Arrival in London:
We arrived in London on Saturday June 6. Other than getting a few groceries and hitting a pub for dinner we mostly just relaxed until late in the evening when we watched the Pharaoh win his crowns. Sunday we organized our week, including the transportation to and around Tuscany. And of course we hit another pub for dinner, after which we walked over to the Ally Pally.
35 Woodland Rise, Highgate, London
In the back was the typical English Garden,
Reminding Janet of her “Gran”
Sunday roast was something good to eat at the Victoria Stakes.
Michael Jackson would weep for joy at the cask conditioned beer
served at 55-60F but showing the influence of US west coast hops.
A perfect melding as the US pale ales show their influence in the
land that inspired them.
The pub was in the Alexandra Palace area so we walked
over to look around. Alexandra Palace (aka “Ally Pally”) is
in need of repairs and restoration but is an interesting and
historic old place nonetheless.
Of course we found an ice rink…
Looking south from the Ally Pally toward
London proper and south west toward the
townhouse on Woodland Rise
Cambridge:
Around Town – On Monday we took the train up to Cambridge. Walking around this little town one is constantly running into shadows of Darwin, Newton, Hawking, Watson, Crick, and others amidst incredible and historic architecture. Few nations can match that concentration of intellectual influence and certainly not many small towns.
Map of Cambridge University Area
Nice lady in front of Round Church built
by William the Conqueror’s henchmen in
1068, well before the University was founded.
Darwin spent just a few years at Cambridge as
an undergraduate and left a fairly quiet reputation
for smoking and drinking ale but they still gave
him a college and why not!
Janet behind Darwin College and across a
tributary creek of the Cam River
Garden along the Cam
Gate into one of the colleges
St. Mary’s Church
Another church
(down an ally – we didn’t catch the name)
Someone left a door to the grounds
of a college open so…
Very Brief Video of Hawking’s “clock”
Don’t ask what this is about because we have no idea!
At the “Eagle”
The Eagle also had an “RAF Pub”, an area with
graffiti on the ceiling from RAF squadrons stationed
in the area during the war. “Never have so many
owed so much…”
Corpus Christi College:
King’s College (celebrating 500 years this year)
Street-side entrance to the College
On the commons:
The inside of the street-side gate
The Chapel:
Exams were underway during our visit so much of the university access was restricted but we attended “Evensong” (prayer and choir service) at the King’s College Chapel early in the evening and so were admitted to the grounds and of course the chapel. Although you have probably seen it pictured many times, follow this this link to understand the history and magnificence of the Chapel. Photos of the chapel are from the town, the grounds, the river, and “The Backs” (beyond the river).
Approaching the chapel for the service
From a punt on the Cam River
Punting on the Cam
At our pub-lunch, watching the punts…
and a while later off we went.
Above/below is supposedly the site of the original
Cam bridge
Of course there are many Cam bridges now
Above, the “Bridge of Sighs”
St. John’s College
Brief Video of Punting on the Cam
A Day Trip South of the River to Greenwich:
We took the Underground to were we could
catch the “Emirates” cable car across
the Thames to the “O2” Centre…
Looking up past the O2 Centre
toward the City of London
Then we walked to 51.48N, 0.00 
Below, looking north along the zero meridian 
Having pictures taken, neither east nor west
If you are a nerd about sundials, this is the best we’ve seen. The time is shown at the point between the shadow of the tails. The waving lines correct for time of year. At 3:30 in early June the shadow was close to the bottom of the scale and read the time to the minute. (The plates can be change for British Summer time, their daylight savings time).
We had have a book about Harrison’s
clocks. The museum here had the clocks: H1
through H4
If you want to know the time or check
your yard stick, this is the place to come.
We saw the statue and wondered,
“That Wolfe?”
Yes
Looking North
We left the old observatory and walked
up to Greenwich, past the Maritime Museum
and the Naval College (above) and past the
Cutty Sark (nothing to do with whisky). 
We took the “River Bus” from the
Cutty Sark to the London Eye
Under the Tower Bridge
Past the Traitors’ Gate at the
Tower of London
To the Eye, with a good view of
Westminster
And finished a long day at a nice
pub near the Charing Cross
We had too little time to brave the crowds to
In the gardens near the piazzale:
Then we worked our way back down
Above is a wooden door, hidden among
They have a tower there that was
