Day 69 - London Tower and Bridge

Really had to get some washing done today and for some reason the washing machine took over 2 hours. I kinda expect stuff like this but on the upside, I'd say my clothers are nice and clean.

When I did make it out the door, it was off to London Tower (a castle) and London Tower Bridge. The day was overcast so the photos came out a little ordinary - my camera was also playing up but I find if I 'bump' it, things get better (not a great solution).

First up is London Tower Bridge built in between 188x - 1896. The main deck still opens but rarely these days as London is really a working port any more. I love the designs on each tower and gradually warming to the blue and white paint scheme. As far as bridge designs go, this is way cool!



The reason it is called the 'Tower Bridge' is because it is beside a castle/fort called the 'tower'. When I think 'tower', I think of something hundreds of meters in the air. However this was originally built around the 11th century and naturally would have been the largest building, hence the tower name. It is the whole building that stretches along the water front, with the main tower part hidden behind the tree. The cucumber looking building thingy in the background is a Swiss building only completed in the last year or so (slightly left of center).



This was another cool building I liked right away and is the City Hall. It was built in 2002 and hence the modern looking nature of it all. In some respects it is a sculpture cause it looks slightly different from all angles and still looks interesting.



This would have to be one of the more bizzare things that I've ever seen. Here is the war ship HMS Belfast (apparently the largest in the British fleet, permenantly moored here and open to the public). I pretty much saw it first from this angle and thought the colour scheme / design was bizzare.



Now I'm guessing, and it is purely that - a guess, it is so that when you come at it from the other side or an angle like this, it blends into the scenery. In case you can't see it, it is on the right hand side of screen (blends in even more with the overcast day).



I stuck around the area to get some night shots. First up is London Bridge itself (I thought this was what the Tower Bridge was actually called so set out today to see London Bridge - good thing they are close to one another). It was lit up in a cool way with the red but this was about the clearest shot I could get of it. London Bridge is where I took the first photo of the war ship above (it is on the left in this photo and interesting lighting arrangement).



This is the tower bridge at dusk from the other side to all the previous photos. It was generally really hard to get good vantage points and clear lines of sights to the buildings and bridges along the foreshore. Interesting the shadows on the side and top of the towers.