Canary Wharf

Well being so hot lately and with another stunning weekend on it's way, I decided there are no way I was going to let my stressful problems with having to move get me down. And I most certainly wasn't going to waste my time off with looking for/at rooms to stay. It's enough that I have to dedicate a day to cleaning and shopping.

Dressed in my baggies and armed with my HUGE camera backpack and tripod off to The Millennium Dome (now called the O2). Wait wait wait you're saying I thought you were going to Canary Wharf. Well actually first I was wanting to go to the East India Docks to photograph The Dome from across the river. I took a good 1 hour tube ride, from Boston Manor to change to the Jubilee at Green Park. I jumped off at Greenwich thinking it would just be a short walk across a bridge, ha ha ha. So I thought, well, there was no bridge, just an under river tunnel in which ppl could not walk. So after reading all of the bus stops I chose one and hoped to hell that my map book would help me in deciding to get off at the right stop. Well it did and I jumped off after the under river tunnel. Now I was under the impression that I would have a 10 min walk. After walking the wrong way I followed the signs to the nearest DLR (docklands light rail) station. I then waited for the train to simply go to the next stop, this pissed me off coz I could actually have walked for the time I waited for the train (that's Train Luck for you which is very similar to Bus Luck, see previous post).

I finally got to The East India Docks station and boy was the sun nice! Earphones plugged in music playing I walked along the Victoria Quay. The Victoria Quay is where the ships set off to settle in America and alot of the original fixtures are still there and protected as well as restored and maintained by the city. It was really lovely to see history being preserved, coming from a country where the history is torn down, disrespected and down right thrown away.

Another thing about this part of town is that it's off of the conventional tourist path. This makes it really quite. I had my own space and for a good half an hour while shooting photos. After finishing my 500ml bottle of water and tummy grumbling it was time for food. Luckily there was a Budgets (similar to an Engen Quick Shop) on the corner next to the DLR station. I brought myself a rack of ribs, 1L Pineapple juice and a packet of sweets. Walking back to the quay I realised that I hadn't taken any serviettes, with ribs, I mean really how stupid.
Never the less the ribs were tastes and juice was quenching.

After studying my newly brought pocket guide of London I decided that before I went to Canary Wharf I would go to the South for the Isle of Dog to Island Gardens. I got off at Island Gardens Station and walked in what I thought was the right direction. The maps are a bit hard to read coz some roads are for cars and others are just for ppl and not all of the maps are clearly marked. As I was walking around I noticed that this was actually a council area. Meaning the houses are not as well looked after and a few even looked like prefab. Not wanting to 'discover' all the area had to offer I marched back to the station and hopped onto Canary Wharf.

Canary Wharf is like the New York City of London I tell you. Tall glass buildings, stunning shops and clean streets. I was in architecture photographer's heaven. There was a little garden with ponds called the Jubilee Gardens. It was small but when you walk through there it, it creates this at home feeling - I thought that it could only be fantastic when you need a little breathing space from your busy office.
An underground shopping mall stretched from the Canary Wharf DLR station to the Underground station to the West India Millwali Docks - it's actually really big and has quite a few exclusive shops. After exploring the immediate area I spotted some seagulls under the DLR rain bridge over the docks.
I was standing on the ledge (behind the banisters) photographing the seagulls flying around and dipping into the water to eat bread that someone had thrown into the water when my memory card ran out. So I turned to get off and there was this little girl playing with my giraffe key ring. She was so cute and started asking me what I'm doing and what was the giraffe then her dad came along to rescue me. Back to the seagulls I was. I was really enjoying shotting them and then my second memory card ran out!!! ARGH! That meant it was home time, but I was enjoying the sun so much and the buildings hadn't completely shaded over. So I went to simply sit on the wall just outside of the tube station. Ah it was so nice to be having all of this sun.

The best thing of the whole outing was that I completely forgot about my stresses at that time.
The relief was really nice.

Convent Garden

After my first attempt to spend a day at Convent Garden failed due to having to move, I decided to go back and make my way to the London Transport Museum, which was gonna be one of the few places I was actually going to have to pay to enter.
Ha Ha Ha - what happens? I get there and it closed!!! And until November none the less. DAMN.
So what would be my next stop? Somewhere free, seeing as I didn't have my guide book with prices in to tell me that I wasn't going to spend an arm and a leg, plus I had to know where it was, all I needed was to wonder into a dodgy neighbourhood!

Ah, yes, the Science Museum. But before I hopped on the tube I decided to wonder around Covent Garden a bit, it was windy and cold but none the less I much see a little bit.
As you walk out of the tube/up to the tube there are lots of street performers. There are ppl that have, black or silver or gold or multicolour clothes on that stand as still as statues.
One guy sits with his guitar that acts as a robot, when you put money into his tray it's as if you are switching him on and he plays a song.
Unfortunetly he is over shadowed by a guy two ticks down that uses a devise in his mouth to sound like a cartoon. He plays this character that is like a pissed of mime with a voice. He stands on his podostil and makes fun of ppl as they walk past, it's hard to describe but he's damn funny. So everyone gathers around him and waits for someone to walk past and be picked on, it's all in good fun.
Another performer is dressed up like a fellon and gets someone from the audience to wrap him in chains from which he escapes, but bad and pretty entertaining.

The Royal Opera House is just a block from Covent Garden Tube station, I never went inside, I can only imagine that is it absolutely stunning inside there. Buskers stand up and down the roads surrounding the opera house and hold signs pointing in the house's direction to entice ppl to pop in, have a look and hopefully buy a ticket or two or three for a show.

I did however go into the little Disney shop that was just outside the Arcade/Plaza (picture above) and holy hell was it hot in there! I think they had the heating on so hot that they were soley responsible for melting the polar caps. I know it was cold outside but it was so hot in there is was just ridiculous! I actually heard quite a few shoppers commenting on the heat and said they were leaving, and honestly I would've stayed and browsed some more and more than lightly brought something that I so didn't need but it was crazy hot in there, so left.

Okay, enough time wasted off to the tube station it was. Now to get to South Kensington.
Once there it's Museum City, you don't even have to walk up top, in between the traffic and deal with the elements. And the Science Museum was at the end of the underground path. It's probably a good 1km walk. It was all good as long as the museum wasn't boring.
As I was walking the crowds and masses started to tapper off. Pretty soon it was only myself and one guy heading to the Science Museum exit, oh my, is this such a boring museum that no one wants to go there?

Turn right the sign said so I did, next thing through the exit doors I saw a set of wheels for a commercial airliner, well well well maybe this was going to be interesting after all I thought...