recently I had yet again the good opportunity to jet down to the UK, for a bit of business and pleasure. Actually, business was all for my friend, pleasure was for me.
My friend Mr. Saresén, Esq, was on one of his in-&-out carriage fetching missions. You see, he has a habit of acquiring an used carriage to his liking, often from the British Isles. Sometimes another party actually pays & purchases the carriage, but Mr. Sarasén rides the car through the Continent, as that is the time-and-money consuming part of the transaction. Sometimes he enlists a co-rider along for the expenses-paid travel. Sometimes he buys a carriage for himself, as was the case this time. I went along for a quick Seven Nation Ride-Through, riding both 'shot-gun' and pilot seat.
But before the marathon ride, I arranged a couple of days in Londontown for myself. Last time I had missed quite a few landmarks, but my appetite had been whetted. This time along, I knew I did not have much time either, so I whittled the must-see list down to a few essentials. And had actually a rather good success rate with them.
So here is a quick glimpse of London. My people are working on some kind of 'moving picture' presentation about the actual Seven Nation Ride-Through, but more on that later!
Keep clam & carry on!
Paddlewick, Esq.
The British Museum was on the list. The good thing is that
it is sort of free. The downside is that they close at 5 in the P.M.
That did not leave me any time to peruse the prizeless
collections, but there is always the next time!
I drew this in the shadow of Big Ben, whick struck mid-day
just as I had finished the sketch. I like the busy riverscape
of this bustling metropolis, with various barges & ships
and plenty of joggers along the river all day long...
Tick Tock, Twelve O'clock!
Tick Tock, Twelve O'clock!
St Paul's was an on-the-fly addition to the List, as I
was walking in The City. Once inside, I found out they
charge 15 quid for entrance, so I thus postponed the
actual visit to another time. This exterior view was
done without my opticals, hence perhaps a tad less
detail than usual :)
A wobblier view of St Paul's
A wobblier view of St Paul's
Herzog & deMeuron, those Baselian architects, left their mark
upon Thames at the turn of the Millennium. Like the British
Museum, Tate is free-ish and closes at 5 P.M. Too bad, for it
seemed really interesting. Here is a a view from Foster &
Partners' Millennium Bridge, which is wobbly no more.
Koala conversing with the locals.
One of my favourite London landmarks, the Gherkin.
And the latest, but not the least
controversial landmark, the Shard
Interior of Tate, with lights out and a choir singing. I doubt
the singing happens every evening?
controversial landmark, the Shard
Heading out of North-West London at 5 A.M.
To be continued...
