SUNDAY-Westminster Area

The Westminster Area is the part of London that tells you "oh yes, _this_ is London!" It's got Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and the London Eye. While here, we focused on some pretty good people watching, great vantage points to take pictures of Big Ben & Parliament, riding the Eye, and hearing that unmistakably cool sound .... Westminster chiming the quarter hours, and then on the hour, Big Ben, perfectly on cue, ringing out the hours in a clear baritone.

I grew up with a real Westminster chime mantel clock as a kid, and hearing the real thing as Westminster Abbey played the prelude and then Big Ben next to it finished it out with perfect timing for the hours... I don't think I could ever get tired of that. This was for me a deliciously British moment that made me sublimely happy :)























We jumped on a cruise of the Thames under several bridges with some interesting history, including the iconic Tower Bridge that can open in the middle. Yup, that's the one that most people think is London Bridge from the tune, but the actual London Bridge is pretty boring.


Aside, that is, from the 3rd London Bridge. It was purchased by some silly American Tycoon, disassembled, shipped, and then reassembled in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. And that was mostly silly too, eh? Actually, that should really be in the dictionary next the word "silly," but the performing artist 'Pitbull' currently holds that distinction.

After the cruise, we hiked it quickly across the Thames for a ride on the London Eye. If you're not familiar with it, it's a ferris wheel on steroids.













Huge, with plexiglass pods that hold about a dozen people each, and a single ride of around 30 minutes with broad views of London. The ride was a short wait to board in the off-season like this, and that's a very good thing. Aside from Parliament and Big Ben... there's really not much of a skyline here.












In the interest of full disclosure, I don't find London a particularly romantic / enticing city like Paris or Moscow or New Orleans, so I might not be giving it a fair shake. I do find it a fun international and very modern city. I like some of the architecture (the very old and the very new), the people have been great, and there's some deep history in places, but for me, it could be New York or Chicago. Just considerably more polished and charming :)