Monday, 9 December 2019
Today we finish the "City Walk (Rick Steves)", tour a large repurposed powerhouse - the Tate Modern - a gigantic museum of modern art, and catch a London play.
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We start our walking tour at the the Royal Exchange, the site of London's original stock exchange, founded in the 16th century. The actual building has burned down twice, with the current version from the 1840's.
We start our walking tour at the the Royal Exchange, the site of London's original stock exchange, founded in the 16th century. The actual building has burned down twice, with the current version from the 1840's.
The golden Gresham Grasshopper can be seen on the Royal Exchange's weathervane. This commemorates the founder, Sir Thomas Gresham, whose crest it is featured on.
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A large elaborate refreshments bar just inside the entrance.
Next, to the Bank of England, established 1694 - and a visit to a little museum, the Bank Museum, of course.
Mega scale awesome architecture...
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Below right:
The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known simply as the Monument, is a Doric column, situated near the northern end of London Bridge. In commemoration, it stands at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, 202 feet (62 m) in height and 202 feet west of the spot in Pudding Lane where the Great Fire started on 2 September 1666. Constructed between 1671 and 1677, it was built on the site of St Margaret, New Fish Street, the first church to be destroyed by the Great Fire.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known simply as the Monument, is a Doric column, situated near the northern end of London Bridge. In commemoration, it stands at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, 202 feet (62 m) in height and 202 feet west of the spot in Pudding Lane where the Great Fire started on 2 September 1666. Constructed between 1671 and 1677, it was built on the site of St Margaret, New Fish Street, the first church to be destroyed by the Great Fire.
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Now on London Bridge:
The original, or "Old London Bridge", 1209-1831, ...
(not counting possible Roman spans and follow-on lesser bridges)
"New London Bridge", 1831-1967, as it now appears in Lake Havasu, Arizona...
"Modern London Bridge", 1972- , ...
Tower Bridge as viewed from London Bridge - yes, shocking, but true, these two bridges are entirely different bridges, they look absolutely different and have vastly different histories.
 | Old spires, with new spires. Another look back over Central London... |
Tate Modern is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group, and based in the former Bankside Power Station, in the Bankside area of the London Borough of Southwark. Tate Modern is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the world.
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It's now very dark outside - time for taking in the city lights:
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We closed the evening by catching another London play:
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Wiki: Touching the Void is a play written by David Greig, based on the book of the same name by Joe Simpson. The play portrays the true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates climb of the 6,344-meter west face of the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
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