LONDON BABY- Part I
Love is all you need...
Mine and Kevin's journey to explore London! We spent one whole day walking over 12 miles along the river and through the city, without taking taxis, so we wouldn't miss a thing! It was amazing time seeing all of the historic buildings and architecture while also enjoying some fish and chips and London brewed beer!
On our way to London! Inside Klagenfurt, Austria airport! The smallest airport I've ever been in!
Beautiful mountains surrounding the airport!
Waiting for the plane
Ryan Air has the best deals in Europe!
On the flight!
At our hotel, enjoying a nice British Beer, Boddingtons, Like Joey (from Friends) enjoys when he goes to London! :)
Sunrise in London! We were awake before the sun, ready to start exploring London!
London Liverpool Street Train Station!
London Taxi's!
The London Gherkin Building, officially called the 30 St Mary Axe, won the Stirling Prize for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects in October of 2004. This was London's first environmental skyscraper, using 50% less energy then a traditional office block.
St. Andrews Undershaft Church, survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, the Second World War bombing during the London Blitz in 1940-1941, and had one of London's few surviving large stained glass windows installed in the 17th century, but was then destroyed in the IRA Bomb Attack of 1992.
They had "The Lue" right there on the streets!
St Dunstan in the East, gothic style steeple added by Architect, Sir Christopher Wren, in 1695-1701. The church originally built in 1100. The Church largely destroyed during the Second World War and the ruins are now a public garden.
All Hallows by the Tower, established in 675, making it the oldest church in the city of London, containing inside a 7th century Saxon arch with recycled Roman tiles, and the oldest surviving piece of church fabric in the city. It was close to the Tower of London, acquiring royal connections with, Henry IV, making it a royal chantry where the beheaded victims of Tower executions were sent for temporary burial at All Hallows.
The Monument, is a stone Roman doric column which commemorates the Great Fire of London, designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. Its height (202 ft) marks the distance of the site in Pudding Lane of the shop of Thomas Farynor, the King's baker, where the Great Fire began.
The Tower of London, a historic castle founded in 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. The tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.
The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of royal mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The beginning of The Tudor period marked the start of the decline of the Tower of London's use as a royal residence.
The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figured who had fallen int disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "Sent to the Tower"
Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, by 16th century religious propagandists and 18-th century writers, only 7 people were executed within tho Tower before the World Wars of the 20th century. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle.
Traitors Gate were prisoners were held, including Lady Anne Boleyn, where she was charged with treason, incest, and adultery by King Henry VIII. She was then beheaded in the Tower.
The Tower Bridge, built 1884-1894. Mistaken for the London Bridge which is a small bridge up the stream. The bridges present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white, and blue for the Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee, originally it was painted a chocolate brown colour.
The original design of the bridge did not work, because tall boats could not fit through. So they then figured a way for the central span of the bridge, which splits into two equal leaves, can then be lifted at a 83 degree angle to allow river traffic to pass through. Designed by Horace Joans, the city architect, in collaboration with John Wolfe Barry.
The real London Bridge!
PEACE & LOVE,
Kevin & Amanda
