Spitalfields

I did a guided walk of Spitalfields-it's around Liverpool Street Station and near to where the Jack the Ripper walks take place. In the 1600 and 1700s, it was a fairly wealthy place- rich Hugenot silk merchants lived there- many of the houses still remain. I would have taken more pictures but it was absolutely freezing- supposedly colder than Moscow at the minute.

Christmas Tree in Liverpool St. Station- actually sponsored by Ebay!


Some of the old buildings- you can see the modern city behind it

The Dennis Severs House- one of the original houses- now a museum

One of the Georgian streets

Another Georgian street

Samuel Pepys Walk

On Sunday, I took a guided tour of the City of London about Samuel Pepys. It was really interesting and I saw a lot of places associated with Pepys. On Saturday, I went to a play in Greenwich and took a couple of pictures while I was there.

A bust of Samuel Pepys on the spot where his house used to stand
St Olave's Church- Pepys used to worship here

The ruins of St Dunstan's in the East- bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1941

The Watermans' Hall

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich- the Prime Meridian is located here

The Queen's House in Greenwich

Lord Byron Walk

I went on a walk about Lord Byron on Saturday. It rained nearly all day so I didn't have a chance to take many pictures. It was really interesting, though, and I was glad to have gone it even if it rained.

No 2 Carlton House Terrace- the former house of the Foreign Secretary until about two years ago


A Blue Plaque to Ada, Countess Lovelace, the only child of Lord Byron

Burlington House- now home of the Royal Academy of Arts, but in Lord Byron's day one of the grandest London Mansions. When the Elgin Marbles were brought to the UK, they were kept in a coal shed at the house for several years

Fortnum and Mason decorated for Christmas-one of the grandest grocery stores in London- they hold a Queen's warrant

A French sweet shop decorated for Christmas- the decorations are going up all over London

The Gunpowder Plot

Today I went on a guided tour about the Gunpowder Plot. The Gunpowder Plot was a scheme to blow up Parliament and the King (James I) in 1605. It was foiled,one of the conspirators was called Guy Fawkes and England celebrates Guy Fawkes day on the 5th- the day the attack was supposed to be carried out. They burn effigies of Guy Fawkes in bonfires(or sometimes other people)

A view of Big Ben-this wasn't the original Parliament building- but a Victorian replacement
Another view of the Palace of Westminster

The Sovereign's Entrance into Parliament

A Statue of Queen Anne on the street of Queen Anne's Gate (James was her great-grandfather to put it into perspective)

A view down Queen Anne's Gate- allegedly the most haunted street in London

Another Georgian row of terraced houses

A few Jack O Laterns lurking about