Enjoy Life

2017-11-13

Trip London 201709 B

After the short detour of the Westminster Cathedral(London),
time to head to SW1.

After finding the bus stop and hopped on a bus...
I found a good seat on the upper deck.

Another type of sight-seeing, slower-pace.

(over 20 photos below. Might take sometime loading.)

Big Ben under renovation

Big Ben under renovation , with Parliament.

Nelson Column Trafalgar Square. And National Gallery.

Trafalgar Square fountains.

I got off the bus around Trafalgar Square.
Then I walked through China Town ( some snack along my way there).

China Town, London. Typical view.

Chinese call this thing "pai lou"牌樓 / 牌坊"pai fong" / "pai fang"
Where as the Japanese equivalent is 鳥居 "torii".

(A closer look. I do not like the other side.)

Then, my main aim of the day trip...
I went to 💗 Japan Centre on Panton Street ...

Shopping done in 😍Japan Centre (supermarket with food court)

Happy to see lots of Japanese food items.
Even natto - Japanese fermented soy bean.
(although frozen version)

It has a mini food court with hot food and also cold-food refrigerators,
with lots of sushi, bento, desserts, etc.

My shopping...

(non-GMO)Natto, dried seaweed salad, miso suru soup paste, Chilli sesame oil,
etc.

A plant-based nigiri 握り(formed with hands) sushi寿司 pack. Avocado.
(This version is with white rice. They also have brown rice sushi)

Then, I walked past the Charing Cross Library.
Charing Cross Road. A400.
It used to have many books in Traditional Chinese text.
Now most books are in the inferior Simplified Chinese.
The language in classification signs also changed.
So, it was penetrated by PRC people. They are everywhere.
:(

Got on bus a bit further up, for Victoria Station.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church　viewed from the upper deck of a bus.

closer.

Trafalgar Square. Post Code: WC2. Nelson's Column.
The views from the upper deck -- different from walking on the ground level.

The bus number 24 goes by Whitehall.(A3212)

Only on the upper deck can you see the cyclists in London from this angle.

?? No horse guard? Oops. Out of office hour already?

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

Back to Victoria Station, while waiting for the train,
I went to window shopping a little in the shops inside the station.

I chose the correct coaches/compartment and get a seat.
On train,
I enjoyed my seasoned mini natto I bought from Japan Centre,
and a piece of bread I bought in China Town.

HINT: be careful about trains.
Often, first 4 coaches and rear 4 coaches
parted along the way and go to very different destinations.
-- Listen to announcement carefully.
-- Choose the correct coach before sitting down.
-- Try not to fall asleep.

Trip London 201709 A

One afternoon in September, I fancied visiting London.
I got on a train to Victoria Station.

(📷🔎 many photos; might take a short while loading.)

I got an Oyster card from a tourist information centre.
Walked around the station.
Saw a mini version of the clock tower.

Part of the exterior of the station.

Victoria Station viewing from the bus stop.

This red building was named one of the most ugliest building in UK.

Little Ben.

This picture show how "little"

100 Victoria Street. Interesting appearance from this angle.
This building is at the bend of Victoria Street near the Victoria Station.

This map show where I left my foot prints :) 🔎

Wandering a little bit around the Victoria Station,
I saw this. Westminster Cathedral.

The tower is 273 feet tall.
The Viewing Gallery of the Tower is 200 ft above street level.
If you pay GBP 5, you can get there by elevator and get a 360° views across London.
I didn't.

Sorry that the photos were taken from a simple smart phone camera.
Please forgive the distortion of the lens.

Cathedral Architect: John Francis Bentley.
But the mosiac interior was not done by the time he passed away.
Unconvetional design modelled on a Byzantine basilica. Thanks to sculptor, marble merchant and explorer William Brindley, there are 126 marble varieties insides, from around the world.