England and Scotland, May 2005 : Day 15
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Day 15, Thursday: In the morning I enjoyed breakfast with an interesting group at the B&B, including Axel, whom I had briefly met the evening before. He was a regular at the B&B, coming over with some frequency to teach classes. (Medical seminars, perhaps? I don't recall now.) Since he was generally working, he still hadn't managed to do much sight-seeing.

Then I packed my bags and caught the train for London. On arrival at Paddington Station, I phoned a modest, relatively inexpensive hotel recommended by the guidebook, and was fortunately able to get a room for the night. I caught the train to Victoria Station, which was not only close to my hotel, but also was on a direct line to Gatwick Airport, where I had to catch my flight the next day. As I was examining the fare machine before catching the train to Victoria, someone gave me a London rail pass good for the rest of the day, as they were leaving London and didn't need the pass anymore. Awesome! I managed to make use of the pass a few times.

Anyway, I checked into the hotel and used their free Internet service (a PC facing the hallway) to check email and attempt more coordination for my return to Seattle. Then back to Victoria Station, where I grabbed a tour bus that allowed getting on and off as desired for the day.

Around this time the rain, which had been light and spotty so far this day (in contrast to the sun of most of my trip), became more insistent and I was forced into the covered section of the bus, greatly reducing the photographic opportunities.

Paddington Station, London

Paddington Bear at
Paddington Station

Animals In War memorial

The Ritz



I hopped off the bus at Westminster and took a spin on the London Eye. In good weather, this must give some really nice views; I still enjoyed it, but the views were limited, and rain on the pod limited the photo opportunities.

There were also some interesting sculptures by the County Hall Gallery for the permanent Dali Universe exhibit.

Outside the County
Hall Gallery

The London Eye

People board the Eye

Looking down

At the top of the Eye

The Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery next
to the London Eye



I then got some photos of the nearby Houses of Parliament, before catching the tour bus again. A bit later I hopped off the bus by St. Paul's Cathedral. I was disappointed to discover that photography was not permitted inside the cathedral, so I didn't spend long there. I left and walked the few blocks to the Millenium Bridge.

Back on the tour bus for more general sight-seeing. The rain had tapered off by this point and I managed to get more photos.

Houses of Parliament
behind Westminster Bridge

The Houses of Parliament

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

Millenium Bridge
and St. Paul's

The Millenium Bridge

London Bridge's protector
of the City of London

London Bridge

London Bridge and tour bus

Tower of London

London Eye

London Eye and Saatchi Gallery

Houses of Parliament and the London Eye



I exited the tour bus again at Buckingham Palace and took photos until it started to get pretty dark, then caught the bus back to Victoria Station. I got some bad pizza at a fast-food pizza and pasta place by the station. At one point while eating, I heard a commotion and turned to see some a young kid who had managed to escape his mother well enough to climb over the half-wall at the edge of the restaurant, and was hanging by his ankle over the other side with mom desperately holding on to keep him from falling the rest of the way. I went to help, but she managed to get a good grip on him and pull him back inside before I got there.

Buckingham Palace



Dinner (of sorts) finished, I caught the train back to Westminster to get some night photos of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben's clock tower and the London Eye. I was disappointed to find only the towers at the ends of the Houses of Parliament were lit up, unlike some impressive photos I had seen. I asked some passing safety officers (who were very friendly) if they knew why it was only partially lit and they said no, it was usually fully lit, how strange. I guess it was special lighting arrangements for my single night in London.

Back on the train for my final use of the gift travel pass, to the hotel for the last night of my trip.



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