Monday, 2 February 2009

A Winter Wander to A Winter Wonder

On Saturday I joined 60 other people to take a Walk London "Winter Wander" tour. The guides were so shocked that our group was so big because they said they usually have much smaller numbers. It was probably such a good turnout because we were blessed with another amazing day with blue skies and sunshine! The Mayor of London and Transport for London sponsor these free walking tours every once in a while to get people out and about in the City. They had over 25 walks on Saturday and Sunday to choose from, and so I opted to take the "Exploring Seafaring London" (an Urban Amble) because I wanted to stay on pavement. It was really cold, but really worth it.
We started at City Hall and walked 3 1/2 hours on the Thames Path to Greenwich. I thought this area along the river looked like a small city port, not right inside London city limits.
New Concordia Wharf- where public hangings used to take place

Near St. Saviour's Dock. The stones you can see were part of a castle and it used to have a moat around it.
Brunel's Engine House-which is now a small museum where the first tunnel was built connecting the two sides of the Thames in the 1800s.

Jill- one of our guides

The surprise of our tour- a farm in the middle of London! Surrey Docks Farm has a turkey, chickens, rabbits, pigs, horses, donkeys, cows and they just were awarded money for a mobile farm to be able to take the animals to local schools.

Statue of Peter the Great at the edge of Greenwich


Walking into Greenwich


When I got out evening church service on Sunday night, everything was white! We had been warned that we were going to get hit with an Arctic Blast, but I didn't imagine it snowing and staying.
This is how you make a snowman when you live in the middle of central London! This was sitting on the stoop by our front steps when I got home last night.

I took this picture at 9:00pm last night...scroll down for the next picture to see what it looked like this morning.

We got over 8 inches of snow!

The public transport system was A MESS today. The buses were not running and the trains were either suspended or severely delayed. It usually takes me about 45 minutes to get to work, but today it took me 2 1/2 hours. So much for someone I met on the day I moved to London that told me the City never gets snow.

When I got to the hospital, they couldn't believe I had trekked all the way in from Notting Hill Gate. (Since I have only been working for a little over 3 months, I figured I had to try!) Only 3 of my colleagues were there- and we were told to leave by noon so that we wouldn't get stuck there without a way to get home. I made Megan and Sharon pose in a picture for me since I had come all the way in on this crazy day.

Waiting for my train.
At least the rest of the afternoon was a Snow Day!

No wonder there were severe delays. It had stopped snowing about 9am, but then started back up around 11:15am and did not stop until 5pm. It was the first time in 20 years that London has had so much snow.

Finally- the Metropolitan Line!

And when I arrived home, the snowman had GROWN! :)

Sunday, 18 January 2009

So far in 2009...

Lots has happened in London since the start of the new year!
  • I joined a gym
  • I bought a Rough Guide to Britain (a huge book about everything there is to do in the country)
  • I got a library card
  • The Mayor of London flew the American flag over City Hall to celebrate Obama's inauguration on 20th January
  • Oklahoma made the news in The London Paper. Every day they have a feature called, "Funny Old World" (and incidentally it usually has a blurb about the USA), and on 29th January they had a story about a man who bought a second-hand MP3 player at a thrift shop that contained US military files. The guy discovered that it had 60 files on personnel who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he soon handed it over to the authorities. Honest Okie!
  • American Idol is a new bright spot in my life. I've always loved the show- especially the auditions- but I love it even more now because I am missing American TV so much!!!

Two weekends ago we were given beautiful weather, so I took advantage of the rare January sunshine and went to Portobello Market. The world-famous Market is in Notting Hill, so it's convenient for me. Here's Portobello Road, where the colorful flats line the streets, something it is known for. The Market was especially packed since the weather was so nice and also because Saturdays are the best days to go.

This is Hummingbird Bakery, which always has a line out the door for its cupcakes. I usually don't like all the icing on most cupcakes, but theirs is heavenly.

A look inside the bakery


A vendor selling seafood paella

The Market Bar and vendors selling clothes outside


The famous Travel Bookshop and the blue door from the movie, OF COURSE, Notting Hill


On Sunday, I met a fellow American in the Shad Thames neighborhood, which is an historic riverside area near Tower Bridge along the River Thames. It was my first time to go to this part of London.

These old warehouses were converted into flats, shops, and restaurants

Tower Bridge- another gorgeous day!

I found this Christies auction house in South Kensington last week when I was going to my first Pastorate (small group bible study).

A look inside Christies


I read about this art exhibition several weeks ago, and finally got a chance to go check it out at Charing Cross Tube Station. It's called Mystery Train, and it's made up of photos of people who work in the London Underground (subway), students from the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), and ICA staff. It's part of The Art on the Underground, and while it was small, it was great. I am really enjoying reading the newspapers everyday and finding out ways to explore the City.



Last weekend I took my second day trip, and I actually ventured out on my own. I found a great FunFare ticket to Cambridge and, thankfully, had sunny weather (even though it was still really cold). I found an article in the newspaper a few days before I left about Cambridge. This year is the university's 800th birthday, and on their website I found a walking tour podcast and map, which I used to learn about all of the most significant places in the town.
This is the Market Place in the middle of the historic city centre.
St. John's College

The Round Church

The Cambridge Roman Catholic Church
King's College Chapel and The Backs

The American Military Cemetery.
The site is the only permanent WWII American Cemetery in the British Isles.

It was great to see the American flag flying in Britain!
The site was dedicated in July 1956, and the land was donated by the University of Cambridge.
The River Cam

A look down an alley where students and faculty were spotted. And notice all the bicycles- there are about 35, ooo in Cambridge.

King's Parade


Outside King's College

King's College entrance and the Chapel on the right

Inside the courtyard of Corpus Christi College- the oldest surviving enclosed court in Cambridge
The new Corpus Christi clock- has no hands or numbers

Inside the courtyard of King's College

Inside the courtyard of King's College

St. Mary's Church

It was winter graduation (looking inside the gates of the Senate House).

The Gate of Honour, built in 1575, where students still pass on their way to graduation through to the Senate House.

Looking through from the Gate of Honour to the Senate House.

Outside Trinity College, which was founded and richly endowed by Henry VIII (that's a figure of him above the gates)

Inside the courtyard of Trinity College

Old Cavendish Laboratory, founded in 1870, is the site of where the atom was split for the first time

Fitzwilliam Museum
On the bridge on The Backs near King's College on my way to Evensong in King's College