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London, England
It's one for the dagger and another for the one you believe
After years of hoarding Continental air miles, I decided to blow most of them on a transatlantic first class overnight flight (which was admittedly very nice) and one that landed me very early at Gatwick, normally considered the greater of the two evils of London Airports. From Gatwick, a quick enough 30 minute express train ride put me right in Victoria Station, where I was able to at least drop off my luggage (at my fine, nearby recommended hotel) hours and hours before check in time. So bleary eyed, jet lagged and barely awake (even in first class it's hard to get a decent night of sleep), I headed out on foot to see whatever I could, connecting the tourist dots and seeing most of the places I normally skip in favor of some wacky ass thing that normally only I somehow seem to know even exists.
So despite the fact that Open House London gets you in to all of these special buildings you can never ever visit on your own, today's pictures are, well, somewhat less exclusive. Starting us off is the one of the first things I saw, or at least one of the first things I took a picture of. The Victoria Memorial stands in a traffic circle in front of Buckingham Palace, where a gold winged victory, some stray tourists and a playing card caliber Queen Victoria statue all look straight down the mall and right into Westminster.
Not all that far from the palace, the Horse Guards building sits (on a map) between Trafalgar Square and Parliament and visually just in front of that still fun giant ferris wheel that is just impossible to stop taking pictures of.
Almost a thousand years old, the Tower of London is home to the crown jewels, several bloody execution sites, countless tourists and damn good lighting. And while I personally have not been inside the Tower since that trip in 1995, I think I have managed to at least circle it at least once during all six times I have been to the city. Maybe its because its centrally located (not far from the Tower Bridge and Norman Foster's City Hall) or maybe (and more likely) it's because after at least six visits it can still manage to give up a picture as nice as this.
Reason enough to justify a stopover in London or quite possibly even an entire trip, Thomas Heatherwick's Rolling Bridge is quite simply one of a kind. A footbridge that crosses a small inlet in front of the Marks and Spencer Building, the bridge uses some type of demon magic (sometimes referred to as "hydraulics") that causes it to pick itself up and curl itself into a ball. The sight is absolutely amazing to behold and looks even more unreal in person.
If you decide to go yourself, make sure that you are there at 12 Noon sharp on a Friday (it only opens and closes once a week) and get yourself to Paddington Basin, a new development not far from Paddington Station but (still) a bit of a pain in the ass to find. You'll know you're there when you see the groups of camera toting design professional all staking out the perfect angle to photograph such a once in a lifetime (or more accurately once in a week) event.
If you're having trouble imaging exactly what is happening, maybe this will help. Cobbled together are fourteen different photos that show the steady, still unexpected progression of the bridge from bridge to ball. The transformation is actually operated by a guy just out of the frame to the left who is holding a remote control and making sure that the bridge is safe and clear enough to do its acrobatics in peace.
