London, City of Grime
It’s been a while since I came down to London. Not travelling to London often helps you forget how dirty the city is. Buildings look dirty and the streets are awash with litter.
However, it was an enjoyable half day excursion. The convenience of a hotel near the Kings Cross and St Pancras stations was going to be useful tomorrow. Bags are dumped and we’re down into the tube station for a brief trip then we all wandered slowly heading towards the Tower of London.
It’s been some 20 years since I did anything touristy in London so the Tower and its history was an interesting reminder. This is history. It does look smaller than I remember it. The prisons and instruments of torture are still a turn on. Memories are invoked of the stories of Traitor’s Gate, beheaded royal wives and the joy of slow, painful torture met out to those who transgressed. Perhaps I also need to visit the London Dungeon again.
The race is then on to get to the London Eye. We’ve pre-booked tickets which are set for a time slot and that time window is about the open. One brief shower of rain slows progress but we’re across London Bridge in no time, heading through Waterloo and into the queue. What a queue it is too. I know the English are famous for queues but this one really looks good. A gentle wind of tourists snakes towards the giant Ferris wheel that is the London Eye.
The ride on the London Eye is as impressive as it looks. Riding the slow ride around allows views across and beyond the city. That wretched hive of scum and villainy known as the Palace of Westminster can be looked down on. Any view of Battersea Power Station look good and the Wembley arch is a clear spot on the slightly more distant horizon. Old sights such as the Post Office Tower and St Paul’s Cathedral now mix with the new sights of Canary Wharf and the Gherkin.
Afterwards it’s about time for some food and a merry wander through to Covent Garden for the evening. A relatively early night follows though it is hard to get to sleep in London on a Saturday night. I just hope that the city is given a good clean before the Olympics starts.
