Mixed Feelings Regarding Our Visit to London During Our First Trip to Europe

On September 20, 2021September 20, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn England, Travel Tips6 Comments

Let us start by saying that we hope to visit London once again in the future as it is a wonderful city with an amazing history. During our first trip to Europe, many years ago now, we spent several days in London before going on to Stratford-upon-Avon and Manchester. We rented a flat on Kings Road and enjoyed getting around and visiting the major sites in London such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. Although we did have a wonderful time, when we look back on it after many, many trips since that time, we aren’t sure that we made the most of our time in London.

One of the things that was very different about our time in London compared to other places that we have visited is that we took the tube (underground railway) to get from one location to another. It was quick and convenient and who can’t quote what is aired over the intercom as the doors start to close, “mind the gap”. In hindsight, we felt like gophers who popped up from one hole here to see something and then popped up in another hole there to see something. Walking the streets gives you a much better sense of a city than just seeing a small section at a time.

We do have wonderful memories of our time in London. We went to the famous West End to see the play Wicked and the tour of Tower of London was quite fascinating. We also watched the pomp and pageantry of the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and had some blue skies overhead as we walked around the Victoria Memorial in the roundabout just across from the palace. Certainly no visit to London would be complete without going to Westminster Abbey with all of the memorials to the historical figures of science, literature, and politics. Seeing the iconic clock tower at the Westminster Palace, commonly referred to as Big Ben is certainly a must as well.

Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon

After spending a few days in our flat in London, we continued on to historic Stratford-upon-Avon where we had the opportunity to have mulled wine and see the locals celebrate the start of the holiday season as it was late November when we arrived. Being the birthplace of Shakespeare, there is certainly plenty of history and we also enjoyed seeing Warwick Castle nearby town of Warwick. After a couple of nights, we took a train north to the city of Manchester where we would enjoy a murder mystery at a local manor house and then go to watch a football (soccer) game, which was a highlight for us.

As previously mentioned, we definitely have revisiting London on our list of places to go and will likely go back there in the relatively near future. We were actually fairly fortunate as far as the weather goes with our trip having been in November, but a visit during the summer months would definitely be a plus. Since we are more seasoned travelers now as compared to our original visit, we will likely do it quite differently and we would certainly take more photographs than we did back then.

Iconic Skylines and Cityscapes Around the World

On June 21, 2021June 21, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn BloggingLeave a comment

Traveling the world, there are places that you visit where the view of the skyline is entrenched in your memory. As soon as you see it in a picture or in a movie, you immediately know exactly where you are. It is amazing how the simple image of a cityscape can suddenly transport your mind back to a location and the sights, sounds, and even aromas are almost tangible in your mind. It helps that almost every major city has a location with an observation deck that allows you to get high above the city in order to see it in all of its grandeur. Whether viewing Paris from the Eiffel Tower or looking out at the skyscrapers of New York City from the top of the Empire State Building, the views will forever take you back to that moment when you first visited the city.

Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock in New York City

View from Piazzale de Michelangelo in Florence

How can one not see the Duomo in Florence and not immediately be transported to that amazing city. One glimpse of the Parliament Building in Budapest and you will find yourself standing on the walls of the Buda Castle District. Sometimes it is the view of the towers of a gothic cathedral like in Cologne and other times it is the uniqueness of the city landscape like seeing the canals of Amsterdam. Regardless of what it is that draws your eyes, these iconic views can bring back that sense of awe that you first experienced when visiting a location.

Arc de Triomphe in Paris from the Eiffel Tower

There are other times when it isn’t just the city, but the surrounding area that makes a cityscape iconic. Whether it is the ruggedness of a city sprawling on the hillsides like those of La Paz, the lush jungles surrounding Panama City, Panama, or even the peaks of Colorado looming over the city of Denver, these views make each location unique. Just like we can never pick a favorite travel location, we can also never pick a favorite skyline. Each are special in their own ways and will always remind us of our visit when we see their images on the screen.

View of the Roman Forum and Colosseum from the Rooftop

Tower of the Winds in the Roman Agora

On March 12, 2021March 12, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Greece, Photo Challenge1 Comment

One of the ancient sites in the city of Athens in Greece is the Roman Agora. An agora is simply a public space for people to gather, but they also often contained monuments to the gods and other important features. The main feature at the Roman Agora is the Tower of the Winds, which is considered by some people to be an early version of a weather station. There was a weather vane on the top of the tower that indicated the wind direction that would have been visible from throughout the city. What we found most interesting about the Tower of the Winds was the water clock that was housed within the tower. In a way, it is an ancient version of the clock towers that have become common throughout the world.

The Floor of the Tower with the Hole in the Center

The Large Well-Like Hole on the Side of the Tower

The water clock works very much in the same way that a sand timer works in that the flow of water is controlled and as a vessel is filled at a specific time measurement. Today, in the center of the tower floor is a hole with channels coming from what looks similar to a well on the side of the tower. We aren’t sure what the inside of the tower would have looked like when it was in use, but we certainly enjoyed seeing it in its current form. The ingenuity of the ancient Greeks is certainly something fascinating to see in these modern days. All around the top of the tower are carvings of the eight wind deities that were worshiped in ancient times.