Vacation in London day 1 – Hyde Park and Greenwich

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  ‘The Mercure’ 4 star Hotel situated in a leafy Square at Hyde Park Corner

I haven’t written on WordPress for many months (read a lot though), well if you didn’t catch yesterday’s introduction (don’t bother lol) I’ve just returned home after a week’s vacation with extended family, we visited many varied places around Southern England and as you do took many photos………….so I thought why not share a selection over the coming days.

You’re all busy people so I’ll try and keep the text brief.

Day 1 began with a train ride into Central London enjoying a 2 night stay at a Hotel close to Hyde Park Corner, 4 stars it was and possibly the highlight for my two nieces, beautifully clean rooms and a wet room shower to die for!

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  Stylish décor and immaculately clean

Built in the 1800’s as a Town House accommodation for London’s wealthy businessmen.

Below my mother feeding Parakeets in Hyde Park, the unusual story goes and quite true btw, several pet Parakeets escaped from someone’s London home later establishing a breeding colony in the Park, and tame enough to take food from tourists hands.

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  My mother feeding Hyde Park ‘wild’ Parakeets

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Hyde Park is home to many varied and famous works of art like this Henry Moore sculpture, apparently depicting human boned hips I think? Notice a live Heron sitting on top………reveals how large it actually is.

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  Henry Moore Park sculpture (Google ffor more info lol)

(Below) More Hyde Park wildlife and ALL comfortable with human company bearing food!

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With Hyde Park done, our small group travelled an Underground train (several) to the Borough of Greenwich close to the mouth of the River Thames. Back in the day 2012 a cable car was erected to span the Thames connecting the Olympic village with London’s financial district at Canary Wharf………………you know shiny glass tower blocks owned by scamming Merchant Banks.

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  Emirates cable car spanning the Thames at Greenwhich

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Emirates Cable Cars suspended beneath the sky, with a backdrop of tower blocks in London’s financial district.

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(Above) Canary Wharf again, the two ‘gondola’s’ hanging from crane jibs are in fact restaurant tables! No thank you.

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(Above) Greenwich a large expanse of disused industrial land is still being developed today, you’ll know this area as London’s East End heavily blitzed by Hitler’s carpet bombing in WW2.

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(Above) Way back in 2012 the Millennium Dome was built at huge expense as the centre piece of London’s Olympics, then as continually happens, the Games over NO ONE knew what to do with it! Consequently after many years vacant, the Borough Council converted ‘The Dome’ into the O2 Arena now used for Pop concerts pre Covid.

(Below) The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is the home of time and space, the Prime Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and situated on a hill in Greenwich park………………………….also a Covid testing station.

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A. Shepherdson 2021