Tuesday-Wednesday 22-23 April 2025
More beautiful weather has accompanied me to England. These two days offered bright sunshine, light winds, and on Wednesday temperatures in then low 60s. This is so much better than my four-day visit in May 2023 when it was cold and blustery every day.
On Tuesday morning I put a load of t-shirts and underwear in the washer-drier combo in the kitchen area. The washer does a good job but the drier finished and my stuff is still pretty wet. Fortunately there is a drying hanger, so I place it in the very large shower and load up my clothes--everything will be dry in two days. Then before I leave the flat, I turn on the small dishwasher to clean up all the glasses, cups, plates and silverware I have already used. They all come out sparkling clean and dry very quickly.
It's another fine day for walking, so I take the Undergound to the Embankment station, just on the north shore of the Thames, very close to Trafalgar Square. But I head in the other direction, east to Charing Cross and the Strand, which will eventually lead me into the City--the area of London home to law courts and post-modern business buildings. In many ways this is the most historic part of London, with the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral and many smaller churches designed by Christopher Wren. But it is also the site of the large massing of new skyscrapers representing London as the financial and services capital of the world.
But first a note about Easter Eggs. Many cities around the world have asked artists to paint objects--javelinas, elephants, horses, etc--to be placed around the area. People are invited to purchase the objects when the exhibition ends. Right now, London is the site of many hand-painted Easter eggs placed all around the city. Here are a few examples I see along my walk today:
From the Embankment I walk up to the Strand, one of the longest east-west streets in London, linking the West End (Trafalgar Square) with the City. Close to Trafalgar Square, in front of the Charing Cross Railway Terminal, stands the Charing Cross itself (19th century copy of 13th century monument).
In the photo on the left, above, you will see the steeple of St. Martin's in the Fields (James Gibbs, 1722-26), at Trafalgar Square. The photo below shows it in more detail.
I walk east on the Strand passing a plethora of theaters, shops, pubs, restaurants, and places of business, all crowded with office clerks and tourists at this late morning hour.
At the eastern end of the Strand stands St Mary le Strand church (James Gibbs, 1714; restored 1871).
I make a u-turn on the Strand and walk toward Kingsway, the wide north-south axis that marks the division between the West End and Holborn. I stop for a late lunch at Elaine's, a traditional Italian restaurant, where I enjoy a house salad with vinaigrette, a very strange-looking but delicious pizza, a glass of Montepulciana (one of my favorite Italian wines that is difficult to find in Tucson), with a latte for "dessert".
Because I am rejuvenated and refreshed after this leisurely lunch--far superior to yesterday's meal at Carlucci's--and possibly just a little tipsy, I am ready to continue my day in another part of London, this time on the south bank of the Thames, logically called "Southbank." This area is the location of the massive post-WWII cultural center housing the National Theatre, the London Symphony and many other artistic organizations. The architecture is massively Brutal (remember, I watched the fictional film on the subject while on the cruise), attesting more to the power of government spending than to the beauty of architecture. The bleakness is somewhat relieved by the large crowds of colorful locals and tourists, as well as many restaurants, bars, and shops. To get there I take the Underground under the Thames to Waterloo Station, from where it is a short walk to Southbank.
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| The Escalators Go Very Deep on the Northern Underground Line |
Having walked and eaten enough for the day I continue a short way to Westminster Bridge to take a bus to Sloane Square. As I walk to to the bridge I get this last view of Parliament and Big Ben.
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