London, UK — Alone with cameras in the heart of the British Empire (Part 1)
“There is always not enough time in London.” Christine told me the night before I set off to London.
18/6/2017
Amidst the recent terrorist attacks in London, I was still determined to visit London, because it was unlikely that I will visit the UK very soon. And I just had to see London, the heart of the British Empire!
It was awfully hot that day, so Christine offered me a Starbucks drink at the local train station. Believe it or not, I never been to Starbucks before that day. It is just too expensive and not worth it in my opinion. I don’t drink coffee, and other options seems strange to me so I just ordered an iced green tea (one of the cheapest and probably safest option), which turns out to be surprisingly good.
As the train came closer to London, I felt my heart beat just a little bit faster, it was the sense of participation, I was looking forward to seeing what London has to offer.
London is one of the most modern city in the word, a place filled with culture and history. Founded 2 millennia ago as a Roman colony.
Still having to get back to Coventry by the end of the day, that means I got around 7 hours in London. It was definitely not enough to see London.
Before going to Buckingham Palace, I figured I should just stop at a station and walk around the streets of London. So I stopped at Charing Cross station, when I got out of the underground it was the Trafalgar Square. I did not expected that. Trafalgar Square is a large open area with a very tall monument erected in the front of the square. It is called the Nelson Column, built to commemorate Horatio Nelson who died at the Battle of Trafalgar.
The square is one of the important public areas in London, where protests and other public events took place. Apparently some event was in progress when I arrived the square. Fences was set up and I couldn’t really got into the square without queuing, so I just walked around the outside of the square before I walked towards Leicester Station.
The Buckingham Palace, where everyone was going to see. So I just followed the stream of people and walked cross the Green Park and I was there.
The Buckingham Palace needs no introduction, it is the the symbol of the constitutional monarchy. The Palace, Westminster, and the Big Ben are some of the most well-known buildings in the world.
The flag flying on top of the Palace is an indication of whether the Queen is in the Palace. If the flag flying was the Royal Standard, it means the Queen is inside. If it was the Union Jack flying then vice versa.
The palace is a neo-classical styled building, some parts of the building can be dated from 3 centuries ago. It was not as large as the pictures made it look on the internet, but nevertheless a magnificent building.
Surrounded by layers of crowd control barrier, with surprisingly little security (maybe I just did not see any). As I was walking along with others, I suddenly realised that we were kind of like sheep being directed into the farm.
The Mall, a road leading to the Buckingham Palace. It is probably the most British Road judging from the number of Union Jacks flying along the road…
Just like every tourist attractions, the place was filled with sounds of people talking in different language, and people who take photos using DSLRs with their little pop-up flash in broad daylight.
Walking along the Birdcage Walk, towards the River Thames. The Big Ben came to view along with the Houses of Parliament. The Westminster Abbey is just across the road, very convenient.
Looking at the Westminster Abbey from the side, with its pyramid like structure (I am obviously no church expert), it looked like a giant mountain to me.
I walk across the road, on the Westminster Bridge, in a distance was the London Eye.
The famous Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament was right beside the bridge, I still remember vividly how the gilded dials on the clock face was shining under the hot summer sun, Truly a breath-taking sight. (metaphorically)
I heard during the great war, the clock was still running accurately. Must had been a great relieve to hear the bell chime, when civilians were coming back up from the bomb shelters. Knowing that themselves as well as the Big Ben survived yet another air raid from the Germans.
As I was walking down to the Westminster underground, the bell struck 14.
To be continued…
