Remember, It's a live Royal Palace

It’s been over a week since I’ve posted an update, and I assure you I’ve been quite busy as you’ll be able to see…

Everything really began last Sunday, when I went to the HMS Belfast, a decommissioned British cruiser that served in 4 theaters of combat as you’ll soon see.  I really enjoy naval history, and this was a great example of the stuff I like the most about it.  The ship has so much history, and there is much more to learn about the differences between British and American Naval history and tradition that I was occupied the entire time…not just with taking pictures but trying to learn as much as I could.  It was a lot of fun..I don’t know how many more times I can say it:

The Four theaters of combat it served in

The Quarter Deck..

This is what I was first greeted with upon entering the ship..you'd think Her Majesty's Navy could come up with something more creative and bad-ass looking than linoleum tile

Radar Tower

This is a compass for all you you geniuses out there

This is a view of the bow from the Anti-aircraft control "portico"

It's very cramped on ships...this is a perfect example

You can see the ships crane in the foreground, that used to be used to launch and retrieve small boats

There were so many phones, I just wanted to pick one up..c'mon people

View off the stern

Anti-aircraft gun...

This just reminded me of a scene from The Naked Gun where they're using one of these signal lights to call plays to the third base coach

These shells were plastic....soo disapointing

It felt like I was in a transformer..these things would rotate around to the nearest of 6 guns when they were fired

another phone

the command tower

Look!!! Dials that show like pressure or something important to keep the engine from overheating

I can tell you with absolute certainty that the ship was on "stop"

I totally almost asked these guys a question....they're wax figures

If I have questions about my mortgage (I don't think I actually have one right??) I know where to go

Engine room

I don't know what these do!!!!  But there were in the engine room

Later that day I met up with some friends and went to Harrods, a massive store, a landmark in London.  Everything was sooo expensive, that I couldn’t comprehend that people with disposable income would come here to throw it away on a rug costing over $4,000 USD…ridiculous.  I did get a picture…it was the highlight of the trip for me:

This bear was cheaper than the plates stacked up in the foreground... I considered buying it for like 2 seconds

Princess Diana's engagement ring

possibly the worlds smallest escalator....it was quite underwhelming

On Tuesday, my adventure continued at Canary Warf.  My History class on the London Docklands began its “hands-on” portion this past week at the West India Dock, which is in the Canary Warf area of Eastern London.  It’s not close to what it used to be like in the height of the West India trade at the beginning of the 1800’s.  I’ll be honest with you, I really had little specific interest in the dock history of London prior to taking this course, but the professor and I suppose the course material really piqued my interest, and it’s by far my favorite class this semester.  We visited the London Dock’s museum as well, a museum that my professor is largely responsible for establishing.  After the museum, I went to a pub right next door right on the warf for lunch, a J.D. Wetherspoons chain.  I got a salad and watched the unfolding – and tragic – news updates on the Tsunami in Japan.  Afterwards I took the DLR (Docklands Light Railway, an automated shuttle train through the Eastern side of London…what used to be the profitable Docklands…) back into central London.  Right next to the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London is St. Katherine’s Dock….a competitor to the West India Dock back in the 1800’s.  The old Import and Export Docks have since be repurposed for luxury yahts…leisure boats as big as some of the biggest trans-Atlantic ships from the time period.  Just think about that for a second, it clearly shows the moderate level of insanity looking at the whole picture.  Thousands of poor and middle class people were displaced for its construction with not compensation only a century later for the dock to close, be half filled-in and sold to rich developers.  Other closed docks were sold to the city for re-development projects as affordable housing…but not the St. Katherine’s Dock:

Traditional entry way to the West India Dock; there used to be a massive wall enclosing the compound to prevent people from stealing goods off the warf

A zooommm in

Post-West India Dock tug boat that would tow the iron-sided ships to dock

Rope clamp on the tug

a little blurb on the tug

Walking wheel that operated early quay-side cranes that lifted goods off the ships

recreation in the museum of a quay-side road.  You can see that massive scale off to the right

The driverless DLR...

This is what the St. Katherine's Dock looked like in it's prime.  The dock to the upper right is almost entirely filled in today

The Canary Warf sky-line

Quay-side cranes from the turn of the century

zoomed out shot...when I zoomed out I was just standing a lot farther back

Another shot of the skyline

The circular building used to be an armory for the West India dock guard..and the gateway led into a workshop area

These aren't the original cranes, but regardless there were used to lift goods up and into the warehouses

Old Customs Houses...if you've been following you'd know that goods don't come through here anymore which is why it the Old Customs House...just thought I'd clarify

Front of Docklands Museum

They'd float these bouys on the Thames to let people know there was a sunken wreck below the waterline....God forbid they actually clear the wreck.

Canary Warf Tube station....it's really big

Okay I know these pictures are out of order...thank you for that.  This is the DLR in case you weren't preoccupied with the out-of-orderness of the pictures...

Import Dock of St. Katherine's Dock

Ivory house...the clock overlooked the Dock Basin on the other side where boats would be re-directed based on goods aboard or what have you

A wider shot

The retracting wheel of the lock-bridge separating the basin from the import dock

I know it's a restaurant now...but in their defense it was The Ivory House while it was open

This is the second lock leading into the basin

And naturally, this is the first dock leading into the Thames....why would I put the first one in front of the second one..lol

This is a cannon...nothing too special

On Wednesday I climbed the Tower Bridge after work at London Citizens.  Before I talk about the Bridge, let me just announce that I showed my bosses a video I had edited on an action we took the week after Spring Break and they enjoyed it.  The only change that needs to be made is replacing my voice with a British one.  Other minor changes were called for but for the most part they enjoyed it.  I was pleased to say the least.  It was a great feeling to accomplish something that a 3^rd party group is going to use on their website and on YouTube to promote their campaign.  But anyway, back to the Tower Bridge.  As you’ll see, it was a cloudy day so I didn’t have the visibility to see the London Eye from the Tower Bridge…shame since I’ve already got about a dozen of The Eye from a range of other locations.  Take a look at what I took:

A view from Tower Bridge to the North side, you can see the Tower of London to the left

The Gherken / financial district

Inner-superstructure of the North tower of the bridge

Looking East over the Thames.  Greenwich is to the top right, and the Royal Naval detachment is to the bottom left

British standard

Walkway......

Original Sufferance Warf warehouse...sufferance in that it was at the whim of London Customs to give these warehouses the right to receive goods at all

St. Paul's....it was cloudy out

City Hall..that's where Boris works

HMS Belfast in the foreground and you can see St. Paul's in the distance

A closer look of that Sufferance Warf from earlier

Old coal engines used to power the system to raise and lower the two sections

more parts

hey look...out of order but it is the tower commemorating the fire of London in 1667

A closer look of The Tower of London

That's fake coal...YES, out of order, thank you

modern, actively used engine to raise and lower the pieces

This counter is used to show how many revolutions the engine wheel makes between servicing I think

Yes I took this one...cause I've got a time machine

Did I mention I know who shot Kennedy?

This is a water pump.....

This stores the pressure for move the bridge

See the 1895 date of the Wharf?  It is 116 years old?

Sooo if you couldn’t tell from the epic Wimbledon post at the beginning of the semester, I’m a tennis fan.  I went to Queen’s Club on Thursday after I made those quick edits to the London Citizens Video.  Queen’s Club is home to the AEGON Championships, the annual warm-up tournament to The Wimbledon Championship.  It’s a functioning club, with no real coordinated tour or anything like that.  I got a 2 minute “tour” from the lady in the Club Pro Shop (they thought I wanted to buy a racket or get one restrung….).  I could only take a couple pictures because most of the courts were being used by club members…hence I couldn’t take pictures of them.  I got to see the show court they play the semis and finals of the AEGON Championships on but couldn’t take a picture because it was heavily copyrighted.  This kind lady did dig up a post card for me to buy as a memento of sorts.   

Probably 3 of the only unused courts at the club... I think they're growing the grass on these

Pro Shop

I've never seen the executive offices up close before

Seal of Queen's Club...since the 1800's

The main gate...I had to sign in and everything.  Sign in on the same sheet Andy Roddick signs in on

Later that same day I went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum and Madame Tussauds wax museum.  They were both worth the time….and the money.  The wax museum was an epic tourist attraction, they commercialized the heck out of it, but I figured there was no way when I got back to the states I’d be going to the one in D.C. or in NYC…so I took the opportunity to go here:

They're really embracing the whole Sherlock Holmes motif

This would have been where he'd live if he were a real person

What Sherlock's den would have looked like

These are bullet holes...I don't know why it s "V R"

This is a revolver in a Bible....seriosuly

These guys don't look like Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr...

Professor Moriarty...Holmes' greatest rival...Sherlock's rival...not Katie Holmes' rival..we can't just pin one down there, it really seems like she's up against everyone

I don't know what I'd do if this was to ever really be posted

Andy Warhol...not in the Sherlock Holmes' museum

Steven Spielberg

Bond.....James Bond

Judi...I mean "M"

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

Get to the choppa

This is what Sherlock Holmes should look like....just like Robert Downey Jr.

Tony Blair...he seems like a nice guy

Margaret Thatcher...I can't believe they didn't put Reagan right next to her

Winston

humm, who are these guys?

Na man, I ordered 12 cheese pizza's...you gotta get that pepperoni off that thing before my man Barack sees it

To finish up my week of escapades…I went to Windsor Castle with two other awesome site-seeing peeps.  The Queen was there, as you can see from her standard.  I went into St. George’s Chapel as well, where photography was prohibited.  Between all of the Cathedral’s I’ve made my way to since coming to Europe, this one is by far the best, yet probably the smallest, one I’ve had to pleasure to walk through.  I saw the tombs of The Queen Mother and the late King George VI.  I also saw where the Queen sat in the “choir pew” for worship.  I bought a postcard of the portion of the Chapel the reigning monarch and her legion of knights because I obviously couldn’t take pictures.  I also got into the Royal Apartments; which they didn’t want us taking pictures of either.  In 1992, there was an epic fire in Windsor Castle that tore through much of the state apartments…where we were.  So while a majority of it was salvageable, there was a lot re-done and hence they didn’t want any flash photography to wash-out what was left….or so they told me.  I honestly think they don’t let you take pictures because a poorly taken photo portrays the monarchy in a diminished light and ruins the exclusivality of visiting the seat of the monarchy.  Anyway, here are the pictures they did let me take:

Zen garden...it was a mote when they actually had to defend the castle from the bad guys

This was the exit...the guys with the big gun told us so

This way everyone!!

I don't think this tower is any more special than the others...I'm sure it's special to Queen Lizzie

Or else!!

Round Tower, the last stand place of the whole compound

State Apparments

It was raining..no puffy hats?

none yet...

...still none

courtyard outside the Chapel

St. George's Chapel

Anotha shot

...annnnddd the puffy hat

So the guys with the puffy hats are the royal guard...and the guys with the normal hats are just regular body guards?  I couldn't really understand the audio guide

Ye Olde Gvard Room

The Queen's home!!!!

Changing the guard!!!!

This is where the Queen takes her tea

This cannon was given to Queen Victoria as a gift...why the heck is it outside in the rain?

You think they've got openings?

It's rainin mate, no way I'm goin out der!

All in all, it’s been a busy week, but there is more to come.  A week from today I am going on a day trip to Portsmouth with a group to visit the Historic Dockyards and the Spinnaker Tower.  I’m excited.  I’ve also got a hike this weekend that I’ll update you all on when I return on Sunday evening.  

"...We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..."

~Sir Winston Churchill, PM UK

I like this one because the King loovved Winston during the war, and he's commemorated in the Castle

Stay Tuned…