Blogs from Westminster, Greater London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

From the time the plane landed till the time I reached my room at the Imperial College, Wilson House, four hours had evaporated. One of these hours was spent in the customs line. The seniors railcard was bought and that made the use of the the oyster card less expensive. Inadvertantly on purpose I sat in first classwhich was much less crowded. There was no ticket check. The room here at Wilson House is extremely basic and 100% better than the Grange in Toronto. Clean, small and don't ask what has gone on on the mattress. There is a quilted mattress cover which hopefully is washed after each guest departs ...let's not go there! The place is booked to the roof. The itineraryfor partial first day was followed and after sitting so long the walk to ... read more

The usual order was in turmoil in London. It is a city that normally takes things in its stride and just gets on with living. The recent terror attacks on Westminster Bridge and in Borough Market have put everyone on alert. It seemed strange to be walking cross Westminster Bridge, taking note of the increased security measures. A series of additional barriers have been added to prevent vehicles mounting the footways. The tourists on the bridge seemed oblivious to recent events and carried on with their photographs of the river and the Houses of Parliament. A noisy demonstration was taking place at the entrance to Downing Street. A group of Sri-Lankans were held behind barriers on the opposite footway, chanting something incomprehensible about why their voices were not being heard. The Police kept a careful eye ... read more

We had tickets for another walking tour that began at 10:45am. That meant there wasn't a crazy rush to get going, but we did head out (start walking) about 9:30. At the far end of St. James Park was a food truck. Fresh brewed Americano style coffee. Our continental breakfast offered hot beverages from a machine. We met our group on the stairs at the end of Regent Street. Our guide, Gavin, was animated and knowledgeable. We went toward Buckingham Palace along The Mall (pronounced so it rhymes with gal). Turning right onto Marlborough Road we stopped across the street from the barracks of the Queen's Life Guards. Before they march toward the palace there is an inspection and the band plays one song. The rest of the crowd followed the Guard, but our guide took ... read more

Along with most people, I though “Big Ben” referred to the clock on the tall tower attached to Westminster Palace in London. It does not. Big Ben is the name of the bell inside the tower. The current bell was cast in 1858, as a replacement for the original which cracked during testing. The Times of London in October 1859 reported that the new bell would be named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the President of the Board of Works at the time. Sir Benjamin was rather rotund, as is the bell, so his name was inscribed on the bell, and the rest is, well, you know, history. So, I’m walking around Westminster Palace, which is where the British Parliament has its chambers, not to be confused with Westminster Abbey, the church next door. I had read ... read more

Dzisiejszą wycieczkę zaczęłam od serca Londynu. Zastanawialiście się kiedyś gdzie ono może być? Ja się nie tylko zastanawiałam, ale go odnalazłam. Jest to miejsce z którego są liczone odległości do innych miast, krajów czy odleglość do księżyca:-) a znajduje się tuż za pomnikiem króla Charles I na Trafalgar Square. Dlaczego akurat to miejsce zostało wybrane na ten szczególny cel? Bynajmnie, nie dlatego, że znajduje się geograficznie w centrum Londynu. By poznać prawdziwy powód musimy cofnąć się o 700 lat do czasów panowania króla Edwarda I. W 1290 r król Edward był w Szkocji na ważnej misji i oczekiwał na przyjazd swojej żony królowej Eleonory. W drodze do Szkocji Eleonora się pochorowała i bardzo szybko zmarła w okolicach Lincoln. Ciało zmarłej królowej musiało zostać przewiezione z Lincoln do Westminster Abbey, aby ją tam pochować. Po jej śmierci ... read more