Tag: <span>England 1976</span>

Spending a day at Hyde Park was like spending a day out in the country – well, almost. Hyde Park is one of London’s largest parks. It was the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and is famous for its Speaker’s Corner. The day we were there, someone was on his soap box going on about something but when you’re on a two-week vacation you don’t have time for political and philosophical discourse. In 1976, it looked like a beach not an urban park (although now, a lot of urban parks also look like beaches. Visit my August 31, 2014 Cleveland blog by clicking the travel musings link and see what I mean.)

www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park

The London Zoo is the world’s oldest scientific zoo. It opened in London on April 27, 1828 as a center for scientific stud but it didn’t open to the public until 1847. The London Zoo was one of the biggest zoos I ever saw up to that point in my life. www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo

The weather was in the 90s but my Mediterranean blood didn’t complain. I was here to see London and hot weather wasn’t going to stop me (or my friends, I assumed).

Besides, we could get a lot for our dollars…..

Trafalgar Square was filled with people and pigeons. That was the first stop of many that day.

Later, we went to Kensington Palace (which reminded me of a scene out of Pride and Prejudice), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park, St. James Park, London Zoo, No. 10 Downing Street, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and more. (What was just as significant was what we didn’t see: Stonehenge, Windsor Castle the National Gallery, and Covent Garden although we did get to see a play.) I was using my Pentax Spotmatic and took photos that will always remind me of my trip to England: the places look like they do on a picture postcard.

Trafalgar Square is a public square located in the City of Westminster and commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson’s Column is in the center of the square, guarded by four lion statues at is base. The Square is sometimes used for political demonstrations and community gatherings like New Year’s Eve celebrations. www.london.gov.uk/priorities/arts-culture/trafalgar-square

A residence of the British Royal family, Kensington Palace is located in Kensington Gardens (where else?). Today, it is home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. www.htp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace

Westminster Abbey is a large Gothic church located in the City of Westminster and just west of the Palace of Westminster. The abbey is the traditional place for coronations and as a burial site for British monarchs.

www.westminster-abbey.org

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock located at the north end of the Palace of Westminster.

www.bigbenfacts.com

The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Houses of Parliament. Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords and lies on the northern bank of the River Thames.

www.parliament.uk

For Art-Lovers: The Emmeline Pankhurst Statue, dedicated in honor of the leader of the British suffragette movement, sits in Victoria
Tower Gardens.

The Burghers of Calais Statue is one of twelve casts by the sculptor Auguste Rodin. Unveiled in 1915, this cast is also located at the Victoria Tower Gardens near the Houses of Parliament.