While in London I had to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. It's an exact replica of the original Globe and only a bit away from where the original stood. I really wanted to see a play there, but we were too late in the season. It is open to the air, of course.
By the time we reached the Globe, Trout was too pooped to walk anymore or take any more in, so he sat in the Swan coffee shop and read while I went on the last tour of the day. Naturally it was led by one of the actresses who works there.
If you don't fully explore the Globe site, you might miss the fact that this reproduction was financed and sponsored by Sam Wanamaker, a prominant American actor and director.
As in the original, the external walls are half-timbered.
The cheap seats aren't seats at all, but rather standing spaces in the area in front of the stage.
The same stage is used for every production with only minor changes.
It is beautifully painted.
Can you guess where the balcony scene might be played in Romeo and Juliet?
The little door/window in the gabled end of this roof over the stage is where all the sound effects and fun stuff from the sky comes out -- both 400 years ago and now.
Next time we go to Europe it will be in the spring and if we make it to London, we will see a play at the Globe.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is not a replica, unless you consider its rebuilding in 1667. It's a pub and rat warren of a restaurant that actually dates back about 550 years.
This sign out front lists all the kings and queens who have come and gone while it has remained.
We were there at an off-time. We did get something to eat, but I wouldn't recommend it, at least not at the time of day we went.
This sign out front lists all the kings and queens who have come and gone while it has remained.
We were there at an off-time. We did get something to eat, but I wouldn't recommend it, at least not at the time of day we went.We also didn't hit Piccadilly Circus at the best time -- night.
There was some construction going on, but you can get an idea of what the daily mania is like there.
We turned right and headed out of this busy intersection. As we were walking along, we saw this sculpture. I don't even know what the building was, but Trout insisted I take a picture.
We didn't plan it and we didn't even walk over into and on it, but we did pass Trafalgar Square.
No self-respecting tourist goes to London without seeing the Tower of London. It is a royal residence, but it is so much more. This is the way you arrive there from the Tube station. This area is an archeological site.
You may have noticed heavy English skies in earlier pictures. We did experience some typical English weather.
Here's a wet Trout heading for the entrance.
It's possible to spend hours here. We didn't. This is Traitor's Gate. As you might see in the Wikipedia article, originally this gate was on the water so if you see any movies bringing anyone through it, they are authentic for the times. Now the Thames is farther away.
I think we saw more old and new contrast in London that anywhere else in Europe. The egg-shaped building is the London City Hall.
I love seeing the 11th century hole to shoot arrows out of in the same view as the 21st century City Hall.
But back to the Tower.
This was a showy cannon on the grounds.
Work was being done to the building where the armor is displayed, but I love this ad. One of the things inside is a series of King Henry VIII's armor from the time he was young until his death. He did have a weight problem.
There was some construction going on, but you can get an idea of what the daily mania is like there.
We turned right and headed out of this busy intersection. As we were walking along, we saw this sculpture. I don't even know what the building was, but Trout insisted I take a picture.
We didn't plan it and we didn't even walk over into and on it, but we did pass Trafalgar Square.
No self-respecting tourist goes to London without seeing the Tower of London. It is a royal residence, but it is so much more. This is the way you arrive there from the Tube station. This area is an archeological site.
You may have noticed heavy English skies in earlier pictures. We did experience some typical English weather.
Here's a wet Trout heading for the entrance.
It's possible to spend hours here. We didn't. This is Traitor's Gate. As you might see in the Wikipedia article, originally this gate was on the water so if you see any movies bringing anyone through it, they are authentic for the times. Now the Thames is farther away.
I think we saw more old and new contrast in London that anywhere else in Europe. The egg-shaped building is the London City Hall.
I love seeing the 11th century hole to shoot arrows out of in the same view as the 21st century City Hall.I also love seeing the Gherkin, a skyscraper in the financial district along with the older buildings in front of it.
But back to the Tower. This is the building that houses the Crown Jewels. Those are definitely worth seeing. Doing a Google image search for them will probably give the best idea of what they look like. They really take your breath away.
You actually stand on a moving sidewalk that goes along both sides of the display cases. You can also stand on a platform to one side of that to take time to read more about them. Fortunately, it wasn't very crowded when we were there. Notice the clock says it's lunch time. So we rode the sidewalk on both sides and stood and read on the platform.
This was a showy cannon on the grounds.
Work was being done to the building where the armor is displayed, but I love this ad. One of the things inside is a series of King Henry VIII's armor from the time he was young until his death. He did have a weight problem.I had been to the Tower before and this exhibition area used to be living (or prison) space. If you are really into arms and armor, you can spend a lot of time here. After seeing Henry's armor, I was feeling sorry for his horses and ready to leave but you had to go through the rest of the exhibition to get out. That hadn't changed from 30 years ago.
From inside the Tower grounds, you can see Tower Bridge.
And of course there were plenty of Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters around as they have been since the 15th century.
These are some of the royal residences still inside the Tower grounds. I don't think anyone really lives here anymore but a guard is placed outside the Queen's house.
and at the Tower Bridge. Gotta love that London weather.
The Thames was pretty dirty, but the buildings did look good after the weather cleared a bit and the sun was setting.
We used the Tube and the double-decker buses, but we also walked a lot. If we hadn't we would've missed this lovely memorial to the women of WWII. I thought it was amusing, original, lovely and poignant all at once.
If you think you can get close to #10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's house, think again. The street is gated and guarded.
A big attraction on the Thames is the huge ferris wheel called the London Eye. It was windy and cold and even though the cars are enclosed, I wasn't about to go up there. Ferris wheels are just too slow for me.
One thing I will say for it, it is BIG.
As we were crossing this bridge, we saw this Highlander in his kilt playing the bagpipe. He had a funny sign saying what he'd do to anyone who took his picture without permission or paying. Thank goodness for optical zooms. What I found most interesting were these guys in yarmulkes stopping to listen to him.
This is going back over the bridge toward the Houses of Parliament.
We didn't go into the building(s), but we did walk around them. We discovered this special entrance when we did.
We went around back to a park-like area called the Victoria Tower Gardens and saw this. We had no clue what it was. I just found out it is the Buxton Memorial Fountain from the 19th century. It commemorates the freeing of slaves in the British Empire in 1834.
In this same area we also saw another installation of Rodin's Burghers of Calais.
These are a couple more pictures of the Parliament buildings from the dry side.
It was fun seeing the general area, but the major reason we were there was to go to Westminster Abbey. It's where the monarchs are crowned and you can see the original throne that is used -- dating from 1066. Be sure to find the throne on the linked site.
There are many great websites about the Abbey, but my favorite is from the Abbey itself, its Highlights of the Abbey. Be sure to check out the Quire. That's where Trout and I sat for the Evensong service. Attending the Evensong service was one of the highlights of our trip. We went outside after touring and waited to be let back in for it. We were in the front of the line and they guided us to our seats. They were on the front row in the choir. It was lovely and very special.
And this is in Grumbles around the corner from our hotel.
And of course there were plenty of Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters around as they have been since the 15th century.
These are some of the royal residences still inside the Tower grounds. I don't think anyone really lives here anymore but a guard is placed outside the Queen's house.
After leaving the Tower, we walked across the Tower Bridge (the low part, not the high part). This is a closer look at the City Hall,
and at the Tower Bridge. Gotta love that London weather.
The Thames was pretty dirty, but the buildings did look good after the weather cleared a bit and the sun was setting.
We used the Tube and the double-decker buses, but we also walked a lot. If we hadn't we would've missed this lovely memorial to the women of WWII. I thought it was amusing, original, lovely and poignant all at once.
If you think you can get close to #10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's house, think again. The street is gated and guarded.
A big attraction on the Thames is the huge ferris wheel called the London Eye. It was windy and cold and even though the cars are enclosed, I wasn't about to go up there. Ferris wheels are just too slow for me.
One thing I will say for it, it is BIG.
As we were crossing this bridge, we saw this Highlander in his kilt playing the bagpipe. He had a funny sign saying what he'd do to anyone who took his picture without permission or paying. Thank goodness for optical zooms. What I found most interesting were these guys in yarmulkes stopping to listen to him.
This is going back over the bridge toward the Houses of Parliament.
We didn't go into the building(s), but we did walk around them. We discovered this special entrance when we did.
We went around back to a park-like area called the Victoria Tower Gardens and saw this. We had no clue what it was. I just found out it is the Buxton Memorial Fountain from the 19th century. It commemorates the freeing of slaves in the British Empire in 1834.
In this same area we also saw another installation of Rodin's Burghers of Calais.
These are a couple more pictures of the Parliament buildings from the dry side. 
It was fun seeing the general area, but the major reason we were there was to go to Westminster Abbey. It's where the monarchs are crowned and you can see the original throne that is used -- dating from 1066. Be sure to find the throne on the linked site. The Abbey is also where monarchs are buried along with many other royals and famous people. They give you a little headset and a map to find the most famous.
There are many great websites about the Abbey, but my favorite is from the Abbey itself, its Highlights of the Abbey. Be sure to check out the Quire. That's where Trout and I sat for the Evensong service. Attending the Evensong service was one of the highlights of our trip. We went outside after touring and waited to be let back in for it. We were in the front of the line and they guided us to our seats. They were on the front row in the choir. It was lovely and very special.Of all the holy buildings we saw, this was my 2nd favorite (to the Mezquita). There is so much history here going back so far that we both were in awe.
But all our gaping and gawking (or gawping as the Brits say) didn't keep us from eating, or Trout from reading while waiting for food. This is in a pub near Trafalgar Square.
And this is in Grumbles around the corner from our hotel.
We had a good time in London and didn't go to a single museum. We could easily spend a month there exploring, but it was not our favorite place. We would never consider living there.
After a few rigorous days, we were ready to get on the train for Inverness. And so we did. We took a taxi to the train station (it became a habit) which allowed us to see some other parts of the city on the way.
