Day 12 - London, England

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Tuesday August 29th, 2006
Day 12
London, England

Today I got up at about 8:00am, had my shower and did my first load of washing since I'd been here. I didn't even stuff it up; my whites were still white and my colours were still the same colours. Nick did leave some sticky notes though on the washing machine and dryer to tell me how to use them. After that was done, I made my way into London on the DRL, tube and bus to do my own tour of London. First stop: The Tower Bridge.
I was very impressed with this, it really is a beautiful bridge. It is situated over the River Thames and it is close to the Tower of London, which give it its name. It had become and iconic symbol of London and is sometimes mistakenly called the London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream. Construction of the Tower Bridge started in 1886 and took eight years, employing five major contractors and 432 construction workers. Two massive piers, containing over 70,000 tons of concrete, were sunk into the river bed to support the construction. Over 11,000 tons of steel provided the frame work for the towers and walkways.
While admiring the bridge I had a girl ask if I could take a photo of her with the bridge in the background. Turned out she was from New Zealand so she returned to favour and we continued on together up the river. We passed the very unimpressive London Bridge and came across Shakespeare’s Globe.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was really cool. The original Glove Theatre, built in 1599 by The Playing company to which Shakespeare belonged, was destroyed by fire on June 29, 1613 by flaming material expelled from a cannon used for special effects during a performance of 'Henry VIII' that ignited the thatched roof of the gallery. It was rebuilt immediately, this time with a tiled roof and re-opened in July 1614, then closed again in 1642, and demolished in 1644. The new theatre opened in 1997 and is 200yards from the original site, and was the first thatched roof building permitted in London since the Great Fire of London in 1666. As in the original, both the stage and the audience are outdoors. The original plan was modified by the addition of sprinklers on the roof (to protect against fire) and the theatre is partly joined on to a modern lobby and visitors centre. In addition, only 1,500 people may be housed during a show, unlike the 3,000 of Shakespeare’s time (Elizabethan we less concerned about their personal space then modern theatregoers).
After my tour of the Globe Theatre, which only cost me £9 and went for about 30minutes, I made my way down the River Thames to see what else I could find along the bank. I came across the Millennium Bridge.
Construction of the bridge began in late 1998 with the main works beginning on April 28, 1999 by Monberg Thorson and McAlpine. The bridge was completed at a cost of £18.2million (£2.2million over budget) and opened on June 10, 2000 (two months late) but unexpected lateral vibration (resonant structural response) cause the bridge to be closed on June 12 for modifications. After a period of testing the bridge was successfully re-opened on February 22, 2002 at a cost of a further £5million, and as yet there have not been any noticeable sever vibrations.
After that I took a stroll into the Modern Tate Museum but quickly left and jumped back on the tube to have some lunch with Kate, as it once again, started to rain.
After lunch, and the rain stopped, I made my way out to Big Ben and The London Eye once again. Then moved on to the Houses of Parliament and finally found my way around the corner to Downing Street. This has been the official residence for 200years of two of the most senior British Cabinet ministers. The most famous address in the street is 10 Downing street; the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury - and thus, in the modern time, the residence of the Prime Minister, since the two roles have been filled by the same person. In 1986, large black steel gates were erected at the entrance of Downing Street to protect the Prime Minister (at the time, Margaret Thatcher) from terrorist attacks. Before then, it was possible for the public to walk through Downing Street. After this, I made my way to Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey was stunning, I was only there briefly as it once again started to rain.
After this, I made my way on a couple of trains out to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The present building dates from the 17th century, and is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St. Paul’s Cathedral. The cathedral is one of London's most visited sites. Its impressive dome was inspired by St. Peters Basilica in Rome; it rises 108metres at its summit. The British Royal Family hold most of their important marriages, christenings and funerals at Westminster Abbey, but St. Paul’s was used for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. In 2001, Britain's memorial service to honour the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks was held at St. Paul’s cathedral, which the British Royal Family and then U.S Ambassador William Farish attended. He spoke, as did Prince Phillip. It's so beautiful inside and again, is a pity you can't take photos. After this, I headed back to Nick's.
On the way back I had to catch the DRL and I thought my train was coming so I started to run up the stairs and tripped, taking a great big chunk of skin or both my leg and my foot. There was a lovely lady there who saw me do it and offered me a plaster (aka a bandaid) to put on it. I politely declined and continued my run to the platform only to find it was on the other side of the platform; not even my bloody train!
I hobbled back to Nick's for some dinner and rest.

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