Sunday 29 May 2016

Cleopatra’s Needle

 

IMG_4709With are time in London coming to an end we jumped on the bus from Paddington and headed down towards the Embankment on The River Thames. It’s the first time we have ever been here so it was all new to us. The first thing we saw was Cleopatra’s needle. It was originally erected in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis on the orders of Thutmose III, around 1450 BC. It remained in Alexandria until October 1877 when its transport to London was funded by William James Erasmus Wilson.

IMG_4713Carolyn decided to take a rest and sat in front of one of the two large bronze Sphinxes which lie on either side of the Needle. These are a very Victorian version of the traditional Egyptian original, but still look impressive.

IMG_4717I have always wanted to go along the tidal Thames from Limehouse to Teddington but Carolyn has refused point blank to ever do any part of the tidal Thames. When we looked at the boats going up through that stretch she became even more determined to never do it. Little does she know but we will be going on the tidal Thames from Brentford up to Teddington.

IMG_4720We then walked around to St Paul’s Cathedral which was a very busy place. We did venture about 10 foot through the front door and saw the admission price and promptly turned around and left .

IMG_4729After St Paul’s we walked up The Strand and came across The Royal Courts of Justice. According to Carolyn if I’m not careful I will end up here.The Royal courts of Justice, commonly called the Law courts, is a court building in London which houses both the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Designed by George Edmund Street, who died before it was completed, it is a large grey stone edifice in the Victorian Gothic style built in the 1870s and opened by Queen Victoria in 1882. It is one of the largest courts in Europe. It is located on the Strand within the City of Westminster, near the border with the City of London (Temple Bar). It is surrounded by the four Inns of Court, King's College London and the London School of Economics.

IMG_4736After an exhausting few hour’s it was back to Inca and a chill out on the boardwalk beneath the hospital.Tomorrow ourselves and friends Rich and Sharon with their old vintage engine (Which apparently is music to your ears) on their boat Oakapple will leave Paddington and head down towards Brentford.

                                                                                                                 Happy Days                     

4 comments:

  1. Fab pic of Carolyn between the paws there.
    St Pauls....how much?
    Glad your camera diddn't topple over into the canal while you were raising a glass ....or three!
    Bon voyage for the next bit. xx
    nb oakfield

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    1. High Oakfield .. St Pauls was £18 each. The problem as well was that Hamish was back in the boat and we couldn't leave him for more than a few hours. Just dropped my camera again and damaged the top . Luckily it didn't fall in the water.

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  2. Isn't London a wonderful place to visit? So much to see and do, and we are enjoying reading your version of your own London visit.
    We have been lucky to have had two London trips during our OEs from New Zealand, but of course only scratched the surface of what was on offer.
    Robin and Jenny, Romany Rambler

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  3. Hi Robin and Jenny , We are the same as you and only scratched the surface of London. It takes a lot to just find your way around. Its always a good excuse to come back to see what you didn't see before....

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