of thousands of pigeons. You probably remember seeing them in movies. What happened to them? When officials noticed how much damage the pigeon droppings were causing to the statues and buildings, not to mention the health risks, laws were enacted to prohibit the sale of bird seed in the square. Later, feeding them was banned in the square. These and other measures eventually led to the square being nearly free of pigeons.
Right across the way is Admiralty Arch. If I got my directions right, the Mall from Trafalgar Square leads through the Arch to Buckingham Palace. The center arch is gated off. Only royalty is allowed to pass through it. We got a good look at the Arch as we entered a roundabout. And as we did, I got a good look at the inscription chiseled into the edifice, which reads: ANNO DECIMO EDWARDI SEPTIMI REGIS VICTORIÆ REGINÆ CIVES GRATISSIMI MDCCCCX (In the tenth year of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria, from its most grateful citizens, 1910).
Minutes later we got our first good look at Big Ben, another legendary landmark of London. So this is Big Ben. To me it looked more impressive in person than in all of the pictures I’ve seen. With a blue sky and a few feathery clouds as a background, the gold on the tower really stood out.
Big Ben is actually the name of the 13-ton Great Bell, the largest of the five bells in the tower. The name Big Ben has been expanded over the years to mean the clocks and bells, eventually applying to the entire tower, including the clocks and bells.
Big Ben is known by at least four nicknames: Big Ben, the most familiar and most widely recognized name; St. Stephen’s Tower; The Clock Tower; and The East Tower (apparently a misnomer because the tower isn’t on the east end. It sits on the north end of the complex). And last year, a fifth name was introduced: During the Diamond Jubilee celebrating 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, the tower was renamed Elizabeth Tower in her honor.
Turning onto Westminster Bridge, we saw the famous London Eye or Millennium Wheel. On the other side of the bridge, looking north along The Thames, I noticed a lot of barge traffic on the river. Not long after we crossed the bridge, one of the sights that caught my eye was a sculpted shrub on the roof of a building. It is shaped to look like a woman pushing a broom or sponge mop. The shrub was groomed with such detail, down to her dress, collar, and sleeves. She even had rollers in her ‘hair’. I loved the quirkiness of it. It brought some life to the area. A very nice and welcome little interlude, taking my focus away from stone and concrete and directing it to a green, living plant.
Comments are closed.