Would y'like a cup of tea with y'London, guv'nor?

22 - 25 October

A bus from Cork to Dublin and then a flight to London took me into the capital of the motherland, England. I'd been to London once before, but only overnight on a school trip in 2004, so it was a good opportunity to explore the city properly and get a real taste for English hospitality.

I arrived late afternoon and decided to head out to a performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It at the site of the former Rose Theatre, a contemporary to the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare's company was famously based. It was a good performance - a pared back version of the play in a tiny auditorium seating just 30 or so, overlooking the architectural ruins of the Rose.

Afterwards I took a short walk along the Thames on my way back to the underground, and got this view...

Tower Bridge at night

The next morning I headed through Hyde Park along my way to New Zealand House to get a replacement passport, and then headed to the compulsory Buckingham Palace changing of the guard.

Birds sitting on posts in Kensington Gardens

Being from Wellington, how can I not post a statue of the Duke himself? At Wellington Gates near Hyde Park

Horses aren't allowed to cross yet.

Narrow view through the bars of the changing of the guard ceremony, Buckingham Palace

Procession at Buckingham Palace

Royal something on the gates

In front of Buckingham Palace

I walked down past the Westminster Abbey, Government Buildings (including Big Ben), and along the River Thames past the London Eye, snapping more tourist photos the whole way...

Atop Government Buildings

The River Thames, with Government Buildings and Big Ben at left and the London Eye at right

Then it was off to the reconstructed Globe Theatre itself, having been to the Rose Theatre the previous night. It has been constructed as close to the original as they were able to find out by research, about 300 m from it's original location, and is the only thatched roof in the whole of London, due to regulations following the Great Fire of London in 1666. The original Globe was the home to Shakespeare's acting company the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men) and where the majority of his plays would have been first performed.

During summer, Shakespeare's plays are performed at the open-air theatre, but it is considered too cold in winter and unfortunately I missed the end of the performing season. So I joined a tour instead.

Outside the iconic Globe

View of part of the stage and auditorium

Imagine performing on this stage...
"Friends, Romans, Countrymen" or "To be, or not to be" or "All the world's a stage" or "Wherefore art thou Romeo"

The tour was quite well run, with stories about what attending and performing in the Globe would have been like compared to modern theatre, some of Shakespeare's lines, and a fair bit of humour. There was also a very complete exhibition about London in the late 1500s and early 1600s and Shakespeare's influence and contemporaries.

The only reason I left in the end was because they were closing. I walked back across Tower Bridge and past the Tower of London on the way back to the underground.

Tower Bridge at dusk, double decker bus and all

Walking along Tower Bridge

Tower of London

The next day I headed to another part of town - further north, towards Trafalgar Square and the National Portrait Gallery, and later to the British Museum.

 Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square (Thanks Dean for the correction)

Ornamental lion statue (they're everywhere in London) in front of the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square

Statues in Trafalgar Square... Spot the odd one out? General Napier, Major General Havelock, King George IV and... A bright blue rooster. 

I also had another mission over my few days in London... Monopoly streets. I took photos of as many as I could find...

Maybe a bit weird. But awesome.

It was then off to Brighton for a few days, where I'd also catch up with some friends from Peru. But just in case you didn't feel British enough yet...

What would London be without phone booths?