London’s Mix of Old and New

This year, London weather had its usual mix of sun and clouds or rain. After a few hot days before we left home, it felt pretty nice to put on a long sleeve shirt for part of a day. Our rented flat was on the edge of Chelsea, easy walking to Buckingham Palace and other “big” sights. It was nice, too, to walk the side streets and see how people live. Window boxes and gardens are lush this year, and people get pretty creative with displays of greenery.

Our place was also close to the river and Battersea Power Station. We’d seen the station from a ferry on the river last year. This time, we could walk to it. The station was a coal burning station that provided part of London’s electricity in its day; it’s now renovated with shops and restaurants. The tiny museum showed photos and info of how it was built and functioned as a power plant.

The river walkway goes in the opposite direction too, along the edge of Battersea Park. Lots of walkers, cyclists,dogs, and awesome houseboats along the opposite side of the river edge.

I walked this river walkway 2 mornings on my way to a Pilates studio I found for classes. The first morning I saw a Buddhist monk walking the circumference of the Pagoda. The 2d day I walked by, I stopped to read some of the history of it.

Bridges cross the Thames at regular intervals to connect to London and surrounding areas. I love how ornate this one is.

After a rainy day, we lucked out and got a sunny breezy day to wander through Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden

We stumbled on several memorials we’d never seen or heard of before, each created with solemn beauty and care. This one was unveiled in 2006 on the 4th anniversary of the terrorist bombing in Bali.

Art is everywhere. Some’s the form of posters or a well crafted shop window. And then, there’s the buildings themselves. The best images in this post are Will’s doing- I was too busy looking much of the time to remember to take a photo.

Today we head north to Edinburgh to immerse ourselves in some of the many offerings of the Fringe Festival. More later…