Posts tagged Thames
Trying not to think about it

Last night I caught up with friends Emma and Sibs for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant in Shoreditch. It was great to see them and the food was fantastic. On my way to the restaurant I spotted this building and had to take a snap. I think the way they've played with perspective is brilliant! 

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Last night wasn't late, but after Sunday night's effort it was still difficult getting myself activated this morning. I only had some very vague plans for the day so I headed towards the Thames. The walk took me through Chelsea and then along the Thames until the Houses of Parliament. I don't remember walking along that part of the Thames before.  

It was a perfectly clear morning and the browns and reds of bricks and tiles against the vivid blue sky looked stunning.

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I passed this bike slowly being digested by the undergrowth.

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The tide was exceptionally low on the Thames with many boats beached along the shores. 

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The walk along the embankment took me a couple of hours but it was nice to stroll and take photos of things as they caught my eye.

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I spent a little bit of time sitting in one of the parks along side the Thames. Luckily, I don't think I broke any of these rules. 

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At one stage there were two very large and very loud black army helicopters hovering over part of the city. I haven't seen anything that beefy over the city before and it was a little unnerving

Eventually I made it to Covent Garden. I wanted to get a print I'd seen at the start of my trip and to visit the London Transport Museum. When I first arrived I went to the open day at the London Transport Museum depot not realising that there was actually a museum in the city. So today I checked it out. Understandably, it was teeming with school kids so navigating around was a little tricky. But worth it all the same. 

This is the inside of one of the older tube trains. Very different to these days. 

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There's currently a design exhibition on and this model of Picadilly Circus station was fascinating. I really got a sense of how complex the network of tunnels is below the surface.  Quite mind blowing that it all works, actually.

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By this time my energy was waning. I checked my map and discovered that a tube station nearby would take me directly to Earl's Court where the hotel is. It was a sign. Now I'm resting up before heading out to catch up with another friend. 

Tomorrow is my last day in England and I'm trying my hardest not to think about it.

Day 33 (part 2): A carrot cake kind of day

Well I figured out that I could "jettison" nearly 5kg of luggage that I either don't need or can easily replace back home. That gave me the justification I needed to get the Mars book. So first off today I made my way back to the Science Museum. I went via Regent Street so I could take some pictures.

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Also, after many failed attempts over the last few days I finally got a decent picture of the Christmas decorations in Oxford street.

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I got to the museum at opening time when there was no-one else in the shop and made my purchase (plus some unplanned extras). The book is heavy so I went back to the hotel to drop it off. On the way back I walked down The Strand and saw the topiary on this building. It looked real, but I don't know if it was.

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Next on my hit list was a visit to the Museum of London. I took the tube to St Paul's. It was another fascinating and beautifully presented museum. It started pre-history. As an Australian the history of London seems so long that I forgot that there would be artifacts and relics from even before London was founded.

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Em and Ash, I saw the following in a display for the Radio Times.

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The museum is at a part of London called London Wall. I had no idea there had been a wall. It was original built by the Romans.

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By this time was ready for lunch. There was a Pret-a-Manger nearby (as there nearly always is) so I went there. Never disappointed.

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After a grey and drizzly start to the day the skies were clearing. What a nice way to end the holiday. I decided it was a perfect opportunity to catch one of the sight seeing boats. I made my way to the Tower of London. On the way I saw this reflection in the glass and stopped to take a pic.

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I bought a ticket for one of the sight seeing boats to take me to Westminster. One must have only just left which meant I could wait near the start of the queue for the next one which was less than 30 min away. I sat up top and had a perfect view. Though, it was pretty fresh up there. One of the crew gave us a running commentary in a very broad English accent, but it was really quite fun.

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From there I walked back to the hotel for dinner and a rest. The walk only took about 30 minutes. On the way I passed Green Park. I had to take the obligatory cute squirrel pic.

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I also took this pic of more Christmas street decorations. Christmas feels so much more authentic here.

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As its still fine, tonight I'm going to head back to the Thames one last time and see if I can get some shots of the city lights.

Oh, and as for the title of this post ... I haven't eaten much in the way of cakes and sweets while away but today I did and it just seemed like carrot cake would hit the spot nicely ... twice!