What a View!
by Rhondaj
Who can pick a favorite thing??
Anyway, about the London Eye:
at 135 meters (450 ft.) tall, at this moment it's the highest viewing opportunity of London. (Something else is bound to come along eventually right?) Built by British Airways to celebrate the Millennium, (the what?) the eye will be here for awhile. I asked the ticket agent for how long, and he said their contract was just renewed for another (okay, discrepency part-- I thought he said 5 years, my daughter thought he said 25 years). We were lucky - there wasn't a line to buy tickets to go on the London Eye. But, there was about a 15 minute wait for our turn to get on a capsule. It takes about 30 minutes to make a complete run. Great chance to take picture after picture, after picture...
Probably there wasn't a line because everyone else knew that the NEXT day was going to be crystal clear! But still, we had enough visibility to make me happy! Price seemed reasonable too- 11 per person, less for kids, I think 8.50.
The Meeting Place
by pieter_jan_v
London's newest meeting place is a great piece of art by sculptor Paul Day (1967).
It's a sculpture of a couple saying farewell and is located at the first level of the St. Pancras Train Station, the arrival point of the Eurostar trains.
Paul was impressed when he first entered the out-of-service Barlow Shed (the popular name for the station building). He needed 24 hours to come up with three ideas for a piece of art, one being the embracing couple under a clock at a railway station. LCR (London & Continental Railways) agreed that the simple silhouette of the couple would be the proper thing to go for.
Together with his wife, Paul made a number of studies and the final selection was turned into a clay model. Thereafter Paul needed a good half year to complete the transformation to the bronze statue. The final works took place in October 2007.
The station was reopened at November 6, 2007 by HM The Queen. Train service started at November 14.
Bobby
by filipdebont
Another popular view in London are the Bobby's.
Everybody knows them from seeing them in TV-shows or movies.
Just love these typical helmets. In the tourist shops you could buy a plastic version of this helmet, very funny.
Cask Ale
by donpaul77
There are several good pubs in London that will serve what is known ask cask ale or real ale. Cask Ales are a preservation of traditional brewing and serving methods that make for a great beer drinking experience. It was the English beer enthusiasts that kept this process from going extinct. Look for the manual pumps (taps) as opposed to the modern co2 powered taps (see photo).
These cask ales have little carbonation, so are flatter, but much more flavorful than beers using co2. Also, cask ales are often unpasteurized and continue to ferment in the cask, so they are more susceptible to spoiling. I've seen people demand a pint from another tap, if they feel the ale they were served has gone bad.
Cask ale is not to everyone's tastes, but at least give it a try. There aren't many places in the world where you can find it in such proliferation.
Check the link to learn more about it...
Remember, we British don't...
by tizfabius
Remember, we British don't wait in line, but we certainly like to QUEUE! Nothing pisses off the natives more than people queue-jumping.. and I'm sorry to say it but certain nationalities are worse offenders than others!!
On the tube (underground railway) on no account make eye contact with anyone - and certainly don't talk to anyone -it's considered highly irregular, if not downright threatening, especially if the train is crowded! If you're obviously not British you might get away with it though. Actually the British come across as a bit stuck-up but it's only that we don't trust strangers very easily. After you get to know us we're very friendly!
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Street (3)
Benazer jumping
The Great Hall - Apr 2010
Marble Arch
