City as Material: Caught by the River

Today’s City as Material session involved another epic stroll through the City of London.  Emerging from our above ground research from the past two weeks, we decided our main destination would the Thames Riverbank.  Off we went…

First Staircase

Hunters in the Thames

The Explorers

Giles hopping up and over

The Ladder

Bones

Thames River Path

Pedestrian Subway

Thames River Path

Second Staircase

Teeth

Soon enough, it was time to head back from the water.  But that isn’t to say there were still many more pictures to be had…

The Monument

The Monument

The Monument

Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market

Lloyds Building

The Underwriter Pub

St. Helen's

Guildhall

Guildhall

St. Lawrence Jewry

It was a lovely excursion on a quintessential London weather day.  The blustery mist inspired a chicken and vegetable soup craving, which I am satisfying now.  While the soup heated, I cleaned off my treasures.  I skipped snagging any bones (ew) but did manage to find some great broken ceramics and pretty pearly shells:

Thames Treasures

Gotta love free souvenirs!

Walk London: Autumn Amble

What better way to kick off a Saturday than with an Autumn Amble sponsored by Walk London and entitled “Print, Power, and Democracy”?  Well, when you’re me, that option is pretty phenomenal.

Here is the description from the Walk London website:

Description: Special Walk: led by official City of London Guide. Find out about the history of the book trade near St Paul’s cathedral; discover Stationers Hall; see the plaque commemorating Wynken de Word and the early print industry; St.Bride’s Print Museum; Fleet Street and the history of journalism; Dr Johnson’s house and the history of the first English Dictionary; ending at Lincoln’s Inn Fields and the wonderful quirky SirJohn Soane Museum. Many opportunities for refreshment and toilet breaks along the route.

Section: City Walk 2

Category: Urban Amble – Special walk – Under 5 Miles

Meet At: 11:00

Meeting Point:St Paul’s Station – exit 2 – click here to view route planner

Nearest Tube Station: St Paul’s

Finish: Lincolns Inn Fields, 1.3 miles, approx 2 hours

I discovered it during the week and forwarded it along to my Vassar cohorts — Mike, John, and Chenxi decided to join and it was great to have similar minds along for the walk with me.  Once again, it proved the perfect pairing of pleasure and academia, especially since the themes are so in line with my media and urban studies tracks.  The guides did an excellent job of explaining the history and pointing out the sites along the way, and I loved how the same topics we have been discussing in our City as Material course came up again.

The walk ended at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, a spot we already visited on one of our City as Material walks, and directly across from the Sir John Soane’s Museum.  We decided to seize the opportunity and head on in!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside, so you’ll just have to trust me when I say it was the most amazing house ever, containing one of the most amazing collections of paintings and artifacts I even had the privilege of viewing.

Walk London group & guide Paul

Paternoster Square

London Stock Exchange

Noon Dial

Paternoster Square – Fleet Street Exit

Stationner’s Hall

Ye Olde London

Bride’s Passage

The Bridewell

The Press House Wine Bar

St. Bride’s

St. Bride’s

St. Bride’s Church

St. Bride’s Church

The Daily Express Building

The Reuters Building

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

Living Wall

Living Wall

Living Wall

French’s Dairy

Seven Stars

Seven Stars

The Wig Box

Sir Thomas Moore

Lincoln’s Inn Fields

Lincoln’s Inn Fields

Sir John Soane Museum

Sir John Soane Museum

Sir John Soane Museum

London via Coach Bus

FIE arranged a coach bus tour of London for us on Saturday (5-Spet) afternoon.  Driven by Paul and narrated by Pamela, I was lucky enough to snag my choice seat in the front so I had front and side window view!  (Being in the front not only served well for soaking it all in, but also for listening to P & P bicker in British, and get my inquiries answered!)

It was a great way to see all of the sights…for a brief, fleeting, glass window/tree obstructed second.  I tried to take the best pictures possible, but a lot of the moments passed and many of the identifications and information went over my head.  Above all, it was overwhelming…but in a good way — I saw how much there is to see and explore, and there is a ton of it!

The route:

The tour’s absolute aim was to see as many of the quintessential landmarks as possible while hitting the least amount of traffic.  The Thames served as our guide as we zig-zagged across it and followed its banks, weaving through the West End and the City of London.

The photos below are being documented as my first glances at the city.  I can guarantee improved images and captions in the future when I return to the areas!

[the real] Rose & Crown!

Vauxhall Bridge

Westminster Bridge

Umbrella Sculpture

Buckingham Palace

Hello, Big Ben!

The London Eye

Bus in the Way!!!

Piccadilly Circus

Twinings – the tea mecca!

The London Dungeon

“The Glass Testicle”

On foot

The Tower Bridge

Over The Tower Bridge…

(wonder if this is the “glass testicle’s” counterpart…?)

Although the coach bus medium wasn’t ideal for taking pictures of the city, it was for mapping it.  I definitely feel like my conception of London has improved.  It was a prime pace and flow to see how the city is planned.  Many striking similarities emerged with New York, from infrastructure to attractions to tourists, and it definitely got my brain working in the Urban Studies grove.  A native New Yorker and isolated traveler, my only previous first-hand comparisons to draw were between the Big Apple and Walt Disney World; I am thrilled to be able to add London to my repertoire and look forward to exploring it more–for pleasure and for analyzing–throughout the semester.  This grand-scheme approach has been serving me well; I am finding that I like to survey areas at large before diving into their intricacies.