Posts tagged City Lights

0520 I slept much better last night.

0630 Breakfast time.

0730 I spend some time copying my blogs back to OneNote so I can start editing the text for the book of this trip.

The trouble with being an early bird is having to wait for the rest of the world to get up. I fluff around until I think the shops will be open. Today is going to be a browsing and shopping day. No backpack, no big camera and (almost) no itinerary.

0850 I head out walking towards Covent Garden. Walking across Waterloo Bridge the wind is bitterly cold and it’s spotting rain. I had thought of bringing my umbrella but it would have been no help anyway.

0915 I get to Covent Garden but most things are still setting up. I look in a bookstore for a while then decide to head to the other end of my general plan with the intention of working back instead. I notice that all the Christmas lights are still on, even during the day. Admittedly, today is so dull, you almost need them!

1001 I catch the Piccadilly line from Covent Garden to Gloucester Road.

1012 I arrive Gloucester Road. I’m here to visit the European Bookshop. I’m on the hunt for German language books that might be helpful. I find a couple to buy.

1100 I stop for a pastry and coffee. Yum!

1115 I catch the Piccadilly line from Gloucester Road back to Knightsbridge. It’s still drizzling.

1123 I pop into Harrods for a while. I’ve been there before but thought it might be nice to browse. There’s lots to see but the store is way too confusing to navigate around for my liking.

1209 From the Knightsbridge station I catch the Piccadilly line to Green Park.

1216 From Green Park I catch the Victoria line to Oxford Circus. I’m heading to Oxford street.

1219 I arrive Oxford Circus and make my way up to Oxford Street.

I wander in a few of the bigger stores. Selfridges has the most spectacular interior Christmas lighting with massive moving mirror balls. Even John Lewis has an impressive display of lights in the escalator area that’s reminiscent of falling snow. I buy a couple of things.

1420 It’s raining more heavily now. I find a nearby Pret-a-Manger (very easy to do in London) and settle for a “Christmas lunch” sandwich with turkey, stuffing and other goodies. I grab a Bakewell slice too; it’s SO good - better than the slice I had in Bakewell!

I head back to find a store that stocks something I want to get for mum. The rain is persistent now but my coat gives me enough protection.

I head back to Piccadilly Circus station. Should I return to Covent Garden or head back to the hotel? The tube will take me direct to Waterloo station and I’m a little over the rain, so that’s my choice.

1530 I catch the Bakerloo line from Piccadilly Circus.

1540 I arrive Waterlook station and make my way back to the hotel. Luckily there’s a break in the rain.

1550 Back in the warm, dry hotel.

1600 Time to head down to the lounge for a cocktail (vodka martini) while I work on my blog.

1830 Another nice and quiet evening. I had thoughts of heading out to do some night time photography using the water on the ground for reflections, but it’s nice and warm inside and I can’t muster the enthusiasm.

England 2018Ian Barber21 November 2018City Lights, UK, London Comments

18.11 Portsmouth to London (or dizzying heights to bright lights)

0530 I was in bed ultra early, exhausted from the walk. I’m feeling OK now, but ready for breakfast; I didn’t have dinner last night. Outside the sky is perfectly clear. Excellent for what I have planned this morning.

0630 There’s only one other strange person at breakfast this early on a Sunday morning.

0700 I work on yesterday’s blog.

0740 It looks so good outside. Undoubtedly, it’s cold, but after a few cloudy days the clear sky is so enticing. I decide to wander out to experience it and take some photos. It is bracing, but I love that. And it’s so tranquil to walk around the harbour at this time of the morning with no-one around. The sea is just ever so gently heaving from edge to edge.

0815 Time to start re-packing.

0840 Re-packing done. The suitcases are getting harder to pack and heavier to lift!

I notice some comments on my blog. Thank you everyone who has interacted with me. It’s somewhat of a “1st world problem”, but I do get a little lonely at times on the road and these comments and interactions are lovely and very much appreciated.

0915 Time to check-out. I wander to the harbour to wait until my booking for the Spinnaker Tower. I notice my waistline. I don’t think I’ve put on any weight yet. I haven’t gone overboard with food and I’ve definitely kept my activity levels up.

0930 It’s a beautiful clear crisp day. It’s lovely just to sit by the harbour and notice the city wake up.

1000 I have a booking to go up to the observation deck on the Spinnaker Tower. It’s a spectacular view and the weather couldn’t be more perfect for it. I can clearly see to The Isle of Wight and all around Portsmouth. There’s even a little “sky garden” one level up.

1040 I’m back on the ground. I don’t want to head to London too early because check-in isn’t until 1500 I’ve already done most of the maritime museum attractions which had originally been on my plan for today. There’s one thing left, to go across the harbour to see a submarine but I don’t really feel like it. I sit quietly by the harbour again for a while.

1100 On my way reluctantly back to the hotel, I notice a sign for harbour tours and the next one departs at 1115. Sounds like a great idea. I get a ticket and get onboard.

1115 The tour just takes us around the docks and includes a good commentary on the ships that are in harbour today.

1210 We get back to the quay and I go back to the hotel for my bags. I then make my way to the train station. There’s a London train waiting already.

1232 I’m on the South Western Railways service to London Waterloo. We depart calling at (deep breath) Fratton, Havant, Petersfield, Haslemere, Goldaming, Guildford, Woking, West Byfleet, Byfleet & New Haw, Addlestone, Chertsey, Virginia Water, Staines, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo. I have a first class ticket and it’s worth it to get a nice seat and a quiet carriage.

1340 It’s a long journey and luckily there’s a trolley service onboard. I get a sandwich for lunch.

1456 We arrive in London. Google tells me it should only be an 8 minute walk tot the hotel. I start walking down Waterloo Road and the buildings aren’t looking all that flash. I hope the hotel’s not too far out the way. But soon I get there and everything is fine. The hotel looks very new.

1515 I check-in.

1600 After freshening up I head out again. It’s still clear and my weather app tells me that won’t last this week. I decide tonight will be the best for finding Christmas lights in the city. I walk into the centre of London, heading towards Covent Garden. I stop along the way to grab something to eat so I don’t have to worry about it later.

1700 By the time I get to Covent Garden market the sun has gone down and it’s dark. The lights in the market are beautiful and there are people everywhere. I slowly follow the crowds along streets, discovering little pockets of lights and massive displays in the streets leading into Piccadilly Circus. I’m not sure if everyone else was doing the same thing, but it certainly seems as if people were there for the lights. It feels so late but I keep reminding myself how early it still is.

On my way back I drop into “Christmas in Leicester Square”. It’s a mini-Christmas market. I’m glad I get to experience one of these. As expected, it’s nothing exceptional but it still has an air of Christmas magic about it. I get myself a mulled wine to wander around and take in the atmosphere. Back home I’m not a big fan of the hot Australian Christmas, but here I feel I could get into it. It feels more authentic, maybe even familiar from my early childhood?

1800 It’s still quite early but I’ve seen enough. I catch the tube from Charing Cross to Waterloo and then walk back to the hotel.

1830 I’m done for the day. I look through my photos. I’m not so happy with the Christmas light photos; they didn’t catch the magic. But I guess that will be difficult. I did take some video that gives a hint. I watch some TV before bed.s

I took a little bit of video. Make sure you watch it at the highest resolution.

England 2018Ian Barber19 November 2018Cityscapes, UK, London, Spinnaker Tower, City Lights, Portsmouth Comments

White Night Melbourne

As with Vivid, I had heard of White Night before, but always too late to go. But one of the apartments I have stayed in for work emailed me a "deal" for White Night early in the year which tipped me off. So, I planned a short stay in Melbourne to check it out.

During the day I visited the NGV. Then, once it was dark I headed out. I wasn't prepared for the vast numbers of people. It took me over 5 hours to walk from Carlton Gardens down past Federation Square.

EventsIan Barber17 February 2018Night Lights, Vic, Australia, City Lights, White Night, MelbourneComment

Even more London

My original plan had been to do some day trips out of London but I've decided to make the most of being here and stick to city activities. I've had plenty of time to explore further afield during this holiday. Today's main activity was to catch up with a friend. That was scheduled for 1:00pm so I had time for some other things.

A place I wanted to visit was Leadenhall Market. I've seen photos and it looks quite ornate. It looked as I expected, but was quite small - more like an arcade.

My next task was to buy a small suitcase. I haven't bought a lot but my case was packed full before I left and I've run out of room. I needed a second small case to split the contents. I caught the Central Line from Bank to Tottenham Court so I could have a look down Oxford Street. To my surprise, luggage shops were scarce and I found myself back at Muji before long. The other day I had seen a nice case there so it seemed like a sign. From there I headed back to the hotel to change before meeting Andy.

We arranged to meet at Waterloo Station (sounds quite poetic). After some confusion over which entrance to meet at, we located each other and walked to Lower Marsh. After grabbing some lunch it was nice to spend a couple of hours wandering around the city and catching up. These looked a bit like high density housing for the local bird population.

Andy was on night shift and need to grab some sleep so we parted mid afternoon. I took the tube back to the hotel from Southwark station. I noticed the massive patterned wall in the station which also acted a bit like a mirror.

I tried to have a nap too as my final plan for the day was to head out with my camera in the evening. The nap didn't really work out.

I headed out around 7:30pm. Although it was still very light, it was a good light and perfect when the sun came out from behind the clouds to illuminate the western facing surfaces of buildings and bridges. I walked all the way down to the Houses of Parliament before stopping for some dinner and working my way back.

At this part of the river and at this level, the Thames looked so wide.

The shapes of the roofs of this building reminded me of Disneyland.

There is a large construction site near the London Eye. I wondered, what would be the right collective noun? Maybe "a lifting of cranes"?

There was so much activity all along Southbank. This shot was taken around 9:30pm with people relaxing in chairs on the bank. It was a bit cool but no one seemed bothered.

As the sun went down I took shots of this skyline from various locations.

The cloud looming above St Paul's looked ominous.

In the end I was moderately happy with the results of my nighttime photography. I learnt a few things along the way that I would do differently and discovered that there were still limitations to what I would be able to do. Hopefully I will keep practicing so I can focus less on the technique and more on finding interesting scenes.

By the time I got back to the hotel it was about 11:00pm and still there were lots of couples and groups of people around me all the way back. It felt very safe.

England and Wales 2017Ian Barber30 May 2017Cityscapes, Southern England, England, London, UK, City Lights Comment

More London

As you would hope in a hotel like this, I slept really well. The blinds are amazing and when they're down you would have no idea what time it is. Which is just as well since the sun was already rising when I peeked out at 4:30am this morning. I stayed in bed until 7:30am but I'm still feeling very tired.

I headed down to breakfast overlooking the city. The sun was bright and warm through the windows. People were remarking on the weather so I assume it's not been so good lately.

I was undecided on what to do today. My original plan had been to visit the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. They have a great collection of planes and it's been on my "to do" list for sometime. Luckily I checked their website because there was an air show on this weekend. That didn't appeal to me for two reasons: 1) it would be super busy, 2) I get a bit freaked out even when they do the fly pass for the Clipsal 500 so I don't think I'd enjoy it. I will leave it until later this week or save for another trip.

In the end I decided to do a bit of retail therapy. I'm running short on a few clothes. I looked into using the hotel laundry service but realised it would almost cost the same to buy new items. I don't mind spending the money on the laundry service, but if I can get some new things for the same price then I may as well. Arriving in the hotel last night I also noticed the city lights and thought it might be fun to try some nighttime photography. The monopod I brought is OK, but it's not going to keep the camera still enough for long exposure shots. So my plan was also to either buy an extremely lightweight tripod or a cheap one I can afford to leave here.

I wandered towards Oxford street. The city was quite busy with lots of tourists. The tide was way out on the Thames. As I've noticed on other occasions there were people fossicking around the banks.

From this point, on the Millenium Bridge, I could also get a good shot of The Shard. By my calculations, my room is somewhere around the red dot.

Oxford Street was very busy. For a long time I was indecisive but finally dived in and found a few things I liked. I popped into the Muji store and spent a while trying to dream up legitimate uses for the array of perfect boxes and containers. And finally, I found a camera store with a great tripod that folds into a very compact size but still has good stability.

By this time it was starting to rain so I decided to catch the tube back. I caught the Central Line from Tottenham Court to Bank and then the Northern Line from Bank to London Bridge. From there it's a couple of minutes walk to The Shard.

By this time it was nearly 5:00pm so I fluffed around for a bit and played with my new tripod. I had also originally planned to go to Horse Meat Disco tonight. I've been a couple of times on previous visits and have always really enjoyed it. But last night the rain looked as if it had set in and I was feeling tired and introspective. I decided against it.

I ordered some room service dinner to avoid having to sit in a restaurant alone. The view could be my company. Of course, it didn't just arrive on a tray, did it.

After dinner I had a brief feeling of revitalisation and reconsidered going to HMD. It didn't last long though. Instead I utilised my new equipment to get some better quality night shots of London. With the new tripod I was able to take photos with less noise and sharper focus. I'm very happy with the results and will try to get out to do some at street level Monday or Tuesday night.

England and Wales 2017Ian Barber28 May 2017Cityscapes, Southern England, England, London, UK, City Lights Comment

London

I'm finishing my holiday in London because ... it's London. My favourite city. I'm not sure what I'm going to do here. I'm feeling quite exhausted from my adventures, so I might just take advantage of the luxury of my final hotel and just relax.

Speaking of which, when I was looking for London accommodation I had two considerations. Firstly, most of the other accommodation I had secured for the holiday had come in under budget which meant I could spend extra in London. Secondly, all of my previous stays in London have been in relatively modest apartments or hotels with little or no view and very little space. I thought it was time to stay somewhere nicer. When the Shangi-La at The Shard first popped up on Booking.com I giggled to myself and whispered "as if". But then the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't resist the temptation. The appeal was less about the luxury of the hotel and all about the views. I selected a mid price room which would give me a view to the east, missing the major landmarks but still spectacular. To my delight, when I checked in last night they had upgraded me to a north facing room with the perfect view from the Houses of Parliament on the left to St Paul's on the right and the Thames slap bang in the middle. Could not ask for a better view.

I got to the hotel about 9:30pm after catching a taxi from London Kings Cross station. The check-in process was easy and I was personally escorted to my room on the 40th floor. The room is even larger than I had expected. The bathroom alone is nearly bigger than the entire room in the final hotel of my last holiday here! And there are lots of nice touches, like a set of binoculars to check out the sights, a Nespresso machine for the early morning coffee, electronic blinds that do a magnificent job of blocking out the early morning sun (it was light at 4:30am this morning), and even a TV built into the mirror in the bathroom.

But the main attraction is the view. I could just sit an gaze out the window all day and night. The photos just don't give you the full floor to ceiling panoramic effect of the view.

England and Wales 2017Ian Barber27 May 2017City Lights, UK, Cityscapes, London, England, Accommodation, Southern England Comment

Twinkle twinkle New York City ...

... all lit up you look so pretty!

Before leaving Australia I purchased two tickets for the Empire State Building with the express purpose of experiencing it in the day and at night. As the skies were still clear I decided tonight was an opportunity not to be missed.

Armed with some wise photography tips from my friend Steve, I headed off at dusk. Unfortunately I miscalculated how quickly the sun would set and consequently got there a little later than I think would have been optimal. But it was still just as breathtaking.

Once again my express ticket ushered me past snaking line after snaking line. I cannot emphasise this enough; if you ever go, spend the little extra for an express ticket. I must have passed many hundreds of people. I can't imagine how long they'd been waiting for.

So this was my first attempt at serious night time photography with this camera and as you can imagine there are a number of parameters to play with. Unfortunately, the small the screen on the camera makes it hard to really tell which are working the best. I should have checked the histograms but I didn't think of it at the time. Now I've seen them on my iPad I feel I could fine tune and do better. But they're still the best night time shots I've ever been able to achieve. Thanks Steve!

On the way back to the hotel I passed the pop-up food stalls in Greeley Square that I encountered on Saturday. I was feeling peckish so got myself some goats cheese and rosemary "mac & cheese". Very tasty.

As it was still 20 blocks to the hotel I decided to take the subway. Unfortunately I caught the wrong line, but luckily figured out my mistake before getting too far off track. Before long I'd made my way back to the right line and the 14th street station safe and sound.

North America 2014Ian Barber28 October 2014Towers, USA, New York, City Lights, NightComment

Day 33 (part 3): Goodnight London

I've been meaning to try and capture how beautiful this city can be at night ever since I've been here. Tonight was my perfect (and final) opportunity. These are Regent Street at night. They still don't do it justice.

These should need no explanation.

And finally, some other shots I took along the way.

Goodnight London.

Europe 2013Ian Barber24 October 2013London, City Lights, Night, UK, CityscapesComment