I've been one hundred and thirty eight times in London. Most of them were just to get a connection flight; many implied a change of airport; and some allowed a short visit to town, shopping or grabbing some lunch between flights... But in forty one of those visits, I spend at least one night, sometimes two, three or four at a hotel. And in some selected visits, I even spend a week or more in London or in the United Kingdom. In September 2008 we had just a short one night stop on our way to some summer vacation!
"LE MERIDIEN PICADILLY - A great location!"
"AQUASCUTUM - Need a raincoat?"
"CARNABY STREET - Quite famous in the sixties..."
"BANANA REPUBLIC - Casual smart..."
"OXFORD STREET -In the Saturday morning the buses were still running"
"OXFORD STREET - In the afternoon it was a pedestrian zone..."
"EROS"
"SOUTH BANK - Some new buildings""
"TATE MODERN - One of my favourite Galleries"
"MILLENNIUM BRIDGE"
"VIEW FROM THE TATE"
"NATWEST & THE GHERKIN"
"TATE FIFTH FLOOR"
"CHINATOWN"
"MAISON TOUAREGUE - Couscous, tagine..."
"THREE GREYHOUNDS"
"STREET JAZZ - Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club was fully booked..."
Hi Everybody! This last weekend was the Reykjavik Cultural Night weekend; one year ago I was there... It means that my delay in posting was a real one year delay. With today’s post, I’m getting a bit in advance, as the stopover in London took place in early September 2008... ;) Enjoy and have a great week!!
ReplyDeleteI was also a frequent visitor; now it must be two years since last time! Must go back soon, only some 2-3 hours by train now and the city is fascinating, getting nicer and nicer ... and obviously again a little bit cheaper for € visitors.
ReplyDelete(Why don't you use Paris as a hub and make a stop for a day or so soon?)
Brilliant pictures, as always! Very impressive! Have heard lots about London! Will, hopefully, visit someday!
ReplyDeleteSo many times in London!
ReplyDeleteI've been only once, back in 1975 -a long time ago!
belle ballade dans Londres , j'aime beaucoup le "MILLENNIUM BRIDGE"
ReplyDeleteDelightful shots of London... love the one on the bridge!
ReplyDeletei will never get tired of good ole london... great captures here
ReplyDeleteGreat pics! I love London, was there in 2003 and had a great time. I look forward to seeing pictures of places I didnt' get to see.
ReplyDeleteI miss London!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy fav city! :)
I haven't been in London lately but most of your pictures ring a bell. Thks.
ReplyDeleteHey Gil,
ReplyDeleteLondon is superb city, where one can find more of Indian people outside their country.
u looking really smart in the MILLENNIUM BRIDGE picx...
nice awesome picx loking to know more of london...
kven.
http://kollywoodmoviereview.blogspot.com/
I've finally been to a city that you have featured! I loved my trip to London. Great pictures as usual!
ReplyDeleteSeems like a fun visit!!! How's the weather, hope its not too cold..but then you've been to Iceland..so it will be alright right? Have a great week Gil :P
ReplyDeleteI suppose I wouldn't recognize Londonfrom the last time I went there - that must have been in the 70ies!
ReplyDeleteAt least the city is still crowded.
Beautiful pics. You always show the world at its best.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful photos. Interesting to see their daily lifestyles and the buildings are so magnificient. Beautiful. Lucky you. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Gil, I'm enjoying a nice holiday in Poland at the moment with a short stop in Berlin. Nice photos of London, but a lot of dark cloudes...
ReplyDeleteYour pictures show the real London..You're gonna have to ask her majesty the queen to grant you honorary citizenship for the number of times you been to London...Do you know that old song..."where you been? I been to London to visit the queen"
ReplyDeleteGreat post, very enjoyable, thanks for sharing
Il y a bien longtemps que je n'y suis allée, les docks n'étaient pas encore refaits, c'est si près, il faudra que j'y fasse un petit tour un ce ces jours en schuttle.
ReplyDeleteL'idée de Peter est bonne, pourquoi ne la suivriez vous pas?
Hey GMG,
ReplyDeleteI'm loving ur first pic and the second last pic esp... Great angle...
Know what, suddenly it hit to me that I was not following your blog and so, now I am... :)
My Travelogue
TWO raincoats on your way to Iceland, I think!
ReplyDeleteI didn't really like London. Been there, done that, but no more, thank you. I know I am a rara avis, but I guess in the end, it's all just a matter of taste :)! best wishes, L.
ReplyDeleteFInally someplace I've visited. Although I've only been to London once, it almost seemed familiar from books and movies. Like you, I loved the Tate with its Blake and Turner collections. Your photos show so many new buildings that were not there when I visited just before my daughter entered my English Lit class in 11th grade. She is now 34. I'd love to go back.
ReplyDeleteamazing you calculated how often you stopped by at London!
ReplyDelete"THREE GREYHOUNDS" pourrait bien être en Champagne, à Troyes par exemple.
ReplyDeleteWonderful series of photos, Gil.
ReplyDeleteThe "Three Greyhounds" grabbed my eye, too!
The South Bank looks like a great place.
wonderful view of London
ReplyDeleteHey Gil
ReplyDeleteAt last I've made it to your blog and the net again. I enjoyed your blue lagoon post of iceland. The sculptures were interesting. Aahh.. London. If only the exchange to pound is not too high against RM. I remembered Tate too and all these weird sounds which came out from its speakers in the name of modern art. Have a good week ahead!
For once I can say that I recognize most places in your photos.
ReplyDeleteLondon is a very busy city. And very attractive.
Great shots from London!
ReplyDeleteInteresting scene the last shot.
Hope you got more about London !
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time I wasn't there...
I like more your night pics! they have more life! London' sky is very grey.... I guess you have to be lucky to have a sunny day there!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice week Gil!
wow london. when i see london, the first thing that comes to mind is the bridge from the song and of-course my fair lady. i have lots of friends working there and would certainly love to visit the place at least once in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the beautiful photographs. Right now I am at Mumbai exploring the coastal areas.
ReplyDeleteAaaah, what a lovely post! Makes me think that perhaps I should go to the Tate Modern this weekend...
ReplyDeleteHi Gil,
ReplyDeletebelieve it or not, but as a Swiss, I never made it to London!!!! what a shame...I know... :) maybe one day, never say never, right? LOL
We stopped traveling one week ago and are settled down now in Melbourne FL. I will have time again to visit your blog more often and on a regular base :)
Susanne
Very Nice Blog
ReplyDeleteWonderful views of London, Gil!
ReplyDeleteI've been to London several times and I find its a very attractive town. So thrilling and interesting the Royal Albert Hall Proms!
Have a great weekend!
London...wall to wall people but an interesting and vibrant city to visit. I wouldn't like to live there even though I did as a child. My daughter and SIL live there now. he sometimes gives lectures at the Tate. (He is a composer) We have just returned from a trip to northern Australia. You might like some of the pics since you are a globetrotter.
ReplyDeletesome real nice pics of london...!!
ReplyDeleteon my blog..ull see a place u have already been to.....
ReplyDeleteHi Gil!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see London --hopefully this year or next year I will.
I have benn traveling the past two weeksd in the American West! We saw so many wonderful sights in South Dakota and Wyoming and now we are visiting with our grandson.
Will have some photod up next week
Hey, Trotter.......how nice to see fine snaps of you and Mrs. T enjoying "my" city. Next time, let me know!!!! (You captured Oxford St at it's most typical! I avoid it!!)
ReplyDeleteLovely sights. I like the photo of Eros. ;-)
ReplyDeletePaz
This was so nice as are all your posts :)
ReplyDeleteWowza! Your blog is always a pleasure to visit. I forgot that London had so many people walking here and there and everywhere. If one stops and does ask where something is it is a "Five minute walk or a twenty minute walk, whatever. Just in what direction do they mean.
ReplyDeleteJoyce M
Great photos - shame about the grey skies ;-)
ReplyDeletemy favorite place in the world - i've been twice recently and had a fabulous time
ReplyDeleteHi Folks! Trying to catch up with your comments and giving some due replies to your kindness. Further to updating my knowledge of your posts, it will keep me busy during this weekend. Anyhow, outside it’s just 21º centigrade and a bit misty; no beach weather... ;))
ReplyDeletePeter,
That’s true that London is getting better and now with the Olympic Games in 2012 there will be lots of new things to see, I believe. And fortunately the pound finally went down a bit... ;))
The problem with the hub is that I’ve hundreds of thousands of miles with British Airways and almost zero with Air France. Otherwise, it would be nice... except that CDG airport terminals are even worse than LHR... And the BA First Lounge is unbeatable. Maybe the Singapore Airlines in Singapore will match it!! ;)).
But I’ll find a way to land in Paris, sooner or later...
Rakesh,
I’m sure you will; it’s probably the easiest connection from all over the world and with the pound getting down a bit, prices are becoming a bit more affordable!! ;))
Susu,
Once is not enough... My first time was in 1973, actually with the first money I earned myself... ;))
Olivier,
Norman Foster new bridge in London is actually an awesome achievement!! It had some problems in the beginning, but now seems fixed... ;)
Kim,
That bridge picture is going to be a hit on this post... ;))
Eye,
Truly, it’s hard to get tired of it... And it’s so easy to get there, at least for someone at this edge of Western Europe... ;)
Ron,
Saw your Hard Rock Cafe picture in London; you definitely don’t miss anyone of them... ;))
Stella,
No wonder!! But there are also other nice cities around the world; and Hong-Kong isn’t that bad... ;))
Thérèse,
Time to start packing; actually it’s always to start packing to London, a great city, provided the pound gets down... ;)
Kven,
You may find many people outside of their home countries in London; and not only from India, though there are some excellent Indian restaurants in London... ;)). Casual smart in honour to Sir Foster (the architect, not the beer... ;))
Rhonda,
No... There are surely many other places shown on my blogs that you have been to. New York, for example... ;))
M.Kate,
You probably didn’t notice, but it’s written at the top of the post: «September 2008». With my one year delay in posting, Iceland, London, etc, happened last year. Now, I’m in Lisbon just remembering... But it was the usual British Summer when I was there last September: misty and a bit of rain... ;))
Hélène,
It surely changed a lot, but it promises to change even more for the next Olympic Games in 2012!!
Rajesh,
Thanks! That’s very kind of you... Actually, thinking it better, it wouldn’t make much sense to show the repulsive side of it: first, it’s ugly; then, there is already a lot of it around the corner... ;))
Alice SG,
Mostly shopping is what you get around Oxford Street always, but in particular on weekends. Furthermore, that one was special, as the Street was closed to traffic in the afternoon... A bit like Orchard Road, but with a bearable temperature... ;))
Juka,
Great! Hope you have a nice time! We’ve a cousin married to a Polish girl living in Warsaw and we are always thinking of getting there, but we never make it... One of these days they move to Lisbon and then it’s gone the chance of having private local guides... ;))
Baron,
Don’t remember the song... But probably the Queen will be too busy taking care of the adventures of her son King to be and Lady Pam that she won’t have time to grant honorary citizenship awards... ;))
Lyliane,
Il faut y aller, parce que vraiment ça change un petit peu toutes les années.
En ce qui concerne le Paris hub, la difficulté est dans les centaines de milliers de milles de British Airways et le zéro avec Air France… ;)). Mais je vais trouver une façon de te faire une visite à Paris et même au Nord… ;))
Mitr-Friend,
Great to see you back here! Loved to read that you enjoyed the pictures and came back on track!!
Part Two, due to Blogger's restrictions...
ReplyDeleteAlice,
Actually on the way to Turkey; but it was summer in England, so a raincoat is absolutely needed... ;))
Lara,
Loving a town, like a person, depends of many circumstances... Maybe things didn’t run pretty well for you in London; but I think you should give her a second chance: better with some local guide... ;))
Ted,
The Turner paintings are on Tate Britain, the original Gallery, in Pimlico; this one is Tate Modern, on the other bank of the Thames... But there are always some interesting exhibitions there, not to mention the permanent collection, which is excellent! Even for me, who regularly make a stopover in London, it is impressive the way the City and Canary Wharf have changed the image I had from the London I visited in 1973... ;))
Mariposa,
I didn’t calculate; but I’ve all my trips on file and the computer does the calculation... ;))
Daniel,
En Champagne, mais aussi en Alsace, Strasbourg, Colmar... Quand même, je préférerais tout simplement champagne...;))
Nikon,
The South Bank is probably the zone that developed best in the last years; it’s incredible the change it experienced from the times people went there just to see Jack the Ripper at the London Dungeon... ;))
Vaggellis,
Great to read you back here! Welcome back to the blogosphere!
Leo,
Great also to see you back here!! Hope there wasn’t any trouble acceding to the posts; sometimes Blogger has its idiosyncrasies... ;)). The Blue Lagoon is superb and surely deserves a comment on its own!! Wow! You got the sounds. Amazing... ;))
Irina,
Glad to read your comment; but I believe you also recognized my Moscow or St. Petersburg images, at least; and probably some more... ;)
Indrani,
I’m glad you noticed that Street Jazz picture; it was amazing the sound the guys were taking out of those «instruments»... ;)
G@tto,
I turned back in December 2008, so probably in December 2009 I’ll be posting some pictures of London, provided that I keep the delay in one year only... ;))
Dsole,
Usualy the night shots don’t come out very well, but sometimes it works... As for the colour of the sky, you mustn’t forget that England is «the country where summer was a Thursday»... ;))
Norman,
My Fair Lady is an amazing picture of Good Ole London times... Surely, with so many law firms in London, one day you’ll be around the corner up there, that’s for sure... ;))
P. N. Subramanian,
Hope you have a great time in Mumbai!! Look forward to seeing the pictures from your most recent exploration!
Emm,
Lucky girl; you’re just there and don’t need to get through Heathrow to make the Tate... ;)). Great weekend choice, indeed!!
Sue,
That’s incredible!! Unless we start thinking that nothing is incredible for a Swiss... LOL! Did you leave Charleston for the good or are you just making a stopover in Melbourne, FL?
Wow,
Spam!! Awful... ;)
Pietro,
The London Proms 2009 just finished yesterday; I’ve never made it, but one day I’ll get to the Royal Albert Hall for the great promenade... ;)). London is truly exciting!!
Diane,
If I ever moved from Lisbon, I think I would prefer NYC to live; like one lawyer friend once told me, «provided that you have money... you’re within ten minutes of everything there is left in the world... ». Provided that you have money... ;))
I’m surely going to enjoy your Northern Australia pictures!!
Shooting Star,
It was just a forty eight hours stopover. Time enough for shopping, museum and dining... ;)). Loved to see your Jaipur pictures!! They brought back some good memories!! I would love to make the rest of the Rajasthan...
Pat,
Hope your plans come true. I’m sure they will; it’s a wonderful town...
Look forward to seeing your pictures of the West! In 1982 we made Wyoming and several National Parks, including the Yellowstone. It was one of our best vacations... Great spots we’ve seen!!
And finally Part Three!!
ReplyDeleteStuart,
I surely will drop a line next time I make it to London!! I mean, when stopping by, not just changing planes... ;))
Paz,
That’s a must: Eros at Piccadilly Circus!!
Lady,
Great to read you back here! Glad that you enjoyed!
Joyce,
It’s true that everything is a ... minutes’ walk... But the Underground is a superb system and takes you anywhere you need to go... ;)
Tinsie,
You’re more used than me to the grey skies... ;). The point is that summer «was» a Thursday... ;))
Maria,
I wouldn’t say my favourite, but surely one of my favourites... ;) Well, I make an exception with regard to theatres; that’s my favourite city in the world; even compared to New York... ;))
The skyline in the picture from the Tate is certainly an interesting one - modern mixed with old! Love the pictures, as always :)
ReplyDeleteAshira,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you back blogging! You're right: it's an amazing combination!!
London spam,
ReplyDeleteit's 138 times, not 8...