19 Dec 2010
Since we were scheduled to fly to Oslo tomorrow, we had to use up our remaining Tesco vouchers on the various attractions in London. Against the rare cold and snowy weather, we still managed to visit 3 sites today.
Firstly it’s the London Eye and I must say luckily we did it. At about £18 per person, I have always felt it too expensive. However since we redeem our Tesco loyalty points for London Eye vouchers, we did not quite feel the pinch. The snowfall from the past week has blanketed most of the roofs in London. Since snow rarely fell in London for the past hundred years, we were treated to a very white and different London scenery. After collecting our tickets, we went straight for the “4D experience”. The video and special effects were enjoyable but nothing could quite compare to riding the capsule itself. Probably due to the weather, we didn’t have to wait long before boarding the capsule. The flight lasted about 30 minutes and we hardly noticed the time. We were quite excited over the scenery as we did not yet have the chance to see London from a skyscraper. From the capsule, you can get very good views of some famous London landmarks such as Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Westminster Hall.
The London Eye ferris wheel towering over most buildings in London.
The egg shaped capsule is a treat!
Scenery from London Eye
View of Westminster Palace and the Big Ben
After lunch we proceeded to the Shakespeare’s Globe Theater which is a reconstruction of the original Globe Theater from the 17th century. Major elements are retained such as the round shape and the open air design. As we learnt during the tour, the shape of the theater acts like a huge drum and the open roof actually magnifies the actors’ voices from the stage so that the smallest whisper could be heard clearly from anywhere in the theater. The most expensive seats back then had one of the worst views in the theater but in those days, it was more important to be seen by the rest of the audience rather than seeing the play itself. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and it was rather entertaining.
A model of the original Globe Theater. Exact dimensions were unknown though.
The stage of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.
In the late afternoon, we rushed off to the Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge is probably the most photographic and iconic bridge in London. It is often mistaken as the London Bridge but the actual London Bridge lies a couple of bridges away and has a pretty humble appearance. Despite being not far away from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, we decided to take the tube because the snow has started melting making the ground extremely slippery. Walking on the mixture of ice and snow was particularly difficult and slow. Finally we did reach the Tower Bridge and we took the lift up to the exhibition gallery. The exhibits are on the famous bridges around the world and in my opinion, not very interesting. However, you do get very good views from the gallery, especially in the evening. After the gallery, you get the chance to visit the pump rooms which was previously used to lift the bridges to allow the ships to sail through. The force was provided by a system of steam engines and hydraulics. They don’t use them now and the rooms have been preserved as a tourist attraction.
The iconic Tower Bridge is probably the most photographed bridge in London.
Previously used to lift the bridge, nowadays this engine is glam up for tourists.
Enjoy the night scene from the gallery.
London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and The Tower Bridge
19 Dec 2010
Since we were scheduled to fly to Oslo tomorrow, we had to use up our remaining Tesco vouchers on the various attractions in London. Against the rare cold and snowy weather, we still managed to visit 3 sites today.
Firstly it’s the London Eye and I must say luckily we did it. At about £18 per person, I have always felt it too expensive. However since we redeem our Tesco loyalty points for London Eye vouchers, we did not quite feel the pinch. The snowfall from the past week has blanketed most of the roofs in London. Since snow rarely fell in London for the past hundred years, we were treated to a very white and different London scenery. After collecting our tickets, we went straight for the “4D experience”. The video and special effects were enjoyable but nothing could quite compare to riding the capsule itself. Probably due to the weather, we didn’t have to wait long before boarding the capsule. The flight lasted about 30 minutes and we hardly noticed the time. We were quite excited over the scenery as we did not yet have the chance to see London from a skyscraper. From the capsule, you can get very good views of some famous London landmarks such as Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Westminster Hall.
The London Eye ferris wheel towering over most buildings in London.
The egg shaped capsule is a treat!
Scenery from London Eye
View of Westminster Palace and the Big Ben
After lunch we proceeded to the Shakespeare’s Globe Theater which is a reconstruction of the original Globe Theater from the 17th century. Major elements are retained such as the round shape and the open air design. As we learnt during the tour, the shape of the theater acts like a huge drum and the open roof actually magnifies the actors’ voices from the stage so that the smallest whisper could be heard clearly from anywhere in the theater. The most expensive seats back then had one of the worst views in the theater but in those days, it was more important to be seen by the rest of the audience rather than seeing the play itself. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and it was rather entertaining.
A model of the original Globe Theater. Exact dimensions were unknown though.
The stage of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.
In the late afternoon, we rushed off to the Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge is probably the most photographic and iconic bridge in London. It is often mistaken as the London Bridge but the actual London Bridge lies a couple of bridges away and has a pretty humble appearance. Despite being not far away from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, we decided to take the tube because the snow has started melting making the ground extremely slippery. Walking on the mixture of ice and snow was particularly difficult and slow. Finally we did reach the Tower Bridge and we took the lift up to the exhibition gallery. The exhibits are on the famous bridges around the world and in my opinion, not very interesting. However, you do get very good views from the gallery, especially in the evening. After the gallery, you get the chance to visit the pump rooms which was previously used to lift the bridges to allow the ships to sail through. The force was provided by a system of steam engines and hydraulics. They don’t use them now and the rooms have been preserved as a tourist attraction.
The iconic Tower Bridge is probably the most photographed bridge in London.
Previously used to lift the bridge, nowadays this engine is glam up for tourists.
Enjoy the night scene from the gallery.