Day 4 and Day 5 in London

Samantha tells me that I’ve got my days wrong. We’ve been so busy I’ve lost track of time. On Day 4 we visited the South Bank, exploring the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The Tate Modern is housed in an old power station, and the interior reconditioning is stunning. Artists: Monet, Picasso, Bacon, Pollock, Rothko, Dali, Warhol, etc. Too much to see, actually, in a couple of hours. A few days are required! The Globe was packed full of tourists, so we didn’t linger. Impressive though.

The Tate Modern used to be an old power station

Some of the brilliant art works at the Tate

Shakespeare's Globe

We explored the Science Museum and Natural History Museum on Day 5. In the afternoon we walked through some beautiful parks: Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, and saw the Royal Albert Hall. The Science Museum resembles the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Unique attractions include a V2 rocket, Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes, and lots of hands-on science displays for little boys. Cool! Dinosaur skeletons and stuffed dodos in the Natural History Museum. A lot of people here, but it was a Saturday.

Me and a V2 rocket

Stay tuned for more!

Days 3 and 4 in London

After shopping and settling in on day 1, we proceeded to see some stuff on days 2 and 3:

Westminster Abbey

Visitors are not allowed to take photos in the Abbey, so I can't show you the interior. Suffice to say: if you ever come to London, you must see inside this building. Stunning. Well worth the £15 entry fee. 

The most important people have worked in this Abbey, with the most important jobs!

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (and Big Steve).

Not everyone in London is a happy cockney.

The London Eye is an incredible peice of engineering.

We had lunch here. And a few beers. And a snack. And more beer...

The Abbey

The Palace

We are about ten minutes walk from the Queen's gaff.

I'm proud of this photo.

We went shopping later:



More to come. Stay tuned!

London Calling

This is a pic of our room. The hotel in which we are staying is old, falling apart, but the location - in the heart of the city near Buckingham Palace - is brilliant.

The view from our lounge window - Sunrise in London:

On our first day we had to visit Victoria tube station. I needed to spend a penny. But I needed 30 of them! Look at this:

A great way to end the day. Daughter Samantha and Father Riley at "The Bag 'O Nails" pub:

Getting to London: the beginning of a great adventure

Well, it took a while, but I finally found an internet cafe in the heart of London. The photograph, taken in transit, of my knees, demonstrates the superb level of comfort provided in economy class:

Brilliant!

An example of the gourmet meals provided:

Mmmm, yummy.

However, this is how I survived:

I can't remember landing. I was so tired my brain had shut down.

Father's Day 2010

A lovely day. My gorgeous children gave me the following:

From Tom: A Shakespeare fishing rod! He won it in a raffle and was so excited this morning.

He also gave me some chocolate!

Toms gave me the four books above!! I'm reading the American Civil War at the moment and these will be good background material. And D.H. Lawrence is always welcome. More additions to my ever-expanding library.

Jakob and Samantha gave me the following:

    

Brilliant! Thank you my lovely children.

And to my own dad: Hope you are enjoying Europe. Happy Father's Day!!!