Posted 11:11 AM by Rob Holland

The Millennium Bridge

The bridge in this photo is a pedestrian crossing of the Thames on the south end of London, between St. Paul's Cathedral and the new Tate Modern Museum. It was an innovative design that supposedly was an engineering marvel that involved less support than other typical bridges. However shortly after it opened to traffic, it swayed under the weight of all those feet, and was closed for two years. So much for engineering innovation. It had reopened by the time we got to London, and was undergoing heavy traffic, without any apparent ill effects. Somebody had spraypainted on the walkway "Stable." Not terribly witty, but then what can you expect from graffiti? This is a view from the south end of the bridge, looking back toward the city proper. You can see the crane farm of all the construction going on.

The people of London walk a whole lot more than we do, and it's indicative of the walking culture that they would invest this much time and money in a pedestrian bridge. Another sign of the benefits of all that walking is that we saw almost no overweight people anywhere in London. Except for a couple of wenches in costume at The Tower, who were no doubt picked for their rotundity, the leanness of the general populace was quite noticeable. And as Pamela succinctly put it, "They run a lot here. I mean run!" If you didn't stay out of their way, they'd likely run you down.

Posted 5:52 AM by Rob Holland
Scene in Kew

Here's another random image from the trip. I didn't take pictures of the glamorous Pamela only, I branched out to London ragamuffins. Looks like he came right out of Dickens, doesn't he?

One of the pleasantest days we had was the day we went to Kew. The gardens were beautiful, uncrowded, and we had a nice conversation with the owner of the local quilt store. We also had probably the best meal of the trip in a little local cafe.

Posted 6:05 AM by Rob Holland
Orange Julius

Here is the photo Pamela referred to yesterday in her comments on Christopher's blog. This statue stands just outside the Tube station at Tower Hill, where we exited to go to the Tower of London. Some fruity wag thought Caesar needed some dressing up. The fruits were gone when we returned a couple of hours later. Some hungry wag must have seen his opportunity, or the original wag reclaimed his props. Not far from this spot, there is a partially excavated site of an old Roman foundation. Nothing very sexy, but a reminder of just how old this place is. The construction of the Tube gives them many opportunities to rediscover their past.

There is a lot of new construction underway in London right now. The number of cranes that surround the dome at St. Paul's is amazing.