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part 1 | |
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LONDON |
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Saturday 29 November 2008 We get up around 5.30am and the door
behind us at 6.15. We take the car to Rotterdam
Airport. Our VLM
flight leaves half an hour late due to fog in London. When we arrive in Weather: cold 5 degrees and dry Sunday 30 November 2009 We have breakfast in the B&B.
Breakfast is well prepared with all thinkable cooked options available, as well
as continental things. We take the underground to After our flight we buy the
automatically take picture, key ring and frigdge magnet. We walk to Waterloo
Station and take the underground from there to the East End. We get out at Liverpool Street and walk to Petticoat
Lane. In this street Huguenots started selling lady's underwear in the
18th century and gave the street its name. In 1830 the street name was changed
to
Middlesex Street in order to avoid the mentioning of something taboo like
underwear. The old name stuck, however. In the 19th century the street became
the centre of Jewish East London. These days it is the spot to shop for cheap
clothing on a Sunday. Most stalls are run by Bengals and Africans. We walk on
and via Bell Lane and Brushfield Street we arrive at the old Spittalfield
Market. Originally this was the wholesale fruit market for London, but
those activities moved away from here in 1981. In the oldest part of the
market,dating back to 1893, there is still a lively daily market. On Sundays it
is very diverse. We find everything from biological food to clothes and
antiques, but it is also possible to have a head massage. We walk past Christ
Church from 1729. Despite a multi million conservation it still looks a bit
sad. We continue through We take the bus until Tottenham Court Road
and change to the underground that takes us to Westminster station. From there
we walk to the Cabinet War Rooms.
The entrance Tired yet satisfied we return to our B&B. At night we take a taxi to Soho Square for cocktails at The Edge, a trendy cocktail bar and lounge. After that we stroll to Arbutus a restaurant sporting 1 michelinster in Frith Street, 150 metres further down. We eat very well (Pappardelle with veal ragu, followed by rabbit with Cottage Pie and Crême Brûllee for desert) and enjoy the nice New Zealand wine (Pinot Noir Forest Estate 2006). After the cullinary delights we take a taxi back to the B&B. The driver of the private hire car, the restaurant has ordered for us, is not completely familliar with the directions to our accommodation. We have to guide into the right direction (!) Weer: grey start and drizzle. Dry afternoon. 5 degrees
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London visibility is still limited and the pilot tells us that he is not sure
whether a landing is possible at the first attempt. The alternative is circling
around London for an hour or so. Thankfully the fog clears just enough for us to
land at the first go. We arrive about 30 minutes behind schedule at 
VII. Its designer Gilbert also created Eros on Piccadilly Circus. We get to Pall Mall,
lined with many classical Gentlemen Clubs. A bit later we turn left towards St
James's Square. A nice and posh London square, with a couple of foreign
embassies and high commissions and the address for the London Library.
This private library is open to members only. It was founded by Thomas Carlyle in 1841,
because he was tired of waiting for hours for books he ordered from the British Library,
which was not allowed to take home - which he often did anyway. We continue to Waterloo Place,
where we see the Crimean War monument. Of course it includes a statue of Florence Nightingale,
sporting an oil lamp, which helped her finding the wounded on the battle fields
during the Crimean War (1853-56). As a proud and professional nurse Erik has to
have his picture taken with her. A bit further down is the statue of Frederick, Duke of York
high up on a column, erected a few years before the much more famous one for
Nelson on Trafalgar Square. We go down the stairs 
back to the Mall, cross it and walk towards Horse Guards Parade and Whitehall. Whitehall is
the home of the Cabinet Office and support the Cabinet and the Prime Minister (Brown).
The building is guarded by Horse Guards. The changing of the guard is in
progress. Via Whitehall we walk to Trafalgar Square with the
before mentioned Nelson's Column. The admiral was killed during the naval battle
near Trafalgar against a French/Spanish fleet in in 1805. Around the
square are the 
Westminster. We cross Westminster Bridge towards the 
of 25 people. The wheel runs at a
constant low speed and a full spin lasts a little over 30 minutes. Beside normal
flights you can also book a
Champagne flight with luxury catering. The view is, despite the low cloud, quite
good. We see a lot of Londen and can distinguish most of the eye catching
buildings. 
Fournier Street, where once the Huguenots had their weaving shops. The large
windows were meant to let in enough light so that the fabrics could be inspected
more easily by buyers. We get to Brick Lane. This was the location for a
quite a number of kilns, hence the name. It is now the artery of what is being
marketed as Bangla Town. The area is taken over by Bengal
immigrants, who have opened up their shops and restaurants here. We have lunch
at 
is on Horse Guards Road on the park side of a government office block.
During the second world war the British government built underground bunker
shelters to conduct state affairs and lead the war effort during the Blitz - the
bombing of the city by the German Airforce. The rooms are now part of the Imperial War Museum.
It is impressive to see how the government and the army leadership managed the
country from underground. The rooms are seen as they were left behind in 1945.
With the help of an audio tour (included in the £12 entry fee) we go round the
complex. Most striking are the cabinet meeting room, the secret phone booth for
Churchill to contact Roosevelt, the map room and the private quarters of
Churchill and his close associates.
Churchill spent as little time possible underground. He preferred watching the
air battle of Britain from the roof top of Whitehall. Linked to the War Rooms is
the Churchill museum, completely devoted to the life and times of the
great statesman. Modern technology makes it possible to present the day to day
life of Churchill in text, pictures and film. By touching the screens we can
zoom in on events of specific days, including documents and films. Very
impressive. 
