30 Dec 07 - London Day 3

My last day in London and I knew that I had a lot to cover for the day so I had to really prioritize the attractions that I could not do without. My first choice was the Natural History Museum. Museum again, you may think, but this museum particularly drew my attention as it had one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils in the world. True enough, I was far from being disappointed from my visit. I discovered many interesting facts about dinosaurs that I never knew before. For instance, I never knew that t-rex is a particular kind of tyrannosaurus. I always thought that they were totally different species. Also, T-rex’s hands were too short to even put food into their mouth.

L-R: Diplodocus; Triceratops

L-R: T-rex; Tasmanian Devil

This museum also housed the largest blue whale model in the world, spanning over 30 metres in a big exhibition hall. The use of taxidermy in this museum was widespread, judging from the large collection of various exotic animals. It also boasted the largest tree trunk in the world called Sequoia, which was over 3000 years old. Another section of the museum that left an impression on me was the exhibition on human evolution. With the help of different fossils, it was explained how the different fossils found were placed in the “evolution branch”. This was in line with what I had learnt earlier during the French intensive class. I was particularly happy to see the almost complete fossils of Lucy, a Neandertal which lived about 2 million years ago, not because I had direct ancestry with her, but because her name was constantly mentioned during my classes. After this exhibition, I was more convinced that men and apes share common ancestry.

L-R: blue whale; Chi-Chi

L-R: 6 antlers in 6 yrs life of a raindeer; starfishes

L-R: men use umbrella, monkeys use banana leaves; men and monkeys alike use a stick to reach for their stuff that dropped into the river. r u more convinced that we share the same ancestors now? =D

L-R: Sequioa; fossils of Lucy

I left the museum after 3 hours and I have never felt so enriched going out of a museum before. Perhaps it was because all the explanations were in English!

Afterwards I took the tube to London Tower. Anyway, I purchased the Oyster Card yesterday morning. Osyter card refers to the EZlink version of London. It gives as much reduction as 2.50 pounds per journey. Each underground journey in London cost 4 pounds with an individual ticket, but with Osyter card, I only had to pay 1.50 pounds. Anyone thinking of going to London should definitely get this card.

Back to London Tower. This was another UNESCO World Heritage site, supposedly a place where many famous prisoners and war criminals had been imprisoned in the past. I took a look at the entrance fee. 13 pounds, forget it. Probably I would not understand the history anyway. So I made my way to the nearby Tower Bridge, evidently the most famous landmark of London. Unlike its predecessor (London Bridge which looked really dull), this bridge stood tall and elegant. As I walked closer and closer to the bridge, I could not stop marveling at the beauty of the structure and was even more amazed later on when I learnt about the concept of the bridge.

at the Tower of London

I paid 4.50 euros for the entrance to the exhibition area of the bridge as well as the engine room. So what did I learn from my trip here? The idea behind the bridge was to provide another linkway between the two sides of Thames which were starting to get really busy back then, while allowing huge ships to pass under the bridge at the same time. Hence, the idea of a bridge with the middle platform which could be raised was proposed. The engineering principles behind the lifting of the bridge were pretty simple as well, but the machines employed were all humungous in size!! Other features of the bridge include a 42 m high walkway which linked the two towers of the bridge, serving as a pedestrian walkway when the bridge has to be lifted up for longer periods. The two ends of the bridge were simply made up of trusses and chains forming a suspension bridge. I liked my visit here because the mechanism used involved engineering concepts that I have learnt in my course!

the Tower Bridge

L-R: on the tower bridge; view from the tower bridge

L-R: 42 m high walkway; London Bridge

Satisfied, I walked along the Thames River in the direction of Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Too bad it was already 5 pm as I reached there and the cathedral was closed. It was not that impressive anyway, but it was the largest church in London. I took a quick break people-watching at the steps of the cathedral and moved on to Covent Garden.

St Paul's Cathedral

Covent Garden was again on my visit list as I wanted to see what the apple market was like. Two days ago when I reached Covent Garden, it was already quite late in the evening and the market was closed. However, later on I found out that the apple market consisted of just souvenirs, cloths and accessories. Nothing really noteworthy. I had quite a bit of time in my hand so I decided to stay and watch a few more street performances. There was a young man who could walk on a rope and juggle 3 pins at the same time. Coolness. This time round however, I could not escape from donating because while I was busy taking videos, another man walked around to collect “payment”. Haha.

rope walking

Located nearby was the SOHO neighbourhood, famous for its pubs and bars as well as prostitution. I walked around the area on the way to Oxford street, but there was as good as nothing happening there. I could only see signboards telling passers-by to go up to the upper floors to check some girls out. Oxford Street itself was just bustling with many fashion shops (many were on sale), but obviously I was not that interested. I walked for less than 1 km and decided to turn back to grab some dinner. I settled for a Thai buffet takeaway for 4.50 pounds. Actually in London, food can get really cheap if you know where to find them.

I went back to the London Bridge before 20h. While waiting for the bridge to be lifted, I just sat down on a bench by the Thames, enjoying every minute of London which remained. And when the bridge was finally, it was a spectacular sight. Now I can boast to people that I have witnessed one of the greatest Victorian engineering masterpieces.

L-R: at night; the bridge being lifted

After 3 days, I realized that London was worthy of more days than that. It has been a pleasant 3 days, but it passed way too quickly. The weather has been on my side too. The temperature averaged between 5-7deg, and I considered this warm compared to Grenoble. In fact, I did not have to use my gloves at all.

Now, it is really a tough question if somebody asks me about my favourite city. London’s vibrancy, Amsterdam’s unique character or Barcelona’s warmth?