London Day I

So what if I have the need to be everywhere 10-15 minutes earlier than the time the respective places open? So what if every morning (or night for that matter) i need to have a plan about today's (or tomorrow's) activities? So what if we got to the Tower of London at 8:30 am when it opens at 9? This only was a good opportunity for photo sessions sans crowds! Good, soft, morning light is also a plus.
The schedule for our London tour (first day) was as follows:
Day one:
- Tower of London (get there early 9am and before the crowds) - good photo opportunity plus the ravens will be roaming around and more picture friendly. Also, we followed a free tour by one of the Yeoman Guards and got to know a lot of stuff about the tower. We saw the crown jewels!!
- Tower Bridge
- St Paul's Cathedral
- Temple Church

We only took the tube going to the tower of london and afterwards walked the whole day. Our hotel was near Victoria Station so the central part of london was very walkable. And without further ado, the pics:



Entrance to the tower of london and behind it (and on the other side of the Thames), the new City Hall:


The other side of the Thames:


Bad hair day starts:


Tower Bridge and an amazing sky (it didn't rain AT ALL while we were there):


Windows:


View from inside of one of those windows:


Stained glass in one of the prayer chapels in one of the towers:


The white tower:


View from the Tower Bridge (that building on the left is the Swiss Re Building, also called the gherkin)


That way for us:


St. Pauls' Cathedral (this place was amazing):



Queen Anne's statue (during her reign the cathedral was completed). The 4 ladies around the base of the statue represent England, France, Ireland and North America, as at that time Anne considered herself to be queen of them all.


One of those ladies:


View from the Stone Gallery (see london eye - i am so glad we didn't go there, such a silly thing to visit) (The highest gallery was closed when we were visiting - if not, we definitely would have climbed up the narrow steps, the views are breathtaking!)




Tate modern museum and to its left Shakespeare's The Globe (white round building):




Paternoster Square and St Paul's Dome in great light:


Temple Gate (behind the jumping monkey):


A good place for our climbers to talk cock:


Goodness gracious, I have found the mothership!


The royal courts of justice (they look like a fairy tale palace, don't they?):


Temple Church:


And a beautiful garden for the lawyers and clerks for Middle Temple:


The rest of the pics are here.