I have walked past the cathedral a number of times in my visits to London, but Saturday was my first entry into the cathedral. While the architecture is impressive with regards to scale and th volume of the main hall; it's rather plain and ordinary.
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
15 June 2016
12 June 2016
St Paul's Cathedral
Ever since I did the MIT course on the history of architecture (on edX); I have been interested in the buildings covered in the course. St. Paul's cathedral is the first such building since completing the course; and it is really great to spot some of the course elements. The late afternoon mass was about to start; so the cathedral was largely inaccessible. Inside, it is fairly ornate and far more interesting than Westminster Cathedral.
Manchester
It was my first visit to Manchester this past week; and given it was for business I didn't have much time to see the town in general. It's a bit of strange environment - a mix of old and new; that sometimes really work and other time feels out of step with the first world.
15 October 2012
Melting Pot
It had been a long time since my previous visit to London - about 6 years I think. The Olympics hasn't really changed the city - other than the remnants on the billboards. It remains old and grimy in some places; and new and shiny in others. It is a testament to the sheer longevity of the city.
One thing that has noticeably changed, is that it is an even bigger melting pot. The high volume of Indian immigrants is well known, but it is only in this trip that I noticed all the other shades of accents - the Polish (or some other Eastern European) receptionist, the Caribbean assistant at the Tube station, various main stream European languages, Chinese, Malay etc. And these aren't even the tourists.
I still don't like the weather, but I do love the melting pot.
13 October 2012
For the Lack of a Conductor
The Heathrow connect from London made a surprising, last minute cancelation and stopped the station before the airport. At this point there were three options, take the next train, take the bus or take a taxi. The latter two options wouldn't be supported by the train company; and the last minute change was very perplexing.
It was particularly perplexing that the options were not communicated by the train drivers or the station; but rather by a young apprentice of the train company who had just got off and similarly inconvenienced. Apparently, the cause of the delay - the lack of a conductor to check tickets; apparently a requirement for all Heathrow trains. And even more alarming - this is not an irregular occurrence; but something that is quite frequent (the missing conductor and thus the cancelation of a train). Apparently, this is most frequent on early morning trains to and from Heathrow.
So, if you don't have 30 minutes to spare waiting for the next train (and are willing to pay double); get the express. The affliction of missing conductors apparently does not affect the express.
It was particularly perplexing that the options were not communicated by the train drivers or the station; but rather by a young apprentice of the train company who had just got off and similarly inconvenienced. Apparently, the cause of the delay - the lack of a conductor to check tickets; apparently a requirement for all Heathrow trains. And even more alarming - this is not an irregular occurrence; but something that is quite frequent (the missing conductor and thus the cancelation of a train). Apparently, this is most frequent on early morning trains to and from Heathrow.
So, if you don't have 30 minutes to spare waiting for the next train (and are willing to pay double); get the express. The affliction of missing conductors apparently does not affect the express.
09 October 2012
Chill Man
I caught the slower train from Heathrow to Paddington, which stops at a few local stations along the way. It was surprisingly quick to clear immigrations (last experience at Heathrow, over an hour, yesterday 5 minutes), so I had some time before I could check in to my hotel.
The first stop after Heathrow, two heavily tattooed men dressed in tatty clothes got on, and hung by the door. Shortly thereafter, the conductor came through checking tickets, which these men didn't have. I was quite surprised, as were the two men, on the conductor's reaction. After a hushed (but still audible) chat on why they didn't have tickets, the conductor simply asked the two men to take a seat and relax. The men were so startled, that the conductor had to repeat himself, "chill man".
I am not sure why this small incident should stick in my mind ... are these instances of understanding officialdom so rare?
The first stop after Heathrow, two heavily tattooed men dressed in tatty clothes got on, and hung by the door. Shortly thereafter, the conductor came through checking tickets, which these men didn't have. I was quite surprised, as were the two men, on the conductor's reaction. After a hushed (but still audible) chat on why they didn't have tickets, the conductor simply asked the two men to take a seat and relax. The men were so startled, that the conductor had to repeat himself, "chill man".
I am not sure why this small incident should stick in my mind ... are these instances of understanding officialdom so rare?
08 November 2006
The Scottish Highlands (a phlog)
Yesterday, Eric had to go to work (yes some people do work), and I decided that a trip to the Highlands would be a nice idea. It was quite expensive (30 Pounds!), but the weather was good (i.e. no rain) and in the end, a great trip really. On the whole, I learnt two main things about Scotland: 1) It is a beautiful part of the world, and it would be great to do a similar trip on a slower pace. 2) There have been a number of rather violent people who have wanted this beauty, and have killed mercilessly towards this purpose. In fact, the major "people" highlights of the tour centred around wars and battles.
In my past trips (for the last 3 years anyway), I have never done city tours or paid guided tours (mainly because of the expense). These have one real advantage - you get to hear a lot more about the history and stories that come with the place. Stories and facts that are well arranged and well told ... a very nice complete package. Anyway, enough mindless mumbo jumbo ... and onto the pics
A highlands cow ... damn these things are big
The first loch we stopped at
Same loch, higher up
Route through the mountains
The highlands reminded me of almost every story I had read by British authors, with a number of rivers, small forests - just no wildlife
Urquhart Castle
Searching for Nessie at Loch Ness
Urquhart Castle (from Loch Ness)
Nessie Explained?
In my past trips (for the last 3 years anyway), I have never done city tours or paid guided tours (mainly because of the expense). These have one real advantage - you get to hear a lot more about the history and stories that come with the place. Stories and facts that are well arranged and well told ... a very nice complete package. Anyway, enough mindless mumbo jumbo ... and onto the pics
A highlands cow ... damn these things are big
The first loch we stopped at
Same loch, higher up
Route through the mountains
The highlands reminded me of almost every story I had read by British authors, with a number of rivers, small forests - just no wildlife 
Urquhart Castle
Searching for Nessie at Loch Ness
Urquhart Castle (from Loch Ness)
Nessie Explained?15 November 2005
Being Dodgy
Being a (bit of?) a dodgy fellow certainly has its advantages - walking after sunset in Mowbray for instance. It also leads to police interviews. This morning at Victoria Tube Station, I got stopped by the tube cops - it was a bit of my fault I guess - one of the pockets in my bag was opened; but they did the whole bag and jacket search thing and asked whether the wires were connected to the iPod. I thought it was quite amusing really ; especially the racial classification section - they have so many!
Spent most of my day in the Science museum - a fascinating place, and wish that I had more time to spend there. Went (after paying 6 quid) to the "Aliens" exhibition - which was very cool - looked at both the fictional roots of not only aliens but also other "beings" like devils, angels, ghosts etc. But the main part was really about the strangeness of life itself - bacteria that can survive at extreme heat and cold, even multicellular organisms that survive at near freezing conditions at incredible pressures under the oceans. If there is life in those conditions, there is a really high chance of other life out there. Whether it is "intelligent" and whether we will ever encounter them is however much less likely. There was also a very funky section on models of other worlds under different conditions (like air pressure etc) and how that would affect life.
After spending so much time at the museum (went to basically every section), there was not much time for other things to do - like visit the Natural History museum - which I must say has one of the most imposing entrances to any museums I have been to. Went to petticoat lane, but today not being Sunday, there wasn't much happening there, took a walk over to Liverpool Street (nice tube station) and took a tube to St Paul's Cathedral, where I was just in time to see it close in front of me. I am not religious by any means, but do enjoy looking inside churches and temples and wonder what drive people to pour so much money and time into the artworks (which are usually very beautiful admittedly). Seeing that there wasn't much else to do around there, I took the bus to Trafalgar Square and on the spur of the moment decided to go into the National Gallery.
So I can now boast of seeing some very famous original paintings, and while I was very impressed by some of the detail esp. in the landscape artists in the renaissance, I can't say I was that impressed with the more recent masters like Monet. Admittedly, their works do look good from far, but get close and they don't look great at all. Same goes for Van Gogh. But some of the artists from earlier periods had some amazing detail, which I thought was very cool.
Thus ends my London jaunt - I now hope to wake up some insane time (in about 5 hours) to make it to Heathrow in time (just my luck - morning planes = encountering morning rush hour to get to the airport). My next blog post will most probably be after I get back from India
Spent most of my day in the Science museum - a fascinating place, and wish that I had more time to spend there. Went (after paying 6 quid) to the "Aliens" exhibition - which was very cool - looked at both the fictional roots of not only aliens but also other "beings" like devils, angels, ghosts etc. But the main part was really about the strangeness of life itself - bacteria that can survive at extreme heat and cold, even multicellular organisms that survive at near freezing conditions at incredible pressures under the oceans. If there is life in those conditions, there is a really high chance of other life out there. Whether it is "intelligent" and whether we will ever encounter them is however much less likely. There was also a very funky section on models of other worlds under different conditions (like air pressure etc) and how that would affect life.
After spending so much time at the museum (went to basically every section), there was not much time for other things to do - like visit the Natural History museum - which I must say has one of the most imposing entrances to any museums I have been to. Went to petticoat lane, but today not being Sunday, there wasn't much happening there, took a walk over to Liverpool Street (nice tube station) and took a tube to St Paul's Cathedral, where I was just in time to see it close in front of me. I am not religious by any means, but do enjoy looking inside churches and temples and wonder what drive people to pour so much money and time into the artworks (which are usually very beautiful admittedly). Seeing that there wasn't much else to do around there, I took the bus to Trafalgar Square and on the spur of the moment decided to go into the National Gallery.
So I can now boast of seeing some very famous original paintings, and while I was very impressed by some of the detail esp. in the landscape artists in the renaissance, I can't say I was that impressed with the more recent masters like Monet. Admittedly, their works do look good from far, but get close and they don't look great at all. Same goes for Van Gogh. But some of the artists from earlier periods had some amazing detail, which I thought was very cool.
Thus ends my London jaunt - I now hope to wake up some insane time (in about 5 hours) to make it to Heathrow in time (just my luck - morning planes = encountering morning rush hour to get to the airport). My next blog post will most probably be after I get back from India
13 November 2005
Time, Crime and Chocolate
After arriving in London yesterday afternoon, I did go out and about; spending time mostly in and round Hyde park. Unlike July, it gets dark much earlier (about 5pm or so) and its much colder than DC (more typical I suppose), and with all the jetlag, I did not do as much as I hoped.
This morning, I woke up late (not really surprising) and decided to start of at Greenwich and visit the observatory. It was a bit disappointing that large parts of it were closed due to renovations. I spent a longer time at the Maritime museum (and a bit of time at Queen's house) which I found rather sparse to be honest. I suppose I am comparing it too much to the Smithsonian museums (who do not have a maritime museum BTW) but while the displays were great, I think in the end it is just too small. There was also an exhibition on Napoleon and Nelson but at 9 pounds I decided to give it a skip.
The London Dungeon was something I stumbled upon last time I was here and decided that I must make a visit this time round. At just over 10 quids (after a 2 quid discount on a student ticket) it is still a very expensive but interesting experience. It is a cross between interactive drama and a theme park on torture, death, disease and Jack the Ripper. The actors were largely brilliant and most played their parts really well. Probably the most interesting part was the labyrinth (very early on) which is effectively a maze where the walls are made of mirrors - very very cool. As for the torture, it is amazing what human beings are capable of doing to each other - all in the name of good.
Being a big fan of Sherlock Holmes (I have read every story and novel), the Sherlock Holmes museum was the next stop. Unfortunately, I can't really say it was worth the 6 pounds, but they had some interesting things - it is effectively an old Victorian house furnished as described and painted in the books and stories. There are quite a few original and prints of illustrations from the book etc. and gives a good overview of life in the turn of the 20th century.
Spent the rest of the day in and around Oxford street. Went into Hamleys (huge toy store), but with Christmas around the corner (well just over a month away), it was just too packed. Also went into the HMV superstore - did think about buying a few DVDs but realised that there was nothing that I really wanted (and that I had a huge depression in my bank account due to the iPod). Although, if there was a box set for all the seasons of "The Practice", I would probably tell a different tale.
Had a buffet supper (eat all as you want/can) at a Thai place near the HMV store for 6 pounds. Thought that was quite a deal. And lastly to the chocolate part of the title - Carl's family friend from Birmingham (forget her name ... sorry) talked about how different Cadbury's Dairy Milk tastes in South Africa, so I decided to investigate. After having quite a bit of the 200g bar, I can't really say that they taste too different although I think the UK version does have less sugar. Still doesn't compare to Lindt however.
This morning, I woke up late (not really surprising) and decided to start of at Greenwich and visit the observatory. It was a bit disappointing that large parts of it were closed due to renovations. I spent a longer time at the Maritime museum (and a bit of time at Queen's house) which I found rather sparse to be honest. I suppose I am comparing it too much to the Smithsonian museums (who do not have a maritime museum BTW) but while the displays were great, I think in the end it is just too small. There was also an exhibition on Napoleon and Nelson but at 9 pounds I decided to give it a skip.
The London Dungeon was something I stumbled upon last time I was here and decided that I must make a visit this time round. At just over 10 quids (after a 2 quid discount on a student ticket) it is still a very expensive but interesting experience. It is a cross between interactive drama and a theme park on torture, death, disease and Jack the Ripper. The actors were largely brilliant and most played their parts really well. Probably the most interesting part was the labyrinth (very early on) which is effectively a maze where the walls are made of mirrors - very very cool. As for the torture, it is amazing what human beings are capable of doing to each other - all in the name of good.
Being a big fan of Sherlock Holmes (I have read every story and novel), the Sherlock Holmes museum was the next stop. Unfortunately, I can't really say it was worth the 6 pounds, but they had some interesting things - it is effectively an old Victorian house furnished as described and painted in the books and stories. There are quite a few original and prints of illustrations from the book etc. and gives a good overview of life in the turn of the 20th century.
Spent the rest of the day in and around Oxford street. Went into Hamleys (huge toy store), but with Christmas around the corner (well just over a month away), it was just too packed. Also went into the HMV superstore - did think about buying a few DVDs but realised that there was nothing that I really wanted (and that I had a huge depression in my bank account due to the iPod). Although, if there was a box set for all the seasons of "The Practice", I would probably tell a different tale.
Had a buffet supper (eat all as you want/can) at a Thai place near the HMV store for 6 pounds. Thought that was quite a deal. And lastly to the chocolate part of the title - Carl's family friend from Birmingham (forget her name ... sorry) talked about how different Cadbury's Dairy Milk tastes in South Africa, so I decided to investigate. After having quite a bit of the 200g bar, I can't really say that they taste too different although I think the UK version does have less sugar. Still doesn't compare to Lindt however.
12 November 2005
Dulles Monstrosities and Unsecured Access Points
I am sure that free Internet access was not part of the deal at the budget hotel I am staying at in London. Holly House Hotel, as recomended by Carl is tiny, but the price of 23 punds per night for bed and breakfast is only 3 pounds more than a dorm room elsewhere in Victoria - so very much worth it. And the free Internet access is a bonus! I just wonder whose access point this is - there does not seem to be any businesses around this area.
I know I have told a few people about the "trams" that shuttle people between various terminals at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. Because of how the airport has grown, some of the terminals are actually more or less in the middle of the airfield and while there is a subway system under development, the current mechanism is essentially some kind of a basket on some very big wheels. I was going to post a pic of the "tram" as well as of the hotel and the view from my room - but the net connection is quite slow so uploading pics not going to well.
On another front, I finally bought an iPod after threatening to do so for so long. The new models have an amazing battery life - I charged it up and transfered some music onto it before I left the hotel yesterday. I used it for most of the journey and when I got to the hotel in london, some 26 hours later, there was still some battery life left! The claimed 20 hours is thus not far off the mark - I am very impressed.
I know I have told a few people about the "trams" that shuttle people between various terminals at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. Because of how the airport has grown, some of the terminals are actually more or less in the middle of the airfield and while there is a subway system under development, the current mechanism is essentially some kind of a basket on some very big wheels. I was going to post a pic of the "tram" as well as of the hotel and the view from my room - but the net connection is quite slow so uploading pics not going to well.
On another front, I finally bought an iPod after threatening to do so for so long. The new models have an amazing battery life - I charged it up and transfered some music onto it before I left the hotel yesterday. I used it for most of the journey and when I got to the hotel in london, some 26 hours later, there was still some battery life left! The claimed 20 hours is thus not far off the mark - I am very impressed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)