Summary of the End
Trip Start
Jun 13, 2008
1
76
Trip End
Nov 20, 2008
London, England, United Kingdom
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
*Pollocks Toy Museum.
Amazing little museum of old toys. Very tiny but if you are in the area it is worth checking out. Have a great toy shop too!
*Imperial War Museum
Fantastic Museum and a must see! Has an amazing entrance and the centre hall has a cool collection of aircraft and tanks etc. The lower level has an amazing collection and information on WWI and a fantastic recreation of a WWI trench that you can walk through. Was especially great for me as got to see a bit of what Grandad experienced at the Western Front during the Great War. Some of the displays, like that of the old postcards sent from the front, were exactly the same as ones we have at home from Grandad-so was awesome to see. They also had a recreation of a bomb shelter from during WWII which you could go in and experience a recreation of the Blitz. And the holocaust exhibition was very informative and well done-and as to info and displays-it was on a par with Auschwitz.
*London Eye
Great views of the city. Takes about 1/2 an hour to do a full circuit.
*Greenwich
Really pretty area. Gives you the feeling of being outside London when in fact you are very close. Nice town, shops and market. And it has a very pretty park. The Royal Observatory is fantastic! You can stand astride the Western and Eastern Hemispheres-sounds silly but is kinda fun. The museum is very interesting and has all the original Chronometers/Clocks that were developed for use at sea by John Harrison to measure Longitude. His is an interesting story.....
The Maritime Museum at Greenwich has a great collection of items including the Kings Barge and Nelsons tunic with the hole still in it from the bullet that killed him. Sounds gross but is actually kinda fascinating (no, I am not warped).
Queens House has some interesting art-a lot relating to NZ. Also has the famous painting of the death of Captain Cook in Hawaii that you always remember from school.
Also got to see the Time Ball on the Observatory drop (it drops at 12:58pm every day) which is kinda cool. It has been doing that since 1833 so ships can set their clocks accurately.
The Fan Museum is a great little museum. It has an amazing collection of fans from the very very old to the modern and from all over the world. Probably one for the girls.
*Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew
Beautiful gardens. Allow a whole day to visit here-and if it is fine take a picnic! The Palm House is a must see, along with the Princess of Wales conservatory and the Temperate House. The Tree Walk is OK-though think we have something similar in NZ that is better? Didn't get to see Kew Palace as it was closed for the winter-but have heard it is good.
*National Gallery
An amazing collection of all the works of all the greats you have heard of: Turner, Manet, Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh to name but a few.......and has from the very old to the more modern. Though am rather confused.......saw Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' back in Amsterdam...and again here at the National Gallery?!! If anyone can enlighten me??? (Have just checked it out-Van Gogh did a few sunflower paintings which is why there is one in Amsterdam and one in London-pardon my ignorance Van Gogh lovers!)
*Westfields new HUGE mall at Shepherd's Bush.
Good if you want to do some shopping-most major shopping areas in London are outside 'Street' areas e.g. Oxford and Regent Streets etc. So the advantage is that you don't get wet-a plus in England's notorious bad weather. Also has everything and is less intimidating than some of the high street shops-no 'bell entry' or 'guards' to screen you before they let you enter. It has nice architecture and is very spacious-and open long hours.
But a mall is just a mall. Brent Cross Mall is the other side of London. It is more old-fashioned but has a good collection of shops and a more 'homey' feel.
*Billy Elliot
When in London one MUST go to a 'West End' show. Note: most shows are not in the actual 'West End' :). So don't be too disappointed! Good show if you like musicals.
*National Portrait Gallery
Was sceptical about visiting-but it is a great place to visit! Has all those famous portraits of all the people you know/have heard of and the famous portraits you always see in books-like the ones of Elizabeth I, Wosely, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Shakespeare, Dickens, Kipling, Nelson, Lady Hamilton, Virginia Woolf, Rutherford and Monty. And THE portrait (for me anyway) of Jane Austen!!! (Is the famous pic done by her sister). Almost missed it as it is so small and in a display case that only lights up when you approach it. Might pay to get a map to guide you around the gallery so you don't miss anything-I didn't and keep having that feeling there was a portrait there I may have missed.......
*Pickpockets
Yes they do exist. Survived the whole of Europe to get pick pocketed by Eastern Europeans in London. So watch out. They boxed me in when I had my hands full and couldn't move (umbrella was up as was raining and had groceries in other hand). Could feel them lifting my bag and going into it but couldn't move-by the time I managed to turn around he was trying to run off with my wallet-lucky for me he dropped it so I got it back.
*Leeds Castle
Cool Castle-even the 'modern' rooms are interesting to see. The grounds are very beautiful. Had a cute goose welcome us. Hehe. The birds of Prey were cool-unfortunately didn't get to see the falconry display because it rained. Nice guy let me stroke a cool Owl cause he knew I was interested :). Saw one Vulcan devour a mouse. Bit gross. Hehe.
Went through the yew maze-was fun! Actually did quite well in it and did it fairly quickly-was quite proud of myself as am usually crap at mazes.
The Aviary was cool. Saw a Toucan. And a Kea!! He was at the back of the cage and when I said 'hello' he flew over to me. Must have recognised my kiwi accent :).
*Windsor Castle
Cool Castle. Looks impressive on the outside and is great to check out on the inside too. Queen Mary's Doll house is amazing-it even has plumbing and electricity!!
We got evacuated while in the State Apartments. One of the fire sensors went off and had to be checked by the fire department (the castle has it's own fire department). They are a bit paranoid since the big 1992 fire. After wards made a comment to one of the guards 'that it adds a bit of excitement to the day' which he thought was hilarious. The staff are really lovely-you think being the Queen's main residence they would be a bit stuffy. The Queen's Standard was up when I arrived (meaning she was at home) but the Union Jack was up when I left. So while I was there she came and went. LOL.
St George's Chapel is nice too :)
The township of Windsor is very pretty-would love to go back and check it and Eton College out.
Am at the airport as I write this waiting for my plane home. Got an aisle seat! So am very happy. Looking forward to being back in good old New Zealand and seeing everyone. Have missed you all!!!
So see ya soon! ;-)
Love you all!!
