First stop was Lloyds of London which isn't in the book but I really wanted to check out because of its famous glass elevators (like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory!). We headed over to London Bridge and wandered across to Lloyds and waiting in line for about half an hour while we waited to get in. As we waited we got given a bit of an info sheet that gave us some information on the building which was handy because apart from knowing about the glass elevators I didn't really know much about it - apparently Lloyds of London sponsored the Titanic!
We got inside and got to see the trading floor with the bell which was rung when a ship had sunk. It was salvaged from a sunken ship and has been in the trading floor for hundreds of years. There was also a book that keeps a track of every sunken ship from when it was open. There was even one from this year with a sunken ship a few days old. I was so surprised! I sort of thought that didn't happen much anymore?!
We then got to go up to the top floor and check out the view across London. We got to ride up there in the glass elevator before we walk around and checked out the view. We then got to ride down on the other side in the glass elevators. It was freaky! I'm not usually scared of heights but that was just too weird!
After Lloyds we made our way over to Wigmore Hall (#10) which is a concert hall often used for symphony's and classical music concerts. We were lucky enough to arrive just as a performance was beginning so we got a chance to experience Wigmore Hall for what it is. After the performance we got to go and check out the green room and have a backstage look at the hall. It is a really pretty building and it would be great to see a longer concert there for sure but also glad that its ticked off the list!
Wigmore Hall is located just behind Oxford Street so of course we popped off there for a bit of a quick look around and a shop before heading over to Kings Cross. We were heading over there to check out Kings Place (#16) loacted on the Canals and is home to the Guardian Newspaper, concert hall, art gallery and a few cafe's and bars. As we were wandering through from the tube station we stopped off at the Kings Cross marketing suite and learnt a little bit about all the construction and redevelopment that is going on up there. It is going to be amazing once it is finished! It will be finished around 2016 which is a little way off for me to think about seeing but by the looks of it - it should be amazing!
We finally made it to Kings Palace just as it started to drizzle so it was perfect timing for a quick look at the canals and then a wander around the art gallery. There was a photography exhibition which was absolutely breath taking. It was called Frontlines and was photos of areas of dispute. It was quite eye opening! On our way out we were treated to a bagpipe player playing to the guests of a wedding.
After traipsing around London all day we retired back to Shea's place for a rainy lazy movie night in. Open house London was a great way to see some buildings that I wouldn't usually see and a good reason to get out and about. I was a little disappointed we got to the bandwagon a little late and missed out on tickets to the Barbican and this year the Gherkin wasn't open. Hopefully next year I get to go to those places!
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