London Days 3 and 4: We're going to market. Also, a Tower, a Bridge and a Cathedral.

SUNDAY morning, and i dragged bleary-eyed Kaiwee out to Camden Market with me. The mugger doesn't get out much!

FYI: Kaiwee is my kind friend who allowed me to stay at his place for the entire week in London (round of applause for him). And here is a picture of the area around his place. Russell Square(damn, i shd have taken a better picture!)

Ok, before i move on, let me also thank KW for lending me his student-pass for the week so i could get discounts on plays and entries into the various paying-attractions! And of course, providing me with so much useful info on London and showing me around for two nights and one morning.

He also helped me take the following pictures...my first (and only) bus ride in London (far easier to get around with the Tube)

At Camden Market (not unlike the cha-tu-chat's in Bangkok, but here a t-shirt costs SGD$20 odd compared to about a quarter of that price in Thailand!)...

And i was stunned (okay people say i'm stunned quite easily) by this amazing donut store...



...and the huuuuge donuts (the
picture doesn't do it justice!)

Finally, here's where i had my lunch (nice warm crepes with ham and cheese to fight off the chill) later...

I then made my way to the Tower of London. Majestic on ths outside, too much in the way of touristy-additions inside that kinda ruined the experience.

I took the tour by one of the Tudor-garbed Beefeaters (the latest in a long line; currently, they have to serve in the army and attain a certain rank before they are eligible, and then they have to take history lessons! Their role in the past used to be to guard important prisoners, and they still do so now- at least, my tour guard claims to have guarded Hitler's right-hand man Rudolf Hess)

This plaque (or whatever the ugly thing, ruining the rustic charm of the Tower of London, is called) marks the spot where several famous people met their untimely ends (i.e. they were executed). SEE what i mean by touristy stuff? It's so out of place!

P.S. U can see Anne Boleyn's name on the artifact, she was one of the Queens to have been beheaded here. U had to be real famous and important to be beheaded here and not on Tower Hill (for the commoners).

And of course, while there, i made the trek across Tower Bridge. I had asked KW earlier how I could recognize Tower Bridge, and he said simply: "You will surely recognize it, it is the most beautiful bridge here." And when I asked him how to differentiate it from London Bridge, he said: "Look for the ugliest bridge..." Here are the two bridges, i leave u to judge.

Anyway, i then caught part of the ARSEnal-Liverpoor game at a pub in the area (and lost small change at a slot machine there, ouch). I also made my way down to Oxford Street for some night shopping (not realising most of the shops there close by 6pm on a Sunday). This would be the only low point of my trip.

MONDAY morning came, and i woke to my usual breakfast of Krispy Kreme (argh, we don't have it here) and 3-in-1 cuppucino (better than the SG variety):

I made my way to St. Paul's Cathedral, with it's famous Dome, a symbol of British resilience during WWII. Then, Winston Churchill had said that it must be defended at all costs and a group of 30 volunteers kept watch each night, extinguishing fires and disposing of small explosives despite the great threat to their lives...


The entrance to St. Paul's:


I snuck a shot or two from inside St. Paul's (photographs not allowed!)

And here is the view from the top of St. Paul's (climbed over 500 stairs, phew!):

That same day, i rushed to the National Gallery to see Da Vinci's The Virgin of The Rocks, only to find that it was taken down temporarily for conservation. Still, there were a plethora of other famous artists on display (Monet, Turner, Raphael, Michelangelo, et. al)

I also saw people protesting against the world leaders for not doing enough to protect the world against global warming (read: the recent Copenhagen fiasco).


And i took more pics of the beautiful square outside before leaving the gallery:

Then, it was on to Victoria Apollo Theatre to catch Wicked - the story of the Wiked Witch from The Wizard of Oz and why she became Wicked. Engaging stuff, but Les Mis is still the best.

NEXT: Old Trafford Adventures!