D
Darkstar416
Guest
The Sched:
Amsterdam I
Amsterdam II
Rotterdam I
Rotterdam II
Paris I
Paris II
Paris III
Paris IV
Paris V
London I
London II
London III
London IV
OK, I'm way late on this, but better late than never. And yes, this will be the last batch of vacation pictures from an increasingly distant trip that I subject you lot to.
London is a city I've been to many times before (including a brief and all-too-expensive move almost ten years ago). Each time I go I try and disover new stuff which is never too hard in this mothership of cities.
As the EuroStar plyed its final minutes through Brixton, Vauxhall and then into Waterloo Station, I couldn't help but think that this was the first time I had entered London and frankly wasn't that impressed. Having just come from the grand dame of Paris everything looked a bit tired, dirty, unplanned and chaotic. I met a friend in the station where we began our long bus ride into north London. That feeling stayed wtih me though. Winding our way through over-crowded and tiny medieval streets past some of London's best known neighbourhoods left me feeling a little wanting. It seemed more like a Toronto on steroids than a refined European megatropolis.
It wasn't until I got my walking shoes on the next day that my love of London came flooding back. Compared to much of Europe, London is a bit harsh on the outside. There are prettier cities in France and there's better architecture in Holland. The coffee's better in Italy and the trains run on time in Germany. So what's to love about this expensive place? Well, sort of like a Paris turned inside out, the vitality unfolds in the most unexpected of places. There's a real honesty to the place too. Not much is hidden. There's little consistensy and around every corner there's a surprise (and not always a pleasant one). The opportunity to be entertained is everywhere. Truly a city that exhilarates and intimidates, stimulates and irritates all in equal measure. Also a city that will likely continue to call my name.
Here is London, giddy of London...
I've already been in London for hours, but not until a kebab on the way home from the local does it feel like I'm really here. Not sure about the name of this Stoke Newington joint though!
Mmmm, chicken shish.
If you don't mind paying the Congestion Charge, you can park at this funky multi-storey a tad north of Oxford Street.
Marble Arch tube.
Notting Hill Gate tube.
Adam & Eve Mews (just off Kensington High Street).
The newly renovated Kensington High Street with its wider sidewalks and treelined median. It's nice, but a bit forced in this city of chaos.
Despite being to London many times, I'd never been to Harrods...until now.
A typical Knitsbridge street near Harrods. "Patsy dahling, is that you?"
I found the store a bit creepy to be honest, but it was certainly an experience.
Mohamed Al Fayed personally welcomed me, but insisted I take off my baseball cap and knapsack.
Then it was back to the west-end nabe of Bloomsbury for an afternoon at The British Musuem.
The British Museum is one of the world's largest and most important museums. Thanks to Tony Blair, it's also free! Perhaps one of the only good things he'll be remembered for.
The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Buro Happold and Foster & Partners surrounding the original Reading Room.
This is the first of many Foster structures I will have visited on this London jaunt.
The British Museum's Great Court (cont.)
Entering the Department of Ancient Egypt & The Sudan.
Inside the contentious Department of Greek & Roman Antiquities.
Department of the Ancient Near East.
Department of Greek & Roman Antiquities (cont.)
A view from above The Great Court.
Above the Great Court (cont.)
A piece in the Department of Asia.
Department of Asia (cont.)
London's infamous Centre Point complex.
Back in north London, I had dinner at Houng-viet in the Dalston area. An amazing Vietnamese restaurant inside an old social club. Pretty darn cheap too...as far as London goes.
Centre Point by day.
Darkstar416 finds heaven in Covent Garden.
London II is here.
Amsterdam I
Amsterdam II
Rotterdam I
Rotterdam II
Paris I
Paris II
Paris III
Paris IV
Paris V
London I
London II
London III
London IV
OK, I'm way late on this, but better late than never. And yes, this will be the last batch of vacation pictures from an increasingly distant trip that I subject you lot to.
London is a city I've been to many times before (including a brief and all-too-expensive move almost ten years ago). Each time I go I try and disover new stuff which is never too hard in this mothership of cities.
As the EuroStar plyed its final minutes through Brixton, Vauxhall and then into Waterloo Station, I couldn't help but think that this was the first time I had entered London and frankly wasn't that impressed. Having just come from the grand dame of Paris everything looked a bit tired, dirty, unplanned and chaotic. I met a friend in the station where we began our long bus ride into north London. That feeling stayed wtih me though. Winding our way through over-crowded and tiny medieval streets past some of London's best known neighbourhoods left me feeling a little wanting. It seemed more like a Toronto on steroids than a refined European megatropolis.
It wasn't until I got my walking shoes on the next day that my love of London came flooding back. Compared to much of Europe, London is a bit harsh on the outside. There are prettier cities in France and there's better architecture in Holland. The coffee's better in Italy and the trains run on time in Germany. So what's to love about this expensive place? Well, sort of like a Paris turned inside out, the vitality unfolds in the most unexpected of places. There's a real honesty to the place too. Not much is hidden. There's little consistensy and around every corner there's a surprise (and not always a pleasant one). The opportunity to be entertained is everywhere. Truly a city that exhilarates and intimidates, stimulates and irritates all in equal measure. Also a city that will likely continue to call my name.
Here is London, giddy of London...
I've already been in London for hours, but not until a kebab on the way home from the local does it feel like I'm really here. Not sure about the name of this Stoke Newington joint though!
Mmmm, chicken shish.
If you don't mind paying the Congestion Charge, you can park at this funky multi-storey a tad north of Oxford Street.
Marble Arch tube.
Notting Hill Gate tube.
Adam & Eve Mews (just off Kensington High Street).
The newly renovated Kensington High Street with its wider sidewalks and treelined median. It's nice, but a bit forced in this city of chaos.
Despite being to London many times, I'd never been to Harrods...until now.
A typical Knitsbridge street near Harrods. "Patsy dahling, is that you?"
I found the store a bit creepy to be honest, but it was certainly an experience.
Mohamed Al Fayed personally welcomed me, but insisted I take off my baseball cap and knapsack.
Then it was back to the west-end nabe of Bloomsbury for an afternoon at The British Musuem.
The British Museum is one of the world's largest and most important museums. Thanks to Tony Blair, it's also free! Perhaps one of the only good things he'll be remembered for.
The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Buro Happold and Foster & Partners surrounding the original Reading Room.
This is the first of many Foster structures I will have visited on this London jaunt.
The British Museum's Great Court (cont.)
Entering the Department of Ancient Egypt & The Sudan.
Inside the contentious Department of Greek & Roman Antiquities.
Department of the Ancient Near East.
Department of Greek & Roman Antiquities (cont.)
A view from above The Great Court.
Above the Great Court (cont.)
A piece in the Department of Asia.
Department of Asia (cont.)
London's infamous Centre Point complex.
Back in north London, I had dinner at Houng-viet in the Dalston area. An amazing Vietnamese restaurant inside an old social club. Pretty darn cheap too...as far as London goes.
Centre Point by day.
Darkstar416 finds heaven in Covent Garden.
London II is here.