First day in London
After a big breakfast I headed out. First task was to visit Royal Albert Hall. It's only 10 min walk away and I wanted to see if I could get a ticket for a concert that night. I'd tried getting the ticket while still in Adelaide but I wouldn't work. On the way I walked past the Albert memorial. I've seen it before, but at that moment the sun was perfect and the gold glistened. I stopped to take some pictures but had to play cat and mouse with the sun hiding behind the clouds before I was able to get the shot I wanted.
I turned around and there was the Royal Albert Hall.
After finding the box office I managed to secure a ticket. More details on that later. After that I headed off through Hyde Park. The trees are just beginning to blossom.
The temperature was around 8 degrees but I felt comfortable apart from the occasional bursts of bracing wind. There were plenty of joggers out in the park. Some people riding horses too. Although I wasn't really heading anywhere in particular at first I got off track. My journey took me past some new buildings allowing me to indulge my love of photographing geometrical architecture.
Before long I was at the Thames and I had to duck for cover from a few spots of rain. I headed back north and finished up at Covent Garden looking through the markets. There was one stall with some lovely photos of London. I'll go back to get some when I return to London at the end of the trip.
Saturday was St George's Day which is England's national day. There was a festival in Trafalgar Square so I headed there next. It wasn't quite what I expected but it was fun all the same.
While sitting by one of the fountains in the square I noticed the statues in a pool. Can't say I've taken much notice before but this expression caught my eye.
After some food and watching the entertainment I decided to slowly head back to the hotel. My feet were killing me and I was planning to have a nap before the concert. Feeling some slight effects of jet lag. I took the route past Buckingham Palace. All through London I've seen preparations for the London Marathon which is on Sunday. Around the palace was the most activity. I think it finishes there.
As well as blossom I noticed there are tulips everywhere. I saw a couple of beds in Hyde Park as well as the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Back in the hotel I crawled into bed for a little doze. When the alarm went off I was feeling heavy but managed to wake myself up with some strong coffee and get ready to head out. The concert was starting at 7:30 which was nice and civilised. I grabbed some sushi for dinner. After pigging out all day it was nice to have something light. Then off to the hall. I'll write about that in my next post.