I love London, it’s my favourite place but sometimes it’s good to go away for a weekend. London is a great transport hub so getting away couldn’t be easier whether it’s to somewhere else in the UK or to Europe.  So this weekend it was Rome!
So you leave London early (very early!)  on Friday and are back in time for Downton Abbey on Sunday, how much can you squeeze into an action packed few days?  Here goes:

The Colosseum and Constantine Arch. We walked around these, felt the grandeur and imagined the gladiator fights inside – helped my numerous men dressed up in gladiator gear.No time on this trip to go inside but it’s pretty good from the outside. Nearby is Trajan’s Forum, Market and Column which you can walk by, again saving time on a tour but leaving plenty of time for photos.  There are ruins everywhere and every corner and turn is a delight. Rome is compact and easy to walk around especially as many sights are very close to each other.  Also located just by the Colosseum is the Vittorio Emanuele monument which is absolutely huge, very white  not universally popular with Romans, it goes by the nickname of ‘the typewriter’ and they say the best view of Rome is from the top as you can’t see it!

Another good batch of sightseeing delights is the area around St Peter’s which gives you the church itself, the wonderful piazza in front of it and the Vatican. Together these would fill a good half day but the friends we were with had booked a Vatican tour for after we had to leave and I’d been already on a previous whistle stop visit. I still remember the sheer scale of the Vatican City and was awe struck by the Sistine Chapel.  We had every intention of having a look inside St Peter’s but the queue was at least an hour long so we wandered along the Tiber and enjoyed the wonderful October sunshine instead.

I love the Pantheon, built by the ancient Romans, it’s their most complete building in the city and is still used as a church despite the hoards of camera clicking tourists that flock in. It is an architectural wonder with its height (43m) being the same as its diameter and has a domed roof with no visible support.  Nearby is the Trevi Fountain which is enormous and takes up most of the square where it is squeezed in along with tons of tourists, many throwing a coin in the fountain which is supposed to ensure their return to the eternal city. From this iconic sight, it’s not far to another, the Spanish Steps which we reached at sun down giving it a mellow feel.

Here at It’s Your London we love the River Thames and this week’s blog will give you 5 big reasons why:

1. Number one has to be Tower Bridge, one of the most iconic sights in London. If you are lucky you can catch it as it opens and here are 3 shots of the levers up to allow passing traffic. One of the shots is really unusual as the sides are completely open to allow a tall ship through.
Tower Bridge was built in 1894 and the design is an amazing arrangement which allows traffic to flow by road and by river with the minimum disruption and they can open and close it in just a few minutes. It is situated next to the Tower of London making an amazing pair of sightseeing treats.

2. Number two reason is that there is always a great event going on.  In the last month we’ve had the inspirational swim by David Walliams. He swam the full length of the Thames, a daunting 140 miles, for the charity Sport Relief, raising over £1 million pounds for his efforts.  We rushed down to catch him coming out of the water for the last time and then could see him being interviewed by Lenny Henry holding a bottle of dubious looking water! The Thames does has fish in it in now so it reasonably clean but definitely not for drinking!

Then on the south bank of the river a set of beautifully decorated life sized gorillas appeared to publicise their plight as endangered species. They were fabulous – just another day on the river bank!

3. Number three is the Thames Barrier – an extraordinary feat of engineering that saves London from major floods and keeps the river under control. It’s out in the east of London and you can visit to see how it works and also see what a beautiful construction it is. Without this barrier London would be in great danger as climate change brings higher waters surging up the Thames estuary. Built in 1983 it is the second largest of its type in the world (after the one in Holland).

4. Number four reason why we love the Thames is the brilliant views you get from so many angles. The river bank is lined with historic and fabulous buildings and where ever you look there is a great photo opportunity. I have hundreds of photos to chose from and have picked out just 2 here. One is taken from the top of Millbank Tower and shows the sweep of the Thames past the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. The second is at dusk with the sun highlighting the bridge with St Paul’s and the Gherkin behind.

London is a photographer’s dream and the Thames is at the heart of that dream, so do come and visit and get snapping!

5. Our number five reason was hard to chose as there are so many more….. However we went for Richmond as it is one of the lovely towns along the Thames which are easy to reach from the centre of London. It has a wonderful old bridge, great walks along the river banks, excellent bars and restaurants. It also has an outstanding view of the Thames, across a meadow showing the curve of the river, one of its islands and the countryside stretching out in the distance.

Hope you enjoyed the Thames as much as we do!

Bye for now,
Sue
http://www.thevoiceoflondon.org/

Once a year thanks to Open House London, all kinds of buildings that you can’t normally get into open their doors for us to have a good nose around – and it’s absolutely free!. The big challenge is to decide which ones and fit them all in. I went for 5 amazing places on Sunday and we squeezed  them in despite crowds and road closures due to the final leg of the Tour of Britain cycle race wheeling into London. My choices were: Trellick Tower; Customs House; Apothecaries’ Hall; RSA, and the star of them all, The Foreign Office.

So let’s start with our favourite, the Foreign Office, just off Whitehall, which was so much more decorative then I expected (wasv thinking dull civil service type offices and corridors) . It’s grand, beautiful and must be an incredible place to work from the imposing entry courtyard, to the unbelievable central Durbar Court. There are beautiful ceilings and elaborate staircases to take your breath away with a rich history to match. I expected someone to break out singing ‘Rule Britannia’!

In complete contrast is the block of flats called Trellick Tower which dominates the skyline in North Kensington. I’ve never managed to get inside before so relished the opportunity of a tour given by a resident who showed us in 2 flats and told us about the delights of living in a Erno Goldfinger designed environment. It’s 31 floors high and the views are amazing – photos show the west view towards Westfield and the BBC and east along the canal to the City. The flats are incredibly spacious and all have balconies (great for frustrated gardeners) and the corridors are bright and colourful, unlike many public housing projects. This grade 11 listed building is still majority occupied by council tenants – what a flat to have!  And yes, the James Bond villain is named after Erno Goldfinger!

The Apothecaries’ Hall dates from about 1670, although the lovely courtyard is newer being remodelled in 1786 (!).  Inside we were treated to loads of information about the ancient Livery Company and a chance to see their magnificent great hall, their beautiful old jars and one jar that reminded us of older remedies with its caption ‘leeches’ – ouch…

The RSA building dating from 1770s, just off the Strand, was a strange mixture of conference style rooms with amazing ceilings in pastel shades. It designed by Robert Adam as one building but more were purchased and incorporated including the Adelphi Tavern. The Great Room  has the most extraordinary wall sized paintings by James Barry and the roll of honour of Chairman ranges from monarchs, to Olivier, to Crick and Berners-Lee.  I really liked the full name of the society on the doorpost - such a worthy aspiration…
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Our last visit to mention was to the Customs House on the Thames by the Monument. Steeped in history as from 1671 every ship’s captain coming up the Thames with cargo had to register here in the famous Long Room  and pay his Custom duties before he could unload or sell his cargo. The old entrance on the river is not the one we came in but as you step out and smell the river you can easier imagine how it was back then – aided by the excellent displays of paintings on the wall around you.

So that was Open House weekend for another year but we are planning next year’s already!

Bye for now,
Sue
http://www.thevoiceoflondon.org/
@itsyourlondon