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Just
before Christmas I spent an evening in London enjoying the sights. Here
are a few pictures I took. The photos are not too good (as I don't think
I have quite mastered night-time photography!) but I hope you enjoy them
anyway.
This is a view from Waterloo bridge towards
the Houses of Parliament. On the left is the South Bank with the large
wheel called the London Eye. The London Eye has been here for a
number of years now and is hugely popular with tourists and locals
alike. In fact, I understand that many cities around the world now have
these observation wheels.
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It is
possible to go up on the Eye in the evenings and see the lights. It was
a clear evening and the view was very beautiful. This is the view looking east across the Thames towards
St Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral is just about visible in the distance I think.
The National Theatre is immediately in front of us.
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In the
other direction it was possible to get a clear view of Westminster
Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. You can see their Christmas
tree next to the tower of Big Ben. Beside the bridge is a pier where you
can take a boat trip along the river.
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Near the
base of the London Eye a small ice skating rink had been set up and
people were enjoying themselves, having fun skating in the fresh air. I had a go
at it but could not take a photo of myself while skating!
These small
rinks are very popular and quite a few of them appear at this time of
year. A few years ago there were only a couple of these temporary rinks
in London at Christmas, but now there seem to be more of them each year.
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Trafalgar
Square was looking very lovely. The large Christmas tree is a gift from
the people of Norway. Every year they send a large tree like this one as
a present to the British people.
Nelson's Column was well illuminated too. Many
people were wandering about on this beautiful evening.
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On one
side of Trafalgar Square is the ancient church of St Martin's in the
Field. Handel played in this church when he lived in London. They hold
many concerts in the church, especially at this time of the year. The
church is lit by candlelight for these Christmas concerts and the
atmosphere is wonderful.
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The
fountains in the square were also floodlit. On the north side of the
square the National Gallery was looking very splendid. This year for the
first time, some of the large public buildings in London have had
patterns projected onto them with lights. This building had a scene of
flickering candles. So pretty. I hope they do it every year.
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