london, day 2

tower bridge.


Swiss Re Building, 30 Mary St. Axe


today we ran all over town again. we finally got the hang of the tube (the underground subway). it was real easy, and since the city isnt all that big, everywhere we went was within a couple of minutes. we started by checking to see if we could catch a play. well, tomorrow they sell front row tickets for 10 pounds at 10 am. however, we figure we have to be early to stand in line, etc. after figuring that, living in new york city, we dont really go to see any plays, i dont think that we will do any here in london. it would be a bit ridiculous to fly 3500 mile to watch a play that we could watch in the city where we live (or even better, rent the dvd and watch it at home).

we walked across london bridge, and went to the tower of london. it really isnt a tower, but rather a small fort/ castle. they have the crown jewels there too, and they looked neat, i guess (i dont really like jewelry, and i like even less the idea of people being famous and powerful by birth (thats why i thought nobody likes or respects paris hilton)). all the same, it was neat. the tour got me interested in british history, and i intend to study up on it when i get home.

from there we walked up to the city of london (which is just its own neighborhood, rather than a different city. its like the financial district, or downtown. in any case, i got to see teh norman foster building that looks like a fabrege egg, and i was impressed. i also got to see the lloyds building, which is basically across the street. that is another building that impressed me. it was designed by richard rogers, who is a big architect. i think tha the worked on the pompidou center in paris with my favorite architect, renzo piano (whose work i intend to see a lot of in italy). the style of the building was basically with the insides out; that is, there are all kinds of pipes and stuff outside of the building, even the elevator is outside the building, which has clear walls, so we could see people going up and down. it was closed to the public, though, so we couldnt go in.

we also went to st pauls cathedral, which is a big church with a big dome, and all that. from there, we walked across the millenium bridge (by norman foster) and saw the outside of the tate modern.

basically , in these first two days, we saw all the buildings and outdoor sites that we wanted to. so we should spend the next couple of days inside some museums. we plan to go to the british, which is considered good because they stole all the statues from the acropolis in greece (and lots of other artifacts from a lot of other cultures that the british conquered). we also want to go to the tate modern and national gallery.

again, i wish i could show more pictures, but i have to come to internet cafes to post (i will get some pictures of this stuff online when i get to italy, i hope (if those hotels dont also lie about having internet access in the rooms)). i hope that all is going well with everyone out there. if you want, you can leave comments under these posts, or email me at georgetsouris.com. i appreciate the emails that i have been getting from my friends. we love you all!