Thames River cruise (south shore)

The return trip on the water taxi makes three stops (one on the north shore, and two on the south), whereas the trip from St. Catherine's to Westminster is a non-stop journey.

We start with the London Eye, which is just across the bridge at Westminster.  The Eye is the tallest ferris wheel in Europe at 135m tall.  It has 32 capsules, with a capacity of 800 people and take about 30 minutes to do one revolution.

I'm hoping to find the time to go for a ride, but the queues are quite long for this popular attraction.

Just beside the Eye is the Sea Life Aquarium.  As you may know, I used to have a lot of aquariums at home, and would normally be very interested in visiting here, but as this is my first time to London, and time is scarce, I think there are more uniquely British places I would like to visit.

Moving back towards the east, we pass the Tate Modern, a modern art gallery that is housed in a building that used to be a power plant.  It has been described as the ugliest building in London.  You be the judge:

Next, we have Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which is a replica of Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre.  This is actually supposed to be a really interesting place to visit, so I hope I can find time to get over and have a look around.

Close by is the Anchor, a pub that has been running (not necessarily in the same location) for more than 400 years.  Despite being a tourist attraction, the reviews for food, service, and cleanliness, are less than stellar.

A little further along, there is a replica of "The Golden Hinde", which was the ship in which Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world in 1577.  Drake was given a charter by Queen Elizabeth I allowing him to attack and loot ships belonging to England's enemies (primarily the Spanish).  Drake regarded himself as a "privateer", though the Spanish referred to him as a "pirate".  Drake collected so much booty that they had to replace the ship's ballast with the treasure collected.

The replica ship has actually followed Drake's path around the world twice, and is now trying to raise enough money to make the journey again.

Also, on the south shore, and shown in a previous post, is a modern sky scraper called the Shard.  Just opened on July 5th, 2012, the Shard is the tallest building in Europe at 309.6m.  It includes both offices and residential spaces.  Supposedly the architect of the building was given a penthouse suite (worth 30 million pounds!) for his role in designing the building.

And finally, as we make our way back to St. Catherine's docks, we pass by the HMS Belfast, once the largest and most powerful cruiser in the Royal Navy.  The HMS Belfast played a crucial role in WWII, sinking German battle cruiser "Scharnhorst", and playing a role in the D-Day landings.

Did you see how I snuck in one more picture of the Tower Bridge?

I ended up getting back to the hotel around 3:30pm, and was looking forward to a nice long sleep (till about 10:30pm) before getting up to go back to work.  Unfortunately, the hotel had scheduled a fire alarm test for 5:00pm, which scared the hell out of me!  I had been forewarned that this would happen (every Monday at this time), but I had forgotten.  Yikes!

Thames River Cruise (north shore)

After work on Monday, I went back to the hotel and had lunch at a really nice Italian restaurant called Zizzi's in St. Catherine's Docks.  It's a little weird, I have dinner at midnight at work when I wake, and then have breakfast at about 6am, followed by lunch before I go to bed.

After lunch, I decided to take a Thames River water taxi down to the dock at Westminster, get out and walk around a bit, and then head back to go to bed.  I've started to get a cold, and didn't want to do a lot of walking, and hoped to get a good night's sleep.

The dock at St. Catherine's pier is right in front of the hotel, and the water taxi (more like a ferry, really) leaves every 30 minutes.  We pass under the Tower Bridge heading west (I'll spare you another photo of the bridge) and then cruise by the Tower of London.  Here's the "White Tower" as seen from the river:

Further to the west, we pass the Gherkin (shown previously), and the Monument.  The Monument is a 202ft tall monument to the Great Fire of 1666 and was built by Sir Christopher Wren (I'll have lots to say about him in a future post).  You can actually climb to the top of the Monument and get some great views of the city.  I plan to do this some day soon.

After this, we can get a glimpse of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, but I couldn't get a decent photo and I plan to visit the Cathedral later, so I'll leave it out for now.

Next, we come across "Cleopatra's Needle".  The needle is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, nearly 3500 years old, that was gifted to England in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt in commemoration of victories over Napoleon's armies in Alexandria.  The needle actually has nothing to do with Cleopatra (having been in existence for nearly 1000 years before she came along.  The needle wasn't actually transported to England until 1877 because of the enormous cost and difficulty of moving it.  The obelisk is 21m tall and weighs 224 tons.  The journey was perilous and almost ended in disaster.

As we near Westminster, we find the RAF Memorial, a monument dedicated to the members of the RAF (Royal Air Force) who died during the first World War.  The inscriptions were later augmented to include the members of the RAF who gave their lives in the second World War.  The symbol of the RAF is a golden eagle.

As we approach the docks at Westminster, we get a pretty good look at what most people call "Big Ben" and the Parliament buildings.

As you probably know, "Big Ben" is actually the name of the bell within the clock tower.  The tower itself is simply called the Clock Tower (though it has now been renamed the Elizabeth Tower in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year).

After disemarking at Westminster, I walked across the bridge to the south shore to get a better look at the Parliament buildings.

And another look from the bridge on the way back to the docks...

More on the return trip of my Thames River cruise, with points of interest on the south shore, in my next post!

Olympic Update

It's been a while since I posted something Olympics related, but not much had happened yet for Canada until Sunday, when synchronized diving pair Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel captured Canada's first medal of the London 2012 games with a bronze in the 3m competition.

One of the disadvantages of working the midnight to noon shift, is that I miss most of the live competition, and end up just seeing the NBC primetime show as it is played back to New York. 

Beach Volleyball is one of the few venues that gets started early in the morning, so I do get to see some of that (no, really, that's why I'm watching Beach Volleyball...) and in fact it is still on live when I get back in at midnight.

Anyway, in keeping with the Olympic theme for this post, I though I would introduce you to London's Olympic and Paralympic mascots, "Wenlock" and "Mandeville".

I've seen statues of these guys around town, and I have to tell you, they are a little bit creepy looking:

The mascots were not well received when they were introduced, as you can tell from the link above, and apparently there was controversy about the London 2012 logo also.  It is ugly (in my opinion), but I think the the conspiracy theorists are out to lunch (as usual) on this one.  Essentially, the pieces of the logo (which kind of look like a crumpled up piece of paper) are just stylized digits that form the number 2012.

Now, there is another controversy brewing over the placement of the Olympic flame.  Obiously, I (and everybody else here) was wrong when I guessed that the flame would end up atop the Orbit structure just outside the Olympic Stadium.  Instead, it appears the flame will remain inside the Olympic Stadium, out of site to all Olympic visitors, except those with tickets to a Track and Field event.

And despite a stretch of truly beautiful weather in the week leading up to the Opening Ceremonies, it has rained the past couple of days, and the rain is predicted to continue for the next while (primarily in the afternoon, according to the forecasts, which is my only available time for site-seeing)!

Let's hope the weather isn't much of a factor for the games (or my site-seeing), and that we can forget all these "controversies" and just enjoy the games.  The British press seem to be pretty hard on their ahtletes and medal expectations are high.  I'm just looking forward to seeing some of our Canadian athletes do their thing and hope for the best.

British Museum (Part 3)

The British Museum also had some great displays on medieval Europe and the Bronze Age, but much of that was very difficult to photograph (behind glass), and I was getting very tired (as I mentioned, I was only there 2 hours, but really needed to get to bed after 12 hours at work).

There were, however, a few items that really caught my attention, because of their age, and uniqueness.  For instance, this gold cape, discovered in a stone-lined grave in north Wales in 1833, which has been dated to about 1900BC!

Gold Cape, 1900BC, North Wales

This was at a time when people did not live in permanent villages, or build cities or palaces.  The people moved with their livestock and their possessions through the country.  This cape was crafted from a single gold ingot, beaten into a very thin sheet and embossed.  The cape's owner must have been a very wealthy and important person.

This copper lion's head sculpture dates back to a temple from 2500BC in Mesopotamia.  It is amazing that they were creating things like this even back then.

Copper Lion's Head, 2500BC, Mesopotamia

I loved these three little sculptures, partly because they were really cute, but mostly because of the description provided by the museum...

Clay human figurines, 3300BC

"These figures are made of unfired clay.  Although very crude, two of them certainly represent males.  The third is either female or has lost a small piece of clay."  (Have a close look at the figures - hilarious).

Finally, these last two items are astonishing to me because they date from 7200BC!

Lime plaster statues, 7200BC

These extraordinary statues are the earliest large-scale representations of the human form.  Can you imagine that these were made more than 9200 years ago?

That wraps up my visit to the British Museum.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  There was so much to see, I wish I had more time.

British Museum (Part 2)

One of the prize pieces at the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone.  The stone is inscribed with a decree from King Ptolemy V in 196BC. The Rosetta Stone was discovered by Napoleonic soldiers in 1799, and after his defeat, it became the property of the British as part of the the Treaty of Alexandria in 1801.  The significance of the stone is not the actual decree, but the fact that it contains copies of the text in three scripts (ancient Egyptian hierglyphs, demotic script, and ancient Greek).

After about the 4th century AD, when hierglyphs had gone out of use, the knowledge of how to read and write them disappeared.  Because the same text is (essentially) represented in all three versions, the Rosetta Stone provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hierglyphs. 

The museum also has many areas exploring cultures from around the world and through the ages.  Here are some of my favourite pieces from these areas (mostly with religious significance) going back to 700BC.  I'll only have comments on a few of these pieces.

Buddha, 1800AD, dry lacquer, gilding, shell inlay and wood

The belief in Hell entered China with Buddhism in the late 1st Millenium AD. This figure represents a Judge's assistant holding records of evil deeds under his left arm.

Stoneware "Judgement" figure, Ming Dynasty, 1550AD

Budai (fat smiling monk), Ming Dynasty, 1486AD

Shiva and his consort Parvati, India, 1200AD

The iconic "moai" statues from the remote Pacific island of Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island) were created by the Polynesians who began inhabiting the islands from about 800AD.

Hoa Hakananai'a, Easter Island moai statue, 1400AD

About 1000 of these figures were made, but by around 1600AD they had stopped making them, and had even begun to topple or even bury them.  The island had become deforested over the centuries, most of the birdlife had become extinct, and a birdman cult developed that replaced the worship of the moai.

After reading Guy Gavriel Kay's Saratine Mosaic novels, I've always been fond of mosaic art, but had always thought of them as Byzantine era creations (around 600AD).  This piece, at the British Museum, is thought to be the earliest depiction of Christ, from the 4th Century AD.

Mosaic floor depiction of Christ, 4th Century AD

This last piece is also very interesting.  It is a cuneiform tablet telling the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, the first great epic of world literature.

Cuneiform tablet, Gilgamesh flood story, 700BC

The interesting part is that this 11th tablet of the epic describes the story of a plan by the gods to destroy the world by means of a great flood.  The story's hero builds a huge boat to rescue his family and every type of animal.  When this tablet was translated in 1872 it caused a sensation because of its similarity to the biblical flood story of Noah.  In fact, Mesopotamian poets had told versions of the story of the flood since nearly 2000BC.

I'll have one more post about the British Museum with some very cool pieces dating back to 7200BC!

British Museum (Part 1)

After work on Sunday, I headed out to the British Museum on the tube from Olympic Park.  Wow.  I was only there for about 2 hours, but I could have spent a whole day or more.  As usual, because I have so little time, I take a lot of photos of the plaques so that I can read about what I saw later.

The museum itself is beautiful, founded in 1753, it was the first national public museum in the world.  Admission has always been free!

The building is enormous, and very spacious inside, and contains treasures from around the world.  Some of the collected pieces are themselves enormous, and it boggles the mind as to how some of them were preserved and transported from around the world.

Pharoah Ramses II, Egpyt

I'm not going to comment on every photo, but I just wanted to show a few that illustrate the scale of some of these pieces.

Red Granite Lion, 1400BC, from the Sudan



Guard Lion, 860BC, Assyrian (from the Temple of Ishtar)

Palace Gates (reconstructed), 840BC, Assyrian

Nereid Monument (temple tomb), 390BC, Southwest Turkey

There were lots of classic Greek statues, and a display of the Parthenon Sculptures (which are subject to a dispute with the Greek government). 

Aphrodite, 100AD

Venus, 100AD

Having been to the National Archeological Museum in Athens, I think I was more impressed by their collection, though I loved this piece which seems to be proof of the existence of cellular phones in ancient Greece:

Looks like he's sending an SMS message, and holding his iPad in his left hand!

More from the British Museum, including some of the more interesting pieces with stories, in my next post!

Tower of London (Part 2)

Here's a few other tidbits from the Tower of London that don't fit quite as neatly into a storyline...

I've seen the symbol E II R in several places, as on this gentleman's tunic:

This symbol is actually a Royal Cypher for Queen Elizabeth II Regina (kind of like a monogram).  This fellow is actually a Yeoman Warder, a bodyguard at the Tower of London.  They are also commonly known as Beefeaters (supposedly because they were allowed to eat as much beef as they liked from the King's table).

Here's another character who I caught hanging around inside the Tower.  I don't know who he is, but I liked the photo:

In the basement of the White Tower, they have a collection of curiousities, including this cool sculpture of a dragon:

The dragon is made from all sorts of medieval "parts", including muskets (claws), telescopes and scrolls (arms and legs), and helmets (body armour).

The Tower is also home to an unkindness of Ravens ("unkindness" is the collective group noun for Ravens).  There are always at least 6 Ravens at the Tower (they ususally have 6 plus 1 spare).

Legend has it that the Tower will fall (be taken) if the 6 resident Ravens ever leave the fortress:

Ever wonder why the English currency is called the pound?  Well, it turns out that the weight of 240 silver pennies was one pound of sterling silver.  When large transactions occurred, payment was often done in "pounds sterling".  Prior to 1971, the pound was worth 20 shillings, and each shilling was worth 12 pence. 

In 1971, the currency was decimalized, making the pound worth 100 pence (called "new pence" until 1981).

That wraps it up for the Tower of London!

Tower of London (Part 1)

On the day of Opening Ceremonies, I wasn't scheduled to be in until midnight, and would have to work until noon on Saturday.  However, I finished work at about 10:30pm on Thursday, and had to figure out how to switch over to the new work hours.  I tried staying up late, and having a few beers with Rickey before going home, but even going to sleep at 1am, I was still awake by 11:30am.

I decided to go visit the Tower of London, as it is right across the street from my hotel, and then come back and try to sleep some more before going in to watch the Opening Ceremonies at 8pm.

When I got downstairs, I realized that the Olympic Torch was just then making its way up the Thames and under the Tower Bridge, but I couldn't get anywhere near the shore to take pictures because the crowd was so thick.

There was also a multi-cultural food fair going on with little booths from all over, so I had some chinese food for breakfast and then headed over to the Tower, which was suprisingly uncrowded.

Construction on the "White Tower" was begun around 1070AD after William the Conqueror's victory at the Battle of Hastings put him on the throne in England.

The site was already guarded on two sides by the London Wall (built by the Romans around 200AD).  The Tower grounds were designed to be a fortress, not a Palace, and were used for this purpose up until the late 19th century.

The site was expanded and fortified in the early 1200's during the reign of Richard III (while off on Crusade) by his Chancellor William Longchamp.  Richard's brother John often stayed at the tower, and was probably the first king to bring in lions and other exotic animals.  All sorts of exotic animals were kept here for over 600 years until eventually moved to Regents Park (and later the London Zoo) in 1832AD.

John's son Henry III inherited the throne at the age of 9 and the site continued to be fortified during his long reign.  The crown jewels have been stored at the Tower for over 900 years, although the ones currently on display have "only" been around since 1660AD because the original treasures were destroyed with the abolition of the monarchy in 1649AD (and the execution of King Charles I).

Unfortunately, photography is not allowed near the crown jewels, so I can't show you what they looked like, but they are pretty spectacular.  King George IV commissioned a lavish coronation crown designed to be set with 12314 diamonds.  Even the monarchy could not afford the 65,000 pound cost and ended up hiring (renting) the diamonds.  The crown was worn once, for the coronation, and then the diamonds had to be returned.

The Tower also has a long history as an armory, a prison, and even as a place of torture and execution, but somehow I don't think the medieval guards were equipped with machine guns...

In the armory, there are all kinds of weapons and suits of armour, including these two, one of which is for a child (37" tall) and the other is the largest known at 6'8".

The Tower has had an impressive list of famous prisoners, including William Wallace (Braveheart!), and Anne Bolelyn, wife to Henry VIII, who later had her beheaded on the Tower Green (one of only seven executions performed inside the Tower grounds, most were done outside on Tower Hill).

The "Rack" is a torture device that most of us have at least heard of before.  Essentially, it is used to stretch a person from the arms and legs until they are pulled apart at the joints.  Another device, that is probably less familiar, is the Scavenger's Daughter, in which the subject is folded up calves to thighs, and thighs to chest, and then compressed.  This method of torture was supposed to be worse than the rack.

More on the Tower in another post...