London trip (a few photos)

[cellio]

I'm having some trouble with Picasa tonight, so the other two albums (Paris and Oxford/Warwick) will have to wait, but meanwhile, a few pictures from our trip to London in January:


I like this perky fellow but don't remember his significance. (This might have been in Trafalgar Square.)



I like this lighting-challenged picture. We didn't go on the London Eye (weather), but it does stand out on the landscape in places:



Interesting buildings along the Thames:



I don't know what the story of the elephant at the Tower of London is:



Don't throw coins in the (Roman) fountain, the sign at the British Museum says:

Comments

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

We have pictures of the blue cockerel too. I think it was a gift from some French artist.

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

Those are lovely pictures!

I think the story of the elephant (and other animal sculptures at the Tower) is that the menagerie was kept there around the time of Henry the 8th. Many of the animals were gifts from other monarchs.

I loved our trip to London, I hope you had a wonderful time too!

[cellio]

We had a good time!

Thanks for the info about the animals. It was raining (fairly heavily at times) the day we went to the Tower, so we got shorted on the guided tour -- our Beefeater took us inside and talked to us about the whole place for about 20 minutes but didn't walk around with us. And since we did this upon entry, we hadn't yet seen things to ask about. I didn't think to try again after wandering around on our own for a while (oops).

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

There's a plinth in Trafalgar Square which has never had a permanent statue (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_plinth,_Trafalgar_Square), and which is now being used to display a sequence of temporary artworks. Your blue cockerel is that latest of these. The BBC says (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23448832) that it symbolises regeneration and strength - and who am I to doubt the word of the BBC?

[cellio]

Oh, thanks for filling that in for me! I don't know about regeneration and strength, but I too do not want to take on the BBC. And whatever it symbolizes, it sure is cheerful!