Monthly Archives: September 2010

Day 253

Posted on by dtsphoto365

Today was fun! We got up and headed down to Buckingham to catch the Changing of the Guards, but from a better area. Unfortunately, it was a disaster area again. There were hundreds, probably thousands of people all pushing to get a view. The police didn’t really help, but encourage the crowd by forcing everyone into certain spaces.

We both had to just hold our cameras up in the air and hit the shutter button HOPING to get something. We did get some better shots during the ceremony where the band plays by pushing up to the fence. Frustrating. I got some interesting shots that I included below just for fun.

Afterwards, we needed a break, so we headed to the Grenadier Pub that a friend suggested. It was tucked away, but we eventually found it and enjoyed some great drinks. Dave enjoyed some Pim’s and I had a famous Bloody Mary… very different then in the States because they used all of their own ingredients vs. a mix. It was almost frothy.

We then headed off to the Temple Church that you read/see in the Da Vince Code book/movie. It was small, but interesting. We were kind of done for the day so we actually headed back to the flat. We got ready and then went back out to Covent Garden to meet Shane and Jule for dinner. We also went out to see Chicago, which was the first time for all of us. It was a GREAT show and very enjoyable.

Shooting in the Sky

Through the Gate Bars

The Grenadier Pub

Knights of the Templar

The only picture I could get for Chicago...

Photos taken with: Nikon D700, Tamron 28-300mm VR or iPhone 4

Day 252

Posted on by dtsphoto365

I’m not sure if I’d consider today good or bad… It started off with a nice late wake up… we needed that. However, then as I was getting ready, I found a banana had exploded in my backpack and was on one of my camera lenses. YUCK. Okay… 1 good, 1 bad.

We left the flat and went to the Globe Theater, which I fully expected to not be taking any more tours for the day. However, they were! And we got in for free to have a guided 45 minute tour that was very impressive. It was cool to see where Shakespeare had his plays performed. 2 good…

We then moved onto St. Paul Cathedral which was right up the road. It was BEAUTIFUL. I mean, really breathtaking inside. We grabbed the audio tour and spent probably 3 hours inside. Of the 3 hours, we had the chance to climb 257 steps to the “Whispering area” where you could look down into the Nave of the church. Wow, that was a climb. Then once we were up there, we found out that you could go up TWO more levels… another 119 stairs (done) and 157 stairs after that (done). It was exhausting, we did get some great views of London outside. However, we couldn’t take any photos inside the church itself. 2 bad…

We had some quick lunch and then booked it over to the Museum of London. Funny that we also ran into Shane on the way just wandering the streets. I don’t think he works. We got to the museum and it was very cool — history of the city from every era. However, we only had 20 minutes. 3 bad…

London Eye was next… a ferris wheel type of thing that inside of seats, they are full size glass balls that seat 25 people. There are 32 balls and it constantly goes around and never stops. Beautiful views of the city including some great shots of Parliament and Big Ben. 3 good…

By then it was dusk and so we started with our plans to take some shots of the city at night. We stayed around that area and shot some of Parliament and Big Ben. Loved it! Switched and did some of the London Eye… and then headed over to Buckingham Palace to shoot more. We stopped at a pub on the way for dinner. We met some nice American Airlines pilots and chatted photography for a bit. Then we headed off to the palace. And as we got there, they were paving the road IN FRONT OF THE PALACE. Yeah… exciting. We still wandered around where we could and got some photos. Then a nice police officer let us know that the sub stations close at 11:45. CRAP. 5 good… 4 bad…

We RUSHED over to the sub station and caught the train to the closest stop we could. Once we got to where I thought that we could catch a connecting train, it was already closed for the night. So, we ended up taking a taxi because we couldn’t find the bus stop. 5 bad…

OH! And I also found (while on the London Eye) that my deodorant also messed up stuff in my backpack. UGH. 6 bad…

Are you keeping count? 5 good… 6 bad… But we’re in London… So, I’ll atleast make it even and say 6 good… 6 bad.

The Globe Theater by Shakespeare

A view of London from St. Paul's

St. Paul's and a Monument to Queen Anne

The Beatles Display from Museum of London

The London Eye

A view of the River Thames from the London Eye

Parliament and Big Ben at Night

The London Eye at Night

Buckingham Palace and Queen Victoria at Night

Buckingham Palace at Night ... Plus Construction Workers

Photos taken with: Nikon D700, Nikon 18-35mm or Tamron 28-300mm VR

Day 251

Posted on by dtsphoto365

Day Five of London! Yes, I am posting the blog a bit late… but I did take the pictures! I was so exhausted last night… here’s why:

We got up around 5:30 am to get ready and catch a tour bus to see Buckingham Palace. Very exciting… Little did I know that we’d ride around for 2 hours picking up other guests and then head to the train station to catch the REAL tour. Things you learn. Either way, we headed out on a short bus ride of the city. We had a chance to step out and see Parliament, Big Ben and the Westminster Abbey. From there we visited the Horses Guard which is another guard of the Queen.

Afterwards, we went to Buckingham to see the Changing of the Guard. We didn’t have a great view because it was SOOO crowded, but we’re going back tomorrow to visit again. We did go into the palace as it’s only open for 2 months of the year while the Queen is away in Scotland on Holiday. It was GREAT to see the palace! We saw the throne room, lots of drawing rooms, etc where the royal family entertains guests. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, no photos. 😦

We did stop to have lunch at Buckingham in the Garden… quite lovely as the Brits would say. From there we visited the Royal Mews, where her transportation is taken care of and several staff members live on site.

On our way down to Westminster, we walked through St. James Park, which was gorgeous… tons of wildlife walking around, people relaxing, nice greenery and water. At Westminster Abbey,  we decided to take the tour and that was amazing as well… Beautiful and TONS of royalty buried inside — Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Henry VII, Edward the Confessor, etc. Also, several other celebrities such as Shakespeare and Handel either are buried or have a monument to them in the church.

We then met Shane and Jule at a local pub to have some burgers and beer. Yum. LONG DAY. Now for another…

Parliament Building

Big Ben!

Horses Guard

Changing of the Guard!

Changing of the Guard!

Royal Coach (one!) that they use for coronations or Jubilee's

Buckingham Palace

My Friend, Supermodel Duck... who posed for 5 minutes for me.

Westminster Abbey from the inside gardens

Photos taken with: Nikon D700, Nikon 18-35mm

Day 250

Posted on by dtsphoto365

Day Four in London… We woke up a bit earlier and made it off to the sights at a decent time. We first took a stroll down London Bridge and got a view of the Tower Bridge. Did you know that this London Bridge has only been around since the 1960’s? The older one was bought and is in Arizona! We then walked over to the Tower Bridge and took a tour, went up to the top and shot some photos of the city.

Afterwards, we walked over to the Tower of London… AMAZING. I think that it was so cool because of the history. We got a short tour from a Yeomen of the Guard (Beefeater). We then did the audio tour around Bloody Tour, the Crown Jewels (WOW!) and some other places. We ate lunch, finished postcards and went into the White Tower or the original London Tower Palace. It was very neat and had a great exhibit. All of the Kings were represented by their suits of armor very well displayed. It was really cool.

We found the site were Anne Boleyn and other nobles were beheaded and where some of Henry VIII’s wives were buried. We saw Traitor’s Gate where they were all brought in… and we saw some of the Queen’s guards doing their pomp and circumstance thing. We then rested in a Starbucks, caught up on email and headed back to the flat. Off to dinner…

The Entrance to London Bridge

Tower Bridge

A Yeomen of the Guard at the Tower of London, aka "Beefeater"

The Tower of London White Palace

King Henry VIII's armor -- or atleast one of the suits

A Guard at the Crown Jewels - He smiled!

The Location of Private/Nobel Beheadings - Anne Boleyn!

Dave enjoying some Starbucks after lots of walking and crowds

Photos taken with: Nikon D700, Nikon 18-35mm

Day 249

Posted on by dtsphoto365

Day Three London! Today was okay… we slept in, which was nice and then made our way to Kensington Palace. It was under construction, but they still allowed you to tour the State Apartments which was decorated into an “Enchanted” Princess land. It was a neat twist, but I would have rather heard the history and toured more. However, the Queen’s cousins are living there now. 🙂

We then made our way through the Park to Diana’s Memorial Fountain, which was very different. We had a Pims to drink, walked to Harrod’s which was awfully boring – Macy’s, only expensive. Afterwards, we went to the Royal Academy of the Arts which only had one exhibit… boring. However, the day got exciting when we tried to find a SIM card to put into Dave’s iphone and syphon data plans from… After an hour or more of trapsing all over the Oxford Circus area, we succeed. Many, many cuss words later.

We met Shane and Jule for dinner at Pizza East… yum. Now to bed and off to London Bridge’s tomorrow!

Gates to Kensington

A portion of the Diana Memorial

Royal Academy of Arts

Our first Pims!

Harrod's!

GUINNESS!

Photos taken with: Nikon D700, Nikon 18-35mm and iPhone 4