A Weekend in London or Londonian Rhapsody

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Walking a lot, running a lot and taking an underground train that isn't in the Underground

Every now and then we make short trips, only Friday to Sunday, to some place we have visited before. In these places we have often already seen many of the major sites and therefore we don't need to visit the must-sees. On these trips we don't make many plans before we head off. We try to find one of two things we want to see, just to have the beginning of a plan, and after that we just see what happens.



This time we went to London and our friend Hakan joined us. The plans we had before we left Sweden included only two things. As it turned out, we missed one of them and we almost missed the other too.



Let us begin with the one we didn't see - Jeremy Bentham auto-icon. When philosopher Jeremy Bentham died he asked that his skeleton should be preserved and displayed at the University College of London. We went there to see it but we found out that it is only on display on weekdays. We went there on a Saturday and then everything was locked up in a cabinet. We could see the cabinet, but that didn't help much.



The one we almost missed - the Mail Rail. From 1927 to 2003 Royal Mail had its own underground railway line through central London. Two years ago they reopened this railway, now as a museum. We went to the postal museum, where the tour of the railway starts, to buy tickets. It turned out that they were sold out for the entire day. Luckily they had tickets for the following day. Emma decided she didn't want to take the tour. But Hakan and I reserved one ticket each on their website and went back the day after. The tour was interesting but it is not a photogenic place. We have added one picture just as an illustration.



We did see more things than just the Mail Rail. All three of us like to run. Both Saturday and Sunday we took a morning jog.

=> On Saturday we ran through Hyde Park. We then saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Princess Diana Memorial Playground and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk. We are not joking. All three exist in Hyde Park. We also ran past Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace so we did see a few things that weren't directly Diana-related.

=> On Sunday we ran through Notting Hill - a very picturesque part of London. We then saw some street art, a pub owned by the former Rolling Stones member Bill Wyman and more. We also ran through Holland Park this day and found that it is one of the best parks in London. A true gem, hidden in plain sight.



As you see, running is an excellent way to discover a city. We can strongly recommend it. There is no need to run fast either. We bring our cameras when we jog on our travels and we make sure to stop and take pictures when we feel like it.



We also walked a lot, which is another great way to combine transport and to discover a city. But in London walking from place to place sometimes can take a long time because on each building where a notable person has lived there is a plaque mentioning that person and what he or she is famous for. It is hard not to stop and read on those plaques and that slows down a walk considerably.



The last thing we did in London before we went home was to visit the pub the Cockpit. Supposedly it is one of the oldest pubs in London. Its name comes from the fact that they used to hold cockfights in the pub. Fortunately they have stopped at least that kind of cruelty to animals in England so today it is just another pub.

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Photos

Peafowl
We met this peafowl when we were on our morning run

Phone booths
Not much is more British than the red phone booths

St Paul's Cathedral
We didn't go in. They have an entrance fee and for us to pay that we want to be better prepared and more in the mood than we were.

Fish and chips
We just love fish and chips. The British coisine is much less famous than the French or Italian counterparts. But this dish they know how to make.

Mozart lived here
Walking through London can take a long time. On each house where a famous person has lived there's a plaque. It is hard not to stop and read those

Virginia Woolf lived here
Virginia Woolf lived here. So did also George Bernard Shaw according to the dark plaque higher up on the wall.

John Lennon and George Harrison
The plaque says that John Lennon and George Harrison used to work in this building

Named after Homer Simpson?
We can't be the only ones who see this and think of Homer Simpson?

Named after George Lazenby?
We actually feel sorry for George Lazenby. Everybody makes fun of his performance as James Bond. We actually would feel good if this street really is named after the Australian actor. He deserves it after having taken so much bad publicity.

We automatically think of David Hasselhoff
When we saw the name of this street we immediately thought of David Hasselhoff.

Jeremy Bentham
We wanted to see Jeremy Bentham auto-icon but this is the closest we came. It is inside this locked cabinet

Phone booths and statue
"Hold me closer tiny dancer /Count the headlights on the highway" /Sir Elton John "Tiny Dancer"

Mail Rail tunnel
The tour of the Mail Rail was really rewarding. But impossible to take any good photos of...

The Cockpit
Supposedly it is one of the oldest pubs in London. Its name comes from the fact that they used to hold cockfights in the pub.

Daffodils
Spring has arrived in London

Diana Memorial Walk
In Hyde Park there is a walking path dedicated to the memory of Princess Diana

Victoria and Albert Museum
While Ake and Hakan visited the Mail Rail, Emma went to Victoria and Albert Museum

Irish festival
It was St Saint Patrick's Day when we visited London, hence the green colours

Fearless Girl
This is a cool statue. "Fearless Girl" is a great name.

Street art
Maybe it doesn't qualify as street art per se since it is advertising a pizza shop

Street art
But this is proper street art, and it is a bit funny

Bill Wyman's bar
Bill Wyman's bar in Notting Hill

Venezuela's embassy
Something a bit funny at the end. The sign says "Door bell broken. Please knock or shout 'DING DONG' really loud"

Comments

[RENanDREW]

Yum!
The fish and chips look delicious! And it seems you stayed in a lovely part of London too - I very much agree that Holland Park is great. How lucky you are o be able to pop over to London for a weekend! I'm very envious :)

[Ake Och Emma]

It is a luxury
It is a luxury to have much of Europe so close to us. We have taken weekend trips to destinations reaching from the Baltic countries to Barcelona and Rome. /Ake

[D MJ Binkley]

Pub Hopping
Love the historic pubs with all kinds of personality.

[Ake Och Emma]

I love the people in those pubs
It is not so much the pubs in themselves that attract me. But the people that visit the pubs are very interesting. Often they have gone to the same pub several times every week for decades "shooting the breeze" with the same people every time./ Ake

[Fredric Åberg]

Swedish translation
The Swedish translation is hilarious since it becomes riddare-ridare. ?