22 September 2013 ~ River Thames

Listening to: Dred Scott Trio ~ White Room


I took a short boat cruise on the River Thames.

The London Bridge was one attraction.

I thought it would be more impressive.

This current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a built from concrete and steel. This replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old medieval structure. This was preceded by a succession of timber bridges, the first built by the Roman founders of London.

The Tower Bridge was much more majestic.

The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers, carried by the two robust towers.  The bridge's present color scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee. Originally it was painted a greenish-blue color.

We also past a replica of Sir Francis Scott Drake's ship. I think I jumped off a separate replica of this ship in St. Thomas.

This is the London Eye - a giant Ferris wheel. The entire structure is 443 feet tall and the wheel has a diameter 394 feet.

It is the tallest  Ferris wheel in Europe and was the tallest in the world until surpassed by the Star of Nanchang in 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer in 2008.

I had a ticket to ride it but never got on. It was so crowded that day I couldn't wait in line.