Katharine Elizabeth Photography {the blog}

I wanted to post a few more pictures from my trip to London.  I was actually tagging along on my husband’s business trip.  So while the two of us had some time together to tour the city, I actually ended up with two days to sight-see by myself, also.

Which was kind of scary at first.

But pretty cool once I got the hang of it (especially riding the underground train … I am secretly in love with the London Underground).  The whole experience was pretty incredible and I’m so glad I was able to go.

I only had enough guts to bring one of my smaller cameras and a single lens (50mm f/1.4) with me on the trip.  But the up side was that I could fit the camera in my purse, which meant I brought it with me everywhere, which meant I got to take pictures of pretty much everything I wanted.

And … you know … I like to take pictures, so that part was pretty fun.

Below is Hyde Park in the morning fog.  “London Fog,” if you will (that joke didn’t get old while we were over there):

This is Trafalgar Square.  That is Nelson’s Column is in the middle, a statue of Sir Keith Park on the right, and the top of the London Eye in the distance.

We saw Wicked at the Apollo Victoria our first night in town.  I had never seen it before and it was awesome.

And the “noodle stop” picture, I just love.  I don’t know why.  It’s just so perfect:  “Stop.  For noodles.”

This is the London Film Museum as seen on our way up in the London Eye (the picture I posted last week was also taken while riding the London Eye).

Here is my husband in front of the Tower Bridge (he’s a handsome bloke, eh?).

The Tower Bridge as seen while we were walking across the London Bridge:

Hey look, they spell my first name right over there!…

Waiting for a train in the Underground.

Escalators back up to street level:

This little guy was at the British Museum:

This is Westminster Abbey and one of the stained glass windows inside.  The picture on the right is the only picture I took inside; I snapped it right after I walked in and before I saw all of the “no photography” signs.  Also before a scary man in a red robe descended upon me as soon as he heard my shutter click.

Carved on the outside of Westminster Abbey:

Below-left is a musician who was playing in the Underground.

Below-right was taken on the plane ride home.  At about the 8 hour mark, I looked out my window and saw another plane flying right next to us.  It stayed with us for 5 or 10 minutes.  I thought that was pretty neat.

The trip was great.  London is a pretty amazing city and it was neat to see so much of it in just 5 days.  I know I wasn’t there long enough to come to (or back up) any sweeping generalizations, but if I was forced to make some, here is what they’d be:

• Everyone in London has an iPhone.  Teens, business-people, senior citizens.  Everyone.  Everyone.  I saw no phone in use that wasn’t an iPhone.
• I was the only person in the entire city wearing white socks.
• They win calling an elevator a “lift” (shorter signage!  more fun to say!), but lose calling restrooms “toilets” (very unsatisfying to see “Toilet” on a sign in a posh London theater).
• London is not a big believer in free WiFi.
• If they are truly 3 months ahead of us in fashion trends, then look out:  bright, white sneakers are coming back in style for men, and women will be wearing 80’s ankle boots and purple tights by April.
• Tap beer tastes way better in London.  Hamburgers do not.
• There is bread mixed into the sausage links, which oddly enough, isn’t that bad.
• Everything looks appropriately priced in pounds, but then when you do the math to American dollars, you realize you just paid $9 for a frozen yogurt.
• If the city has any minor faults, they are completely outweighed and then some by the absolutely awesome public transportation system that is the London Underground.  I couldn’t believe how easily we could get to anywhere in the city and I never got over the sheer number of people moving and in and out of the Tube.  It was absolutely incredible.

Last, but not least, a special thank you to my awesome parents for coming and staying at our house with our 2 kids while we were gone.  I would have never been able to go on the trip if they hadn’t been willing to step in;  they watched the kids, fed them, bathed them, got them on and off the bus, signed permission slips, kissed boo-boos, and tucked them in at night.  And we were able to have a great time knowing the kids were in caring, capable hands.

Yay for grandma and grandpa!