Day 31 - Monday 14 May - London

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So today started beautiful and sunny. I thought I might do a Thames River cruise first up, but it had already clouded over by the time I was going out, and it was raining by 9am :(

So my first stop was Aldgate so I could get a photo of Whitechapel Road for the Monopoly collection.

From there I was going to tube it over to Angel, but after looking for a "you are here" on a bus stop I realised there was a direct bus. I'd never been on a London red double decker bus before, so decided to do that. It took ages because it went through city peak hour traffic, but was still fun.

City of London buildings from Aldgate High Street
City of London buildings from Aldgate High Street

It was freezing cold and raining by this point. Blah.

Actually left Angel and went and found 12 Grimmauld Place (Claremont Square). Highlight of the morning heh.

Houses on Claremont Square - site of 12 Grimmauld Place in Order of the Phoenix
Houses on Claremont Square - site of 12 Grimmauld Place in Order of the Phoenix

Houses on Claremont Square - site of 12 Grimmauld Place in Order of the Phoenix
Houses on Claremont Square - site of 12 Grimmauld Place in Order of the Phoenix

Then back to Angel to get a photo of the station, and signs that said Angel Islington.

Considered walking to Kings Cross to get more photos of the platforms, but decided against it and went to Marylebone station instead. So my collection of Monopoly streets is complete. Except for the electric and water utilities.

Walked back to Baker Street to take photos of the Sherlock Holmes museum.

221B Baker Street - the Sherlock Holmes Museum
221B Baker Street - the Sherlock Holmes Museum

Guard outside 221B Baker Street
Guard outside 221B Baker Street

Then into Regents Park. The maps were a bit crap and didn't show you that the garden in the middle is one big dead end. So more walking there than necessary.

Heron in Regent's Park
Heron in Regent's Park

Triton and Dryans Fountain in Regent's Park
Triton and Dryans Fountain in Regent's Park

And onto the zoo. The whole experience was pretty meh. Certainly not helped by it raining the entire time I was there. So most of the animals were hiding from the rain. And they were doing all sorts of constructions all over the place so there were dead ends everywhere which meant lots of unnecessary walking :( So got my Harry Potter pics of the reptile house (although they're doing rennovations and I think they've blocked off the exact tank that was used. I'd have to see the movie again to check. Went into the butterfly room at one point but had to leave again pretty quickly because it was so hot and humid that my glasses and camera fogged up instantly :( Dread to think of how much condensation got in and stayed in. Pity too because it looked like there were heaps of cool butterflies. The penguins were very cool, but didn't stay for feeding time as really needed to get away. On the way to the part of the zoo on the other side of the road I noticed there was a canal boat ride to Camden. I tried to go for it later but it had either gone early or didn't come at all. So ended up having to walk.

Reptile House at London Zoo
Reptile House at London Zoo

Plumed Basilisk in London Zoo
Plumed Basilisk in London Zoo

Radiated Tortoise in London Zoo
Radiated Tortoise in London Zoo

Reptile display used in Philosopher's Stone
Reptile display used in Philosopher's Stone

Foyer where the snake crossed - this was covered by a temporary wall in the movie
Foyer where the snake crossed - this was covered by a temporary wall in the movie

Banggai Cardinalfish at London Zoo
Banggai Cardinalfish at London Zoo

Komodo Dragon at London Zoo
Komodo Dragon at London Zoo

Bearded Pigs at London Zoo
Bearded Pigs at London Zoo

Pelicans in London Zoo
Pelicans in London Zoo

Black Footed Penguins in London Zoo
Black Footed Penguins in London Zoo

Bird landing in London Zoo
Bird landing in London Zoo

Otters in London Zoo
Otters in London Zoo

Giraffe in London Zoo
Giraffe in London Zoo

Crossing the canal passing through London Zoo
Crossing the canal passing through London Zoo

Next stop - Westminster Abbey. I was worried about long queues, but only had to wait a couple of minutes. There's an audio guide (read by Jeremy Irons - yum!) which is reasonably decent, but certainly doesn't cover everything. Missed out on seeing the chapter house because they were setting up for a jubilee exhibition. You can take photos in the cloister area, but not in the abbey itself :( but did sneak one through the front door as I was leaving.

North entrance of Westminster Abbey
North entrance of Westminster Abbey

North wall of Westminster Abbey
North wall of Westminster Abbey

Chapel in Westminster Abbey
Chapel in Westminster Abbey

Cloisters of Westminster Abbey and Palace of Westminster
Cloisters of Westminster Abbey and Palace of Westminster

Cloisters of Westminster Abbey
Cloisters of Westminster Abbey

Interior of Westminster Abbey through the front door
Interior of Westminster Abbey through the front door

Western door of Westminster Abbey
Western door of Westminster Abbey

Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey
Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey

Then next door to the Jewel Tower. This was part of the old old Westminster Palace built around 1365 to house Edward III's treasures and one of only two buildings from the medieval Palace of Westminster to survive the fire of 1834. The first floor has an exhibition about the history of the British Parliament, and the top floor has a bit more history on the building itself. I'd never heard of this building, and only went there because it was "free" with the London Pass and right next to the abbey. Apparently a lot of Londoners don't know about it either.

Standard weights and measures
Standard weights and measures

Part of the original wooden foundations of the tower, showing the oak sleeper and elm piles
Part of the original wooden foundations of the tower, showing the oak sleeper and elm piles

Room in the Jewel Tower
Room in the Jewel Tower

Part of the old moat around Jewel Tower
Part of the old moat around Jewel Tower

Jewel Tower
Jewel Tower

So now it's 5pm and the sun is starting to poke through the clouds :/ I thought I didn't want to go back to the hotel just yet if the sun was coming out. So went and found somewhere to get some food to wait a little longer.

Westminster Hall (Big Ben in background)
Westminster Hall (Big Ben in background)

Then went down to the river to see about a river cruise. Decided I'd do it, but just missed one. So wandered up to Cleopatra's Needle.

Battle of Britain Monument
Battle of Britain Monument

Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle

Egyptian style sphinx next to Cleopatra's Needle and London Eye
Egyptian style sphinx next to Cleopatra's Needle and London Eye

Then back for the last ferry of the day to Tower Bridge. Quite a nice little ride even if the sun wasn't really out. But it did shine on Tower Bridge right at the end which was pretty special.

London Eye and Sea Life Centre
London Eye and Sea Life Centre

Westminster Bridge and Palace of Westminster
Westminster Bridge and Palace of Westminster

Royal Air Force Memorial golden eagle statue
Royal Air Force Memorial golden eagle statue

Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge

Tate Modern
Tate Modern

Passing under the Millennium Bridge
Passing under the Millennium Bridge

Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge

Top of the Gherkin
Top of the Gherkin

The Shard
The Shard

HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge
HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge north pylon
Tower Bridge north pylon

Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge

And hotel, photos, blog, bed!


Distance covered on the GPS: 39 km
Steps walked: 29077
Photos on the Canon: 261
Photos on the Sony: 62
Videos: 3
GBP Spent: 15.40

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