Last but not least........... LONDON Trip!

My last trip before l head back home is great ole England, London to be exact!

This trip l was meeting up with Philippe as he was coming in for a business trip so while he was working, l was being the "Tourist"

Over top of France

Above the English Channel

London!

My first pub that l hit once l unloaded my
things at my hotel. Had a great time here!

Our Hotel for the rest of the trip "The Grand", located at Trafalgar Square

Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square

National Gallery at Trafalgar Square

King George IV

Admiralty Arch in the background

Victoria and Albert Museum

Fountain Surmounted by David



Harpsichord made for the Strozzi
Family, dated 1574
The painted lid includes the three-
crescents emblem of the wealthy
Strozzi family of Florence.

Blown glass art piece

Pieces of Art getting prepared to be on exhibit.

Trajan's Column, Rome Italy
AD 113

Tabernacle in the church of
St. Leonard, Zoutleew near
Brussels, Beiglum, 1552

Trajan's Column,  the detail is amazing!

Thetis Dipping Achilles in the River Styx

Eve

Eve Listening to the Voice of Adam

Neptune and Triton

Just had to take this picture!

Entrance to the V&A Museum

You can't go to London without stopping
in at Harrods!

I restocked up on my Earl Gray Tea supply and picked up some coffee too!

The "Eleanor Cross"
 King Edward I memorial to
 his wife, "Eleanor of Castile"
The original was destroyed in
1674 and was replaced in
 1865 .

There is so many great markets in London, this
one just happened to be close by to the hotel!

This gentleman had to be in his 80's and
was entertaining the crowds located in
Trafalgar Square. I wished l had video taped
him cause he was "cute"!

SOHO!
Had a great dinner at one of it's many restaurants

Couple of ways to get around London!
I enjoyed a cab ride with an older gentleman
that turned out not only was he my driver but
 he was my tour guide as well!
Did you know it takes a cabbie in London
 4 yrs to get their Taxis license!!!! Crazy!

More of SOHO

Admiralty Arch, heading to Buckingham
Palace.

Captain James Cook, located
along "The Mall"
The first to map NFLD

"The Mall", the road way leading to
Buckingham Palace

The "London Eye" looking across James Park

View of Buckingham Palace and
Queen Victoria's Memorial

Looking towards Trafalgar Square

Changing of the Guards at St. James Palace

One of London's Finest

View of Queen Victoria's Memorial and
Buckingham Palace

Yes l was brave enough to stand in the middle of the Mall to get this shot!

Queen Victoria Memorial

Another view of Buckingham Palace

This a marker for the Diana Princess of Wales
Memorial walk, it is 7 kms long. I walked about
 4 kms of it, you see some beautiful parts of London and
places that meant something to her.

Gates to Buckingham Palace

Royal Guard at Buckingham

Main Entrance to the Palace and the
famous Balcony

Back view of Queen Victoria's
Memorial

View from the Memorial
If you are interested Castles of Queen, check out
this link, great BBC series on Buckingham and
Windsor Castle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUH8hL3i_kM&feature=related

The Memorial was dedicated in 1911 by George V and his first cousin, Wilhelm II of Germany, the two senior grandsons of Victoria. On top of the Memorial is the Golden Statue of Victory

James park

James Park

A group having some fun in the rain on the
tour bus!

Westminster Abbey
The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs.

No photo's were allowed to be taken
inside the Abbey but you could on the outside
court and hallways, as since in these pics

An architectural masterpiece of the 13th to 16th centuries, Westminster Abbey also presents a unique pageant of British history – the shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the tombs of kings and queens, and countless memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other royal occasions, including sixteen royal weddings.

You don't realize how large Westminster is
until you actually visit yourself.

I am so glad l made a point of visiting
the Abbey and more happy that l was
able to attend a service since l am
Anglican!

The Clock Tower, otherwise known
as "Big Ben".
The clock is 150 yrs old and is the
largest four-faced chiming clock in
the world.

South End of Westminster Palace

North Section of Westminster Palace

Winston Churchill

Palace of Westminster or also known as
Houses of Parliament

Westminster Palace is the meeting place of the two houses
 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,
the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

View down Thames River from the Westminster
Bridge

The "London Eye" You can get some
great views of London from the Eye but the
weather wasn't good enough to pay the
money to go up it.

Westminster Bridge and Westminster
Palace

Luciano Pavrotti

The Sherlock Holmes Pub. Definitely enjoyed a few beers here, how could l not, it was across the street from our hotel!

Entering the world of the "Camden
Town"
This is a shoppers heaven!
Camden Town consists of 6 different markets
to fill your shopping dreams!

From out door vendors

to speciality shops

You have to plan a full day if you come here.

I really enjoyed the Camden Lock and
Camden Stable Markets.

This clothing store is called "All Saints" and
 in the windowsare sewing machines!

These markets has something for everyone and you don't have to worry if you get hungry because there is plenty of places to eat!

This is part of the Market is called "Camden Stables Market"
It was once a horse stables.

Hence why you see statues of Horses throughout
the market.

Some interesting statues throughout
the market, like this one.

Cyberdog, in the back ground is a really neat store.
The outside display of the big Robot looking
figures are a pretty good indication of what is
in this store, spacey! You are not suppose to take
pictures inside but the next two are what l
managed to sneak during my visit inside.

If you are into spacey things, clothing etc
this is the place to go..

Even an evening out for dinner doesn't stop Philippe and his colleague Karin from working!!!!
They are probably texting each other! :)

A night view of the London Eye

You can't possibly go to London and not stop
here, "London Beatles Store"
Everything Beatles!

Did some gift buying here, even got
someone a Christmas gift from here!

Back to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards parade
and what a zoo it was!

Where the hell did all of these people come from?????

I thought l was doing pretty good in being here
a half an hour before it was to start, l guess l
should of arrived at 10:00 to get a good spot!

So since l couldn't get any really good shots
of the parade because of all the people l just
had to be settled with the shots l got inside
the gates of Buckingham Palace.

Standing very straight and at attention!

The guards changing.
After watching the changing of the guards l
headed to my next visit, Kensington Palace.

Gates to Kensington Palace, the future home
of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,
William and Kate

Statue of King William III

Visitor's section of Kensington Palace

Queen Victoria and Kensington Palace

Sunken garden, open to the public to tour

Dress worn for the  first
time to an official visit
 to Thailand, 1988

Black taffeta floor-length gown
 worn by the Princess of Wales
 on her first official engagement
 at the Royal Opera House in 1981,
 which marked the beginning of her
 rise as a fashion plate.

Ivory silk crepe worn in 1993
to a State Banquet

Worn to a Charity Gala in 1990

King George Grand Staircase to his
official apartments

The staircase walls and ceiling are painted with William Kent’s vivid, life-sized portrayals of George I’s court and its various characters.  

Located in the "Privy Chamber" are some
impressive tapestries.

Ceiling in the Cupola Room
The christening of Princess Victoria
took place in the Cupola Room

Formal wear located in the Council Chambers

The dress wear of "The Lady of the Court"
circa 1750

The dress wear of "The Courtier"
circa 1770

Dress wear of "The Knight"
circa 1800

"The King's" Coronation Robe,
worn by King George III
circa 1761

Back view of the King's Robe

King George I, Gallery
The largest and longest of the
state apartments at Kensington Palace

                                     

Dress worn by Queen Victoria at
 her first Privy Council meeting at
 Kensington Palace, 20 June 1837

The silk satin wedding dress worn by
Queen Victoria in 1840, when she
 married Albert Saxe-Coburg

Located in the "Mourning Room" is the
 display of Queen Victoria's earliest surviving mourning dress and two outfits worn by her children, Leopold and Beatrice after the death of Prince Albert, 1861.

Prince Albert's Uniform

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
in the portrait, 1840 and
the piano owned and played by
them, 1850-1860

One of many notes that Queen Victoria wrote
about her Albert.

Jacket  and little booties on left were worn by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's  eldest son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, 1840
Dress was worn by Princess Victoria, eldest child of the Queen and Prince when she was about 3 yrs old, 1843-1845
 The two silver little boxes contain a piece of cake from the christening of Princess Beatrice, ninth and youngest child of the Queen and Price, 1857 and of Prince Arthur,  seventh child of the Royals, 1850.

Prince Alfred, 1846

Princess Louise's cradle and 4 of the nine children
in sculpture

Queen Victoria, 1843

Queen Victoria's Riding Uniform

Queen Victoria's slippers

Queen Victoria enjoyed painting

Some of her jewellery and Fan

Prince Albert's Memorial
located in Kensington Gardens.
It took 10 yrs to complete and was
 opened to the public by the
Queen in 1872

Royal Albert Hall
 One of the UK's most treasured and
distinctive buildings.

This unique Memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales
 was opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 6th
July 2004.

The design aims to reflect Diana's life, water flows from the highest point in two directions as it cascades, swirls and bubbles before meeting in a calm pool at the bottom. The water is constantly being refreshed and is drawn from London's water table.

The Memorial also symbolises Diana's quality and openness. There are three bridges where you can cross the water and go right to the heart of the fountain. We hope visitors will feel at home when they visit this special place.

I have to say that l enjoyed London very much. I found the people to be very friendly and very helpful, l guess it helps to be Canadian!

I didn't get to see as much as l would of liked, just means that l will have to return!