Bouncing Bridges Between Busy Banksides

Oh, man, that was the motherload of alliterated titles!  Is it tacky to say I'm a bit impressed? (If 'yes' then forget I asked)

Southwalk Xmas & Waterloo Bridge

Now that Halloween and Guy Fawkes Day (Remember Remember the Fifth of November...)* are behind, us London has been spectacularly clad in holiday spirit.  All the outdoor markets are decorated with tinsel and lights, the Harry Potter Studio Tour is advertising a "snowy" Diagon Alley, ice skating rinks have been constructed all over London, and all the coffee shops have brought out their specialty drinks!  It all makes for a wonderful atmosphere, even if the weather requires Weasley sweaters and an extra pair of socks.

Fortunately for me, I seized the sunniest day of the week to see the bankside sites as I weaved over as many bridges as I could!  There's something to be said about cities with bridges - they give you such a unique perspective.  Starting in Westminster, I crossed over the Westminster Bridge to Southwalk, where you will find the Aquarium, the London Eye, the Royal Festival Hall, and a row of outdoor holiday vendors in little huts that resemble gingerbread houses.

Hungerford Bridge towards North Bank

Fun fact about Waterloo Bridge (seen in Southwalk photo): I know it looks plain, but the architect who rebuilt it was Giles Gilbert Scott, the same man who built the Liverpool Cathedral (see my Liverpool posts for picture!  It's the largest cathedral in Britain, and it took him almost his entire life to complete) and the Red Telephone Booth!  Two of my favorite things in Britain were designed by the same architect ... how cool!

After purchasing a caramel hot chocolate, I made my way across Hungerford Bridge, one of the two pedestrian-only bridges in London.  Hungerford is a vertical suspension bridge, which means that it is designed to bounce when you walk across it.  This made a number of my friends a bit uneasy, but if you stand in the middle of that bridge, there is a great view of the bend in the River Thames.

After Hungerford and Waterloo Bridges, is Blackfriars Bridge. Blackfriars doesn't have an overly fantastic story, other than there was a competition to see who could build a train bridge the quickest.  As you can see from the random red pillars, one guy didn't budget in advance.  In fact, when the Tate (gallery of modern art) was looking for a building site, one architect submitted a building design which stretched across the Thames on those red pillars (they were, after all, structurally sound).  Obviously, that particular design was not accepted, which is why Tate is housed in a former power plant, and is currently undergoing renovation and expansion.  I'm excited to see it when construction is finished - the new building looks like someone screwed with the angles of a traditional box.  It's a bit difficult to explain.

Millennium Bridge and St Paul's

Next is the Millennium Bridge.  As its name suggests, it was built for the millennium.  But, the symbolism of this bridge is way cooler.  The bridge starts at Tate Modern on the south bank, and spits you out at St Paul's Cathedral.  It is the physical link between historical and modern London.  You may find it a bit cheesy, but I like it.  The Millennium Bridge is the other pedestrian-only bridge in London, and is also a suspension bridge.  But, instead of vertical suspension, it is suspended laterally / horizontally, which means that there's nothing to obstruct of your view!  When the bridge first opened, there were some engineering problems - it was too wobbly!  People were falling over as they walked across - kind of like that scene in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince when the dementors twist it like a corkscrew.  Nevertheless, it is perfectly safe to skip, hop, and jump across the Millennium today ... which is, of course, exactly what I did!

I did not continue further east along the Thames, but if I did, I would have passed the Globe Theater, London Bridge, and Tower Bridge (all things I've shared in previous posts).  Instead, I circumnavigated St Paul's before heading West again.

Queen Anne in front of St Paul's

St Paul's Cathedral

 If you are ever in London, I urge you to go inside St Paul's!  It is amazing (Christoper Wren's pride and joy - he's even buried in the vaults next to Arthur, Duke of Wellington, and Horatio Nelson!) and, if you're really brave, you can climb the 300+ steps for a great panorama of London!

Unfortunately, this is best possible view of the front of St Paul's Cathedral.  When it was originally rebuilt (huh?) by Wren after the Great Fire in 1666, Wren planned all this awesome open space around the Cathedral, but because people were impatient to rebuild the city, that didn't really happen the way he had hoped ... in fact, London is such an infamously unplanned city that Wren is probably turning over in his grave.  There are very few straight roads in London.

Johnson's house

On the way back, I found myself on Fleet Street!  I looked out for a meat-pie restaurant, but all I found was a barber's shop ... does that count?  Just off of Fleet Street, I passed the home of Samuel Johnson, the compiler of the first English Dictionary, which was just around the corner from Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub, a watering hole frequented by Charles Dickens and host to many other mentionables: Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain), FDR, and others.

I hope you enjoyed this post, even if it was a bit random towards the end.  Tomorrow I am off on an adventure to Brixton ("Black" London, home to the Electric Avenue) and Clapham (area where first anti-slavery clerical sermons were given)!  Thanks for reading!

* On November 5th, 1605, a Roman Catholic named Guy Fawkes (aka Guido Fawkes) planned his "gunpowder plot" to blow up Parliament.  The night of Nov. 5th is known as bonfire night, and firework displays happen all over Britain.  If you've ever seen V of Vendetta, you know what I'm talking about.  If you have not seen it, go see it now because Hugo Weaving (aka Mr Smith or Elrond) is spectacular as Fawkes-mask-wearing V.