Photo Pest: Tower Bridge

A map of London at the Shard was detailed enough to identify the location of our Airbnb, at the end of Church Street closest to the Thames.

We began our leisurely stroll east on the Chelsea Embankment. Even London's park benches are done.

Grand homes line the embankment on the north side of the Thames. The south side is more industrial.

We passed the Tate Britain, where we'd seen Hew Locke's "Procession" Sunday afternoon

. . . the Victoria Tower of Parliament

. . . an entrance to the Palace of Westminster

. . . Big Ben

. . . Whitehall Gardens

. . . and the Eye.

I'd ridden the Eye with Tom and Audrey but when no tickets were available, I booked a lunch reservation at the Shard so Tom would get another aerial view of London.

We crossed the Thames on the Golden Jubilee Bridges.

Southwark has a grittier feel.

A 2:30 p.m. lunch reservation abbreviated our tour of the glorious Tate Modern, which I had visited in 2016. "If ever there was a temple of art, this is it," I told Thom.

After lunch, we wandered through nearby Borough Market.

Redevelopment and restoration seem to have taken Southwark by storm in equal measure. It was almost as touristed as central London, especially once we found Queen's Walk to Tower Bridge.

I can't decide if Tower Bridge or Big Ben is more iconic. We couldn't have crossed it at a better--or busier--time. It really felt as if the entire world had descended on London!

Can you spot me waving in the crowd?

The light and the angle completely changed the look of the bridge.

My parents took me to see the crown jewels in the Tower of London when I was a kid. I'm pretty certain it was a lot less crowded then.

We were too late to check out the interior of St. Paul's Cathedral. After already walking nearly 11 miles, we caught the first bus back to Chelsea.

More London:

East End
The Way of All Flesh
Crowds
Liberty
How Much Would You Pay for a Shoehorn?
Must-See Plunder
The Ladies Who Lunch (Oblix @ the Shard)
Slow Day
"Workers Of All Lands Unite"
Hampstead Heath
Green Card
The Ladies Who Lunch (The Wolseley)
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
All Is Vanity
Arrival in London

Saturday Crowds (2016)

Lazarus WTF? (2016)

The Glorious Tate Modern (2016)

A Bird's Eye View of London (2016)

Semi-Grand Tour (1975)

Travels With Charlie (1964)

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

FLASHBACK: Travels With Charlie (1963-1964)

With apologies to John Steinbeck. I'll start with Italy because Charlie is included in several slides. It's hard to believe that the Hons pulled a trailer across the Alps . . .