London in June: lots to see and seas of folks.

Good day everyone – from London!

I don’t think I’ve ever been in London in summer. Fall, winter, spring – many times, but never summer, for some strange reason.

And so I was unaware, perhaps naively, that in summer London is at its most touristy. Along the bank of the river Thames (my favorite route for a stroll – easy to locate, easy to navigate, and you get to see plenty) we found ourselves having to shuffle our way through heaving crowds. The line – queue! – for the London Eye was just bonkers long (reminding me of the absurdly long lines for passport control at JFK!). Then there were all the street shows, musicians and cyclists, and yet more lines – for ice cream.

London aye? Nay, thanks

I couldn’t quite work out which laws of physics this ingenious dreadlocked gentleman was relying on. I don’t think anyone could

And talking of laws of physics – particularly of gravity, or a lack thereof – we came upon this golden bonnie Prince Charles. Everyone was examining him closely looking for some nano-thread suspending him or a hidden magnet or some other such ruse. But there seemed to be nothing. Might any of you reading this know how such ‘magic’ works? If so – in the comments please!

And here are some pics of various other bits and bobs we saw on our stroll about the city:

By the shard it’s hard, by the inch it’s a cinch

A few observations worthy of note:

• We took in a ceremonial parade along The Mall from Buckingham Palace – I believe it was for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – and also a change of the guard. We need to get a spot nearer the action next time – it really is a spectacular event;
• In Hyde Park there was a mass rally to end hunger in the world at which Bill Gates was speaking;
• And at Wellington Arch, to a cacophony of screams and whistles of onlookers, a group of stark naked male cyclists passed by…

It has to be said that summer weekends in London – there’s never a dull moment!

I’ll have to stop here. Time to get back on the road…

All the photos are here.

Toodle-oo!