London Tube Challenge : Central Line

After I completed my Jubilee Line challenge yesterday, I thought it wasn't so bad. So, I decided to attempt the Central line challenge today because I have nothing else better to do anyway. Started from stations in Essex;  i.e. Epping, Theydon Bois, Debden, Loughton & Buckhurst Hill. I wanted to stop at Theydon Bois station and have a look at the quaint village. Wikipedia stated that there's no street light along its street. But, I stopped at Loughton instead and was greeted by a large Sainsbury building just in front of the station. Where is the village and churches that I saw in the picture?? I realised my mistake when I got home and looked at my notes. When the train was travelling from Woodford to Epping, I felt like I was stepping into a different place. I'm no longer in a city. There's even cows and horses in the fields along the train tracks. :-)

Next, the train passed through Woodford, Snaresbrook & Leyton stations. There's a large TK Maxx outlet just opposite Leyton station. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to pop into the shop. I continued on till I reached Mile End station. Once I exited the station, there's the usual London map board in front. I walked towards Whitechapel area when I stumbled upon a strange street. I was suddenly surrounded by South Asian people and hearing different language being spoken. There's a market along the road up to the Whitechapel overground station. I saw a large East London mosque as well. 

I kept on walking until I reached Old Spitalfields market. There's a lovely church opposite the market, Christ Church. The famous Ten Bell pub was just across the church. It was alleged to have been a rendezvous of some of the Jack the Ripper's prostitutes victims, before they were murdered. 

Continued on until I reached Liverpool street station. Don't know how I ended up there but there I was trying to find my way back to a tube station.

From Liverpool street station, I headed towards Ealing Broadway station, the last station on the Central Line. Passed through Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Queensway till I reached Ealing Broadway. Circled back on the same train back to Bank station  and head home. 

I wanted to stop at Oxford Circus but I changed my mind. I did stop briefly at Marble Arch station to take some pictures of the wall. There are artsy decoration on the wall and each are different.

I completed my semi-tube challenge (I missed some stations) of the Central line within 8 hours. I enjoyed the first part of the journey (from Epping to Stratford) the most. Once, I passed through Bank stations onwards, the train was too busy and full with people. It was warm in the train as well. I felt sleepy too due to lack of oxygen in the underground, I guess.

A day In Bermondsey / Southwark

I was on a crazy mission to visit as much tube station as I can when I alighted the train at Bermondsey station. I was curious what kind of place Bermondsey is. The name just sounds exotic :-)

Don't know which way to turn once I'm outside the station, left or right? Saw the Shard building on the left, so to the left it is. There were not many people around as it's just past the morning rush. The place was quiet and not much traffic either. So, just calmly walked along the road until I saw a sign to Thames path. So I followed it. It brought me through a street with wharves on both side of the it. It was so pretty. I think it's probably old wharves building turned into high end residential estate. The name of the wharves that interest me most, Java Wharf, St. Saviours, St' Georges, St' Andrews, New Concordia, Butlers wharf & Tea trade wharf. I wonder how the wharves got its name.

I reached the Design Museum and in front of it is a weird looking sculpture. It looks like a face of a man.

I walked straight on along the Shad Thames. The small alley is interesting due to its cobbled stone, very dangerous if one is wearing high heels. Swanky restaurants and delicious looking bakery lines the street now. But it used have largest complex of warehouses that stores tea, coffee and spices unloaded from river boats.

The converted warehouses retain their original features and named after the commodities which were originally stored in them - Vanilla & Sesame Court, Cayenne Court, Ginger Wall and others. I did smell a hint of vanilla when I was in Vanilla & Sesame Court, though. Then, there's a striking red structure that caught my eyes. It's the China Wharf, which is actually a new residential building. There were also boat houses docking in front of the New Concordia wharf.

Further along, I reached the Tower Bridge and walked along the Queen's walk on the riverside. As usual, the place is packed with tourist with selfie stick trying to get the best shots of the Tower Bridge as a background. Walked past the shell-shaped City Hall building and the Scoop, the open-air theatre that opens during the summer. There'll be a live telecast of Wimbledon games as well. Yeah! 

A riviera just popped up in London with view of the Thames. The colourful deck chairs were so cute with palm trees scattered  around the area. 

There's an exhibition going on near the Tower Bridge pier. It exhibits Thames tideway tunnel system, London sewerage system and hidden Thames gems.

Walked into Hay's Galleria, which now houses offices and restaurants where it used to be a warehouse. It was named after its original owner who acquired the property in 1651. In a fountain at the centre of the Galleria is a 60ft moving bronze sculpture of a ship unveiled in 1987 to commemorate its heritage. I thought the ship has been there since the 1700, I was wrong! 

Walked past by the HMS Belfast ship/museum but I didn't go in. Its admission price is to steep for a poor Londoners like me. Plus I had visited a battleship before - back in August last year.

Straight on until I reached the London Bridge station where I hopped on a tube to continue on my silly Tube Challenge :-)

A day in Westminster

Date of visit: 4 June 2015
Place of visit: Westminster, London

It was a sunny and super HOT day today. The temperature reached 25C and my skin became tanner/browner as though I'm not dark enough before :(

Walked the suggested route 'Westminster Walk' (see Map below) that I got from WalkLondon.com. It covers the main tourist attractions in Westminster.

Attractions along the way:
1-House of Parliaments & Big Ben
2-10, Downing Street
3-Horse Guards
4-Banqueting Hall, Whitehall
5-Trafalgar Sq & Nelson Column
6-National Gallery
7-St James' Palace
8-The Mall & Clarence House
9-Buckingham Palace
10-Queen's Gallery & Royal Mew
11-Churchill War Rooms
12-Westminster Abbey

Well, as usual I'm not good at following guides, I either got loss or strayed to other things that looked interesting to me at that time. I started from the mid-section i.e. from Trafalgar Square, which I've seen everyday since Monday. I think it has etched into my long term memory by now :) Next, to the National Gallery.

There were lots of awesome paintings the gallery. I saw Rafael's and Leonardo Da Vinci's awesome paintings. It looked so life-like. I just can't believe someone can paint so well. But unlucky for me, I was not able to view the very famous Van Gogh painting, the Sunflowers, as the room was closed for restoration work. The staff told me that the room will be open on Friday, but maybe some other time.

It took me like 1 hour to finish the whole museum. I'm not into the art so much but at least I've seen the famous paintings once in my lifetime.

I did not rent the audio guide so I was a bit lost. Didn't know what I was looking at except that it were beautiful. There was quite a crowd when I was there, but surprisingly quite.

Truthfully, I was quite bored in there!

Admiralty Arch

Before I know it, it was lunch time and I did not have any breakfast yet. Bought cheap sarnie from Co-Op and coffee from Costa. I headed off to St James' Park through the Admiralty Arch.

Walked along The Mall and stopped by St James' Park where I sat under the shade having my lunch. Will never get to do this anymore in the future.

Buckingham Palace

Continued on to Buckingham Palace. But it was too hot to take a decent picture so I just give up. This is the only good picture of the place that I have (after Photoshop treatment, of course). By this time, I feel it weak due to dehydration. I quickly passed through park to find St James Palace but alas I couldn't find it and I ended up at the end of the garden and I was on Piccadilly road.  Hahahahaha... I'm lost again! But what the heck, keep on walking till I reached Piccadilly circus, turned right and walked downhill towards Parliament Square.

Now, the masterpiece of London, Westminster Abbey! Wanted to go in and have a look but the 20 quid price tag is just too steep for a budget traveller like me. I guess the exterior picture is enough and  bought some postcards with the interior pictures on it. Job done!

There you go. I completed the Westminster walk in 3 hours, including visit to the National Gallery. Not bad! But I was sun burnt and dehydrated at the end of the walk. Really, if you're walking around London during heat waves/summer, do consume lots of liquids (not iced coffee like I did, it made me more dehydrated).

A day with Churchill

Place: Churchill War Rooms & Churchill Museum, London
Date of visit: 3 June 2015 @ 2pm
Cost: GBP 18 (entrance fees) + GBP 5 for visitors guide
Free audio guide provided

The Rooms first became operational at the end of 1939, but only really came into use after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. The War Cabinet Room was the scene of numerous crucial meetings held by Churchill during the Blitz, as above ground, Luftwaffe tried to devastate London.

The Rooms have been maintained as it were in 16 August 1945 when the final light goes out in these subterranean rooms after the war ended.  It is situated in the basement storage rooms under the Office of Works and the Boards of Trade.

War Cabinet Room

The gallery starts off with the War Cabinet Room. The room's red girders on the ceiling were there to support the ceiling.

The red box on the table is Churchill's, full with state papers that he brought along with him everywhere.

Churchill suite in the bunker. Simple but yet functional. He liked having his wife nearby, hence a room was set aside for Clementine next door to his own. How sweet!

Look at that pink bed cover! 

The most amazing room was the Map Room. It was staffed by one officer each of the Royal Air Force, the Army and the Royal Navy, 24 hours every day from August 1939 to August 1945. Each day by 8pm the map room officers produced a daily summary of the war for the King, Prime Minister and the Chiefs of Staff. Unfortunately, my camera failed on me and I have no pictures of the room. Sad :( 

But there's one fun fact about that room. On the desk of the Chief Map Room Officer is an envelope marked with his name with 3 rationed sugar cubes in it. It was to avoid the sugar being taken by other people. How cute!

Next, to Churchill Museum where it illustrated Churchill's life from birth to his death on 24 January 1965 at the age of 90. He was given a State Funeral which was quite awesome for a commoner. There's a video showing his funeral procession in the gallery.

There's one thing struck me though, did you know that Winston Churchill lost his General Election of 1945 mere months after winning the war for Britons. An 'ungrateful nation' as he put it in his book, after years of inspirational leadership in the war against Hitler (I directly quoted this from the guide). I wonder what went through his mind when he lost the election. Poor man!

I love how the museum has a 15-metre long interactive table chronicling the life and times of Winston Churchill. You just need to click the date and the details & photos will be shown.

After looking at the details of his life,  I believe Winston Churchill  is one of the greatest statesmen and a war hero. '

 'We shall fight on the beaches'

'This was their finest hour'

Girl lost in a city

Actually, my initial plan is to visit Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath. But my hubby was against the idea as he was worried about my safety. He felt that it's not safe to go too far out from the city without him. Well, I take it that he cares about me. So the plan flew out of the window. 

Then I thought why not visit the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I've been living in London for 2 years but I never went in. Ok, back-up plan is ON!

Went to Argos in Westfield Stratford to pick up my new pedometer which cost me like 4 pounds, dirt cheap. Then, off I go on the DLR towards Bank station. But somehow, my brain was not programmed  correctly, and I went out the station and tada! there I stand in from of the Royal Exchange in the middle of the Bank junction. I forgot that I'm going to the National Gallery. I supposed since I'm here why not just explore the area. So there I was, at the Bank junction taking pictures after pictures like an actual tourist. 

Bank Junction

I kept on walking towards St Paul Cathedral along Cheapside street. Even though the street name is Cheapside but the outlet along the street in not cheap, all designers. Again took some pictures at St Paul Cathedral. Thought of going to see what's inside but to my surprise the entrance fees in 16 pounds. Too expensive! I walked out of the cathedral disappointed. 

St Paul (sorry for the horrible photo, though)

I dropped by the London Tourist Info Centre just across St' Paul and picked up lots of brochures. Then I saw a sign outside the centre for a guided walk along Fleet Street themed 'High life vs Low life'. It was supposed to showcase the stark difference between the rich and poor Londoners during the 1900. Waited and waited but didn't see the tour guide anywhere so again need to think of what else to do. Walked along Peters Hill and  cross the River Thames from the Millennium Bridge. 

 Millennium Bridge 

Saw this hideous brown building in front of me, the Tate Modern Gallery. Well, why not try new things today. So I stepped into the Tate building.

Tate Modern Gallery

Actually it's a bit funny for me going to an art gallery as I used to failed my Art subject during my primary school days. My mom used to laugh at my drawings whenever I showed her my homework for Art. I think my Art teacher just hates me and that's the reason I failed the subject and not because of lack of interest in art hahahahahaha.......

Some of the galleries are free and some with entrance fees. I had a look at the free galleries and thought that it looks the same as my drawings during my school days. Why, I think my Art teacher never had a chance to learn modern art. My drawings were ahead of time, too modern and abstract for her.  Ok, enough rambling about my old Art teacher. 

The only interesting thing in the building is the viewing balcony outside of the cafe on Level 3. It has the best view of St' Paul and other buildings along the Thames. 

Took a short coffee break at the cafe while  updating my notes. I keep notes of the area and things that I saw along the way. Then I remembered that I did visit Tate Gallery in Liverpool but it was much smaller compared to London. Mental note to self: I need to put up an entry about my visit to Liverpool & Manchester last February.

It's time to head home as it is almost 4 pm. Walked towards the Monument station along the River Thames to Southwark Bridge and then heads to Cannon Street. There's a nice mural on a wall at Queenhithe on the Thames Path. It depicts the history of London from Roman times to now. 

The Thames Path is quite isolated and not many passers-by, so I did get a little bit worried. 

It was a good day as I did try new things today but it is tiring as I did miss a few turns here and there. Need to have a better route plan next time.