Day 4: London - Random walks
After 3 full days of long walks, I decided to give my tired feet some relief today. A good pair of walking shoes is a definite must when travelling, and those cushion padding should be changed to give some TLC for your poor feet.
There isn't much that I wanted to do in London. The usual tourist trap? Been there, done that. It isn't so much of the kind of revisiting where you dive straight for your favourite food or head off to shop till you drop with bargain buys. Having studied and lived here, and spending some of my happiest (as well as saddest) days here, the emotional attachment does not go away with time.
I left the Hall at 10am, and spent a couple of hours revisiting all the places I used to frequent. Starting from Russell Square station, I headed south towards Holborn, went past LSE and from Strand, crossed Waterloo bridge to South Bank.
London School of Economics
Royal Courts of Justice
Popped in at Twinings on the Strand and bought some tea. Nearly bought a small Twinings wooden box for holding tea bags but held it off in the end.
En-route south to Waterloo Bridge past King's College, I came across Piccadilly Rly station. You won't find this underground station in the London Tube map. It's an old station that is closed (forever?) and is no longer in used. London has several other such "secret" stations. Nearby, I discovered by chance the underground Roman Baths! However, you can only visit it by appointment only. I remember reading about the history of the baths but I cannot recall it now.
Temple Underground station. There used to be a florist stall here.
Interesting hut converted to a food booth across Temple underground station.
London Eye and Parliament House from Waterloo Bridge
St Paul's Cathedral in the distant
Savoy Hotel as seen from Waterloo Bridge
Across Waterloo Bridge at the South Bank, there is an open flea market for books where you can get second hand books cheaply. The books on display are largely fiction, with a smattering number of arts disciplines such as Films, Theatre, Music, and Classics. This isn't surprising given that South Bank is home to National Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Royal Festival Hall.
Colourful London - found on a wall at South Bank end of Waterloo Bridge.
There was a Festival of Love going on at South Bank with carnival funfair activities. I'm not sure I like this at South Bank. Something like outdoor theatre or music performances would have lent a better atmosphere to the literary place.
South Bank is also home to the Skate Park. Rather like *scape back home, except that this has been around for a very long time. I always enjoyed watching the kids pulling stunts here at the park.
From here, I went back to the Hall through Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross Road, then via Shaftesbury Avenue. Popped back in at Dillons (i.e. Waterstones at Gower Street) and did some browsing before heading back to the Hall for a rest. After regaining some energy, I headed out again to Oxford Street and realised I did not enjoy the walk anymore. Virgin Megastore is now Carphone Warehouse, Tower Records and HMV are gone, and there seem to be even more tack souvenir shops, and the new Muji and Uniqlo are just too expensive. So I went back and retired for the evening.
There isn't much that I wanted to do in London. The usual tourist trap? Been there, done that. It isn't so much of the kind of revisiting where you dive straight for your favourite food or head off to shop till you drop with bargain buys. Having studied and lived here, and spending some of my happiest (as well as saddest) days here, the emotional attachment does not go away with time.
I left the Hall at 10am, and spent a couple of hours revisiting all the places I used to frequent. Starting from Russell Square station, I headed south towards Holborn, went past LSE and from Strand, crossed Waterloo bridge to South Bank.
London School of Economics
Royal Courts of Justice
Popped in at Twinings on the Strand and bought some tea. Nearly bought a small Twinings wooden box for holding tea bags but held it off in the end.
En-route south to Waterloo Bridge past King's College, I came across Piccadilly Rly station. You won't find this underground station in the London Tube map. It's an old station that is closed (forever?) and is no longer in used. London has several other such "secret" stations. Nearby, I discovered by chance the underground Roman Baths! However, you can only visit it by appointment only. I remember reading about the history of the baths but I cannot recall it now.
Temple Underground station. There used to be a florist stall here.
Interesting hut converted to a food booth across Temple underground station.
London Eye and Parliament House from Waterloo Bridge
St Paul's Cathedral in the distant
Savoy Hotel as seen from Waterloo Bridge
Across Waterloo Bridge at the South Bank, there is an open flea market for books where you can get second hand books cheaply. The books on display are largely fiction, with a smattering number of arts disciplines such as Films, Theatre, Music, and Classics. This isn't surprising given that South Bank is home to National Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Royal Festival Hall.
Colourful London - found on a wall at South Bank end of Waterloo Bridge.
There was a Festival of Love going on at South Bank with carnival funfair activities. I'm not sure I like this at South Bank. Something like outdoor theatre or music performances would have lent a better atmosphere to the literary place.
South Bank is also home to the Skate Park. Rather like *scape back home, except that this has been around for a very long time. I always enjoyed watching the kids pulling stunts here at the park.
From here, I went back to the Hall through Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross Road, then via Shaftesbury Avenue. Popped back in at Dillons (i.e. Waterstones at Gower Street) and did some browsing before heading back to the Hall for a rest. After regaining some energy, I headed out again to Oxford Street and realised I did not enjoy the walk anymore. Virgin Megastore is now Carphone Warehouse, Tower Records and HMV are gone, and there seem to be even more tack souvenir shops, and the new Muji and Uniqlo are just too expensive. So I went back and retired for the evening.
posted by Lonoxon at 11:05 pm
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