London Calling

At the last minute, I jumped on a bus instead of taking the tube into London--smart. The view from the top of a double decker is hard to beat. I started at Wellington’s Monument, which you can see here with the Wellington Arch in the background:

The figures at the corners of the pedestal are those of representative British soldiers, a Grenadier, a Scottish Highlander, an Irish Dragoon and a Welsh Fusilier. Wellington led the successful campaign against Napoleon, culminating in the Battle of Waterloo.

Near these monuments are many more to Australian soldiers, Kiwis, those who served in colonial armies (from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Asian subcontinent). This monument was to the artillery forces in WWI:

I like that one of the soldiers on this pedestal was lying down, which just seems more appropriate:

The language on each statue said something to the effect: Let them not have died in vain. When you think of how many wars have followed the two great wars, it’s hard to feel that we have honoured their sacrifices.
I walked around Hyde Park for a while. Here are the Queen Elizabeth Gates into the park.

Then I walked through St. James’s Park, walked by Buckingham Palace, then continued through the park to Whitehall.

To the right of the steps, you can barely make out a black hooded entrance. It leads down to a warren of rooms below Whitehall from where Churchill conducted British forces during WWII. I spent hours in Churchill’s War Rooms, which were fascinating. Well worth the visit.
I emerged to an even brighter day than when I entered. Oh, and the world was upside down.

I walked along the Thames embankment, pleased at having had perfect weather the entire day. Not pleased that I have aggravated the plantar fasciitis in my heels. I took a few trains to Gatwick and walked around the airport on the balls of my feet before having Ryanair whisk me away to Belfast.
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