Tunbridge Wells (where I am staying) is the kind of place my mum would love. Quaint little boutique shops that sell all that antiquey looking stuff. Sarah and I had a big walk around it on Thursday. It is such a lazy town. Checked out an old church in the centre of it that was built in the 1600's. Squirrels and foxes are everywhere around here which is pretty fun trying to lull them into a good range for photographs.
We went and had a few beers and a dinner out a couple of nights back which was good fun. The pub is definately the heart of the community over here. You go there every night just to have a few drinks and a laugh. And there is about 1 pub to every 3 other shops so they are evrywhere. English beer is pretty crap however.
I have refused to have a warm one yet.
Today was a monster day. We travelled into the heart of London and went crazy. e saw the Tate Modern which is all contemporary art - Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollack and the likes. Pretty amazing stuff when you see them for real. Especially the dali ones. There was also an exhibit (well at least we think it was an exhibit) which was a 5 storey water slide thing except without the water. An enclosed slide thing. Tim (the guy we are sgtaying with and myself) went on it and you got some serious speed. Sarah held our bags.
After that we went to St Pauls cathedral which is ridiculously large. Had a perve inside and couldn't be bothered with the cover charge so gapped. Walked a bit down the road and saw the Swiss Re Tower by Norman Foster nicknamed the gherkin. It doesnt look anything special really but it is still quite a significant building. However just next door to it was an amazing building. Lloyds of London by Richard Rogers is crazy cool. All the elevators and air ventilation pipes have been pushed to the exterior and accentuated. The lifts are all glass boxes so you can see all the internal workings of them and they shoot up the side of the building which even shows the counteweights used for them and stuff. The building was great. All aluminium clad and pretty fricken massive. He would have to be one of my favorite architects out. I just really like his style. Give it a search on Google to check it out.
Went to a market place which was basically a booze market. All the suits were drinking already at about 12 in the afternoon. You dont even need to stay within the limits of a bar. You just buy the beer and go wander around the place.
Saw the Tower of London and London Bridge before travelling on another train to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament which were really really impressive. The size of it is understated somewhat in photographs and other stuff. The place is huge.
We got lost looking for the Channel 4 headquarters (another building designed by Richard Rogers) and when we found it I got told off for taking photos of it so I told the guy to get stuffed and stood back two steps so that I was on the footpath. What could he do about it?
To cap it all off and as it was getting a bit dark we brought some tickets for the London Eye. A massive ferris wheel thing which rotates slowly and rises each pod that it holds some 135m into the air. It was very very cool and worth the $45 I had to pay for the thing.
As for now we are just about to eat a curry and get on the booze. Going to visit Leeds Castle and Windsor Castle tomorrow which are meant to be the two best castles in England. Going to Spain on Monday to see the work of Santiago Calatrava. It may just change my opinion of my favourite architect.
