Getting around a large city like London is impossible without some form of regular, well-organised transit system. Fortunately, the London underground is just this.
Apparently, it’s not permitted to photograph in the underground, but a blind-eye is usually turned. Until it’s not… Oh well, you win some, you lose some
Our detour led us up Brick Lane. It rang a bell for us, but we weren’t sure why. It could have been because of the clear evidence of gentrification. Or The grungy grafitti. Or the most amazing array of places to get (what smelled like) the most awesome curries.
A few days later we went past mid-morning, and the atmosphere was entirely different – that there wasn’t any. Night-time is the time for this place.
The Barbican is a weird place. Built as a residential estate in the 60’s and 70’s to fill what had been devastated during the Blitz of the WW2, it’s a celebration of a time of terrible architecture that is somehow just lovely. The technical term for it is “Brutalist Architecture”, and by golly, that’s spot-on…
Above is really a halfway between a tenement and towerblock and it has a certain charm. It’s named after Lancelot Andrewes a 16th-century English bishop and scholar.
A late night walk to a nearby brewpub entailed a detour almost halfway across London. Was it worth it? Very much so!!!
Such lovely light in this place
Many interesting things to see and some even t0 buy!
Spitalfields Market – Mexican food truck
Tonight we met an old friend in the city for dinner and took a slow stroll along the Thames, crossing over Millenium Bridge. After a grimey afternoon that saw us reaching for plastic ponchos, we were treated a lovely sunset.
The Gerkin is fast becoming one of the signatures of London’s skyline. It’s really quite a weird-shaped building. But without a privileged viewpoint, one has to walk up close to the building to see it, and when you get there, you’re looking upwards. We seem to be doing that a lot this trip. Often, this means you’re getting other buildings in the shot as well.
Here you can see the multi-faceted panes of glass that make up the buildings exterior.
Here’s a few random photos from London as a gallery.
