More Olympic viewing

When I turned on the TV this morning, I heard that the womens' triathlon was going to take place at 9:00am in Hyde Park.  I had forgotten about that in my planning the night before.  I managed to get out of bed, showered and shovel breakfast into my mouth all by 8:30.  When I got to the venue, it became clear that trying to get a viewing spot for the swimming was not going to happen.  I was too late and by the time I walked past the ticketed area, the swim would be over.

Instead, I picked a spot on the bike course and parked by bag.  I stood next to the nicest couple.  They had taken the train in this morning from the coast.  They had been watching the TV all week and decided that they wanted to be part of the crowd.  They were so nice.  When another family came to stand behind us, we all squeezed together.  The second family was decked out in Team GB -- from flags in different sizes, face and arm painting, and t-shirts.  When a family with three small children packed in, we took turns trading out adults so that the kids could be right against the barricades.  Such a better display of manners than the end of the cycling last Sunday.

I stayed for three of the seven laps.  I didn't know the names of the participants and I wanted to get out of the park before the huge crowds.  I did get a few good photos before I left.

I made a quick trip back to the hotel for my backup camera battery and then caught a bus at Green Station to Piccadilly Circus.  I walked back to the TKTS booth and bought tickets for Chariots of Fire tonight at the Gielgud Theatre.  From there I walked down to Trafalgar Square and caught #15 bus to the Tower of London.  I wanted the photo of the Olympic Rings on the bridge.

When I was down at the water's edge, I noticed that the last Mandeville of the St. Paul's blue walk was right there.  So I took the picture of the Beefeater Mandeville.  Good think I took its picture because when I got back to the Tower in the afternoon with only one more to find, the sky opened up and it rained.  I would not have wanted to go back to the river to take that shot in the heavy rain.

I crossed over the Tower Bridge to begin the 4.4 km walk.  I had not walked south of the Thames last year, so all of it was knew.  Just past City Hall was the Skyline Wenlock.

That section of the city is so interesting because so much of it is glass.  Opposite the HMS Belfast was the Maritime Wenlock.

The statues on this walk were spaced farther apart than the ones on other walks.  But I enjoyed the view of the river and St. Paul's.  There was a really interesting fountain the Hay's Galleria -- pirate ship with lots of action.

After the Galleria, I passed the entryway on to the London Bridge.  Down by Southwark Cathedral was the Swiss Olympic House.  What a party they were having!  That was the site of the Cathedral or Southwark Wenlock.

Just past that I came across the Pirate Wenlock.  The pirate ship right behind the mascot was fun as well. 

I kept walking west, past the Clink Prison Museum to the Southwark Bridge.  There was the Rainbow Wenlock.

By the Tate Modern museum were the plain Mandeville and the Arty Wenlock.

In the river, right in front of the museum was another display of Olympic Rings.

I crossed over the Millennium Bridge and found the St. Paul's Mandeville. 

All during my walk, St. Paul's seemed like my touchstone.  I walked all around it.  Sometimes it was close by and other times I could only see the dome.  Just to the east of the Cathedral was the Telephone Box Wenlock.

I walked through the garden or contemplative area and at the north east corner found the Sonnet Wenlock.

I crossed the street and had lunch.  It was nice to get off my feet for a few minutes.  There were barricades up on the sidewalks in advance of the womens' marathon tomorrow.  Satisfied with my lemonade and sandwich, I carried on.  The City Gent Wenlock was next.

The Giant or Guildhall Wenlock was next.

In the courtyard of the Guildhall Art Museum I spotted the Sir Wenlock.  I loved the armor!

It was quite a walk from the Guildhall, across Gresham Street, down Princess St. and passed the Bank Tube stop, down King William Street and east on Eastcheap to get to the Monument and the Monument Wenlock.

South of the Monument, I walked on Lower Thames Street, where the French Club was having their Olympic party.  The line to get into the event was over a block long.  Impressive.  As I walked along the Thames by the Custom House,  it started to sprinkle.  As I got to the Tower of London, it poured.  I put my rain slicker on and stood under a tree.  When the rain let up a bit, I noticed that the last mascot was right there in view.  I waited until the rain stopped before I dashed out to the plaza area and snapped a quick photo of the Ravens Wenlock.

Good thing the end of the walk brought me right to the bus stop.  I waited a few minutes before boarding a bus back to Piccadilly.  I have a bit of time before I go back out this evening to see the play.