Saturday 10 December 2011

London on a July Sunday Pt. 5

My 5th post on one day walking in London away from the tourist areas. It is mid-afternoon now and we need to make our way back to the car, same direction but different route


The Duke of Wellington on his horse



J.H. Greathead - Chief Engineer of of the City and South London railways




George Peabody - born Massachusetts 1795 - an American Philanthropist and great benefactor of the poor of London






The Guildhall has been the powerhouse of the city since the 12th century. In an era when the Lord Mayor of London rivalled the monarch for influence and prestige, this was where he and the ruling merchant class held court, fine-tuned the laws and trading regulations that helped create London's wealth.



Law Courts







Small building in the middle - the entrance to the ancient Knights Templar church - depicted in da Vinci Code book


A close-up






Royal Courts of Justice


and Twinings Tea Company opposite


and The George Pub - founded 1723 as a coffee house




and finally feeling pretty tired after a long day walking we opt for afternoon tea at the Courtauld Gallery again
interestingly everyone sitting in this courtyard is American



I had Stem Ginger cake this time and Alan Iced Lemon Drizzle


The Courtauld Gallery is situated within the buildings of Somerset House and we walk through the courtyard where children (and some adults) are cooling off in this water feature which becomes an ice rink in the winter




before picking up the car and driving home
There is current talk of stopping free parking on a Sunday and charging a hefty £2.40p an hour. This could seriously cramp my style


15 comments:

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

London is much more pleasant like this, empty on the weekends, I think. Thank you for the tour...lots of places I have not seen before. Those old windows are amazing in the close up of the Knights Templar church.

Vee said...

I should think that that would cramp your style. They should think that over twice.

What an intriguing water feature. I wonder if thos stones are slippery. Obviously, they can't be or they'd not allow all that cavorting.

George Peabody...I'll Google him...sounds interesting.

How are your Christmas plans shaping up just two weeks out?

Kay G. said...

All these great photos of London and all I can think of is... mmmm, that chocolately ginger cake sure looks good!

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Once again the pictures are just lovely and your little bits and pieces of history along with them are so interesting. I have enjoyed your walk for sure. Hopefully the cost of parking doesn't inhibit future trips. Your tea looked delicious. Wonderful reward you had for all the sightseeing.

Mihaela said...

A warm Thank You,from the bottom of my heart, for this walking in London!
A wonderful tour-guide!
For me is the only way to see it,again.
I was here in 1994,for a week, and it seems an impossible dream now to do it again....
THANK YOU again!

Camille said...

Enjoyed the tour and the interesting bits of information.
Hope to visit London some day.

Midwest to Midlands said...

Fantastic tour with many interesting sights and you provided some good information. (Looks slightly warmer than now.)

Trisha said...

Beautiful pictures Barbara, but, seems a little erie to see so few people in a city that size, even on Sunday. Makes me think of what the rapture may look like, one day. Blessings. Love your posts. Hope you and Alan have a wonderful Christmas.

Loved said...

The Courtault gallery looks quite a bit like Versailles!... maybe not as huge but as pretty... Have you been?

Joyce said...

The town looks absolutly empty! Which is amazing compared to what I saw. HA!
Recognized many sites...very exciting of course.
Funny about all those "Americans."
I guess they just love England. (As we do as well)
Can't imagine why. HA!

Anonymous said...

Nice post! thanks for sharing blessings! soraya

Gwendolyn said...

Lovely tour. The streets are so clean and very few pedestrians it seemed. The stop for the luscious-looking cake is making my stomach growl since I am fasting for some medical tests later today. Enjoyed all the pics!

AM Zafaran said...

Thank you for giving us these glimpses of London. The mix of 'old' and 'new' co-exists happily in London, I think.
I am so glad you stopped by my blog. Thank you so much.:)

cyclopseven said...

This virtual tour is priceless. The pictures are lovely. Neat. Thank you.

susanna said...

Thanks for tour! When I finally visit London, I'll have to pop by here again and make a few notes. What's so interesting about many of your photos - aside from the architecture and your notes - is that so many of the streets are absolutely empty! They are like scenes from a zombie film - but much cleaner and minus, you know, the zombies. ;p