Seats of Power: Whitehall and the mall

The theme I chose for my photos for this walk was accenting red. Red is such a characteristically British color and I really enjoyed this theme.

I love the red accents in much of the architecture

Intelligent looking pub :)

I loved these Telephone booths with the crown on them

Big Ben + British Umbrellas. What more could you ask for?

London is the official home of the Double Decker

What would we do without the tube?

It was so interesting to see the 'Washington DC' of London. All the monuments were so interesting and made me realize how little I know about Britain's history. One of my favorites was the monument to the Women of WWII and I really am interested to find out more of the history behind it. I can't help but think that our practice of making monuments is only a branch off of theirs. Once again what's so amazing about this walk was the amount of history contained in each one of these buildings. This (embarrassingly enough) was my first time seeing Buckingham Palace straight on from the front. With the rows of fall leaves leading up to it, the effect was spectacular. I really enjoyed this part of town.

Walking Through the City

My theme for this walk was words. It was interesting to see how the architecture surrounding the signs fit each one perfectly.

In the Old London Alleyway

This was a Youth Hostel but I loved the Latin on the walls. So beautiful

Outside St. Etheldreda's

Give Peace A Chance!

Outside Criminal Justice Court

I'm assuming these are words in some language :)

You know, in all honesty I didn't much enjoy this walk. We went on a Saturday and since it is the business district everything was shut down. Literally EVERYTHING. I kept checking the news through windows to see if there was a National Crisis we missed. I did, however, quite enjoy the theme I chose. For some reason I love the street signs in London and that's where the idea came from. But once I started looking for words, the most interesting things pop out at you. The words "Ye Old Mitre," are so characteristically old looking, I'd assume how they would have been in old London. Contrast that to the graffiti in the window that says, "No War," which is so characteristic of London today. The signs really do tell a lot about the city and I enjoyed discovering them.

Walk on the Wild Side

The theme I chose for my photos is details. I've noticed how each phenomenal bridge, abbey, castle, and arch is made so amazing by each individual little element.

The Clink Prison

Globe lamp outside the Globe :)

Need I say more?

Ship in Pickford's Wharf

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Ship at Pickford's Wharf

I really did feel like we got a taste of the 'wild side' on this walk--there is a different feel on this side of the Thames for sure! A lot of the things we saw on this walk are beautiful from a distance, but only upon seeing them up close do you realize how many tiny elements went into creating a beautiful design. I am amazed, particularly at the older structures, at how much work would have gone into them. I'm sure the tools they had to create such things were much inferior to what we have today, yet nothing we create today seems to reflect the same ornateness. The little details gave this area its distinct flair and personality.