Mike's Travel Snaps

Trafalgar Square My very first tourist stop in England (not including Heathrow Airport, traveling on the Tube, or the hotel--although each had its own excitements) was Trafalgar Square. The Square was established in the mid 1800s to commemorate Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where Nelson was killed in action. The center of the square is the 145-foot-tall Nelson's Column. Trafalgar Square is one of the most dramatic vantage points to emerge from the Tube and see downtown London for the first time. Glancing south along Whitehall (center of the photo, just to the left of the Column), the valley between buildings directs your gaze down to the unmistakable clock tower which houses Big Ben.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
This photo was taken from the steps of the National Gallery. See an ultra-wide angle photo of the Square here. See a live webcam shot of Trafalgar Square here. Read more about Lord Nelson here.
Trafalgar Square Here's more of a ground view of the view south from Trafalgar Square. Walking straight ahead, one passes Downing Street on the right (the Prime Minister's residence was under heavy security when I walked by), and eventually ends up between the houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
Trafalgar Square Another view (northeasterly, I believe) of Nelson's Column. Both times I walked through Trafalgar Square, it was quite a bustle of activity. The first time, some sort of filming was taking place, with two different camera crews in various parts of the Square. The second time, the place was awash in schoolchildren on a field trip. But although Trafalgar Square is the focus of celebrations on New Year's Eve, it's wholly unlike New York's Times Square. While Times Square is a dazzling locus of commerce (like London's Piccadily Circus), Trafalgar is much more stately.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey is so full of history you almost can't process all the information. After a brief time inside, you understand fully why kings and queens are crowned here. The weight of history hangs so heavily over the place, it almost sweats power and knowledge. The Abbey has so much history it's literally letting some of it go to waste. As soon as you walk in, you realize that the floor is covered with inscriptions marking tombs beneath the flor. And after so many years of visitors strolling over the stone, the names and other words on many markers are eroded to the point of illegibility.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
This picture is of a courtyard between the Abbey proper and the cloisters. On the other side of the green court is the Abbey coffee shop. No joke. It's called the Westminster Abbey Coffee Club. The trash can is almost over the floor burial marker of John Burgoyne, 1723-1792 (I've never heard of him either--I guess if he was well-known, they wouldn't be serving coffee and sandwiches over him). Here you can see the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots as well as the tomb of Henry VII. Many other notables from British history are buried here. I'm still angry at myself for missing where Charles Darwin is interred (next time, I suppose--I'll gladly shell out another £6 admission to pay Darwin my respects).
Tower Bridge This 1894 span ranks up there with the Golden Gate Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge in worldwide fame. It connects the north and south shores of the Thames right next to the Tower of London. You can read a history of the bridge here.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.
Tower Bridge A southward view over the Tower Bridge via the pedestrian walkway. I strolled across the bridge after having a pleasant meal at the Charles Dickens Inn at St. Catherine's Dock (near the Bridge). One of the items on my agenda that I wasn't able to fit in was a trip to Dickens House (where the author actually lived and worked), so instead I went to this restaurant (which has nothing to do with Dickens except the name, but did have a descendent of Dickens present at the ribbon-cutting in the 1970s). See a satellite photo of the Tower Bridge here.	Click on the above image to see a larger version.