23 June 2007
Today was probably the most educational day I have had in London so far. It started at 10:30 this morning with a walking tour of the neighborhood surrounding our Study Centre, Bloomsbury. Before that even happened we experienced a bit of history in the making right here at the Study Centre. While queuing in the street prior to the store we noticed a lot of Bobbies standing in front of the Trades Union Congress which is across the street from the center. After a few minutes media trucks started gathering as well. As it turned out, the future (as in next week) Prime Minister was coming for a meeting with the trade unions. I managed to get within about 5 feet of him and took a pretty decent picture which is in the gallery below.
After getting some snaps of the Prime Minister we were off in a small group to do the walking tour of Bloomsbury. There is a photo slideshow of the tour below. If you click on the picture you will be able to see captions about what each picture is (provided I have had a chance to arrange them :-) We saw some really amazing places and learned some neat things about our own neighborhood...like..Charles Dickens lived in the house across the street... and John Maynard Keynes (the Father of economic theory) lived right around the block. Virginia Woolf lived around the corner too. And 1984 was actually built at the Senate Building of the University of London (see photos).
After the tour we left on our second adventure of the day. Myself and 2 of my 6 roommates went down to Leicester Square and saw "West End Live" which is a totally free music festival conducted by the acts of London's famous West End. We actually saw 2 songs performed by the cast of Avenue Q (which is terribly funny) and 4 actors who sang different songs from Cameron Mackintosh's productions of Oliver, My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Opera and others, it was a real treat. On the way out of the park we also got free goodie bags with samples of various household items. It was really cool. (There are pictures from that as well)
After Leicester Square, we walked down the block to the National Portrait Gallery. We did a brief walk through and saw some really impressive art. The collection spans a period of about 250+ years of portraits of different people. Both the collections of portraits as well as the building itself were very impressive.
Upon leaving the NPG we realized we were only one block from Trafalgar Square so we headed down there. It's just absolutely beautiful and also a bit humbling when you realize the history behind the site. Aside from the beautiful fountain in the square, there are also some very interesting buildings nearby. I actually got a nice photograph of Big Ben from the far side of the square.
To finish a really increadible day of sight seeing and experiencing London I took my first Tube ride. We got on at the Charing Cross Road Station and we went to Tottingham Court Road. For £1.50 we rode the Tube for exactly 5 minutes. It was a really cool experience but next time I think I'll just walk :-)
So for now I need to wind this up, Tomorrow I am doing a bus tour very early that should hit most of the big tourist sites that I haven't yet seen in town.
Until next time...
Have a great night..
~Jenn
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