Old Places and New: We started off our third full day in London by repeating a few of places we had seen two days earlier, places Paap hadn't seen, within Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park and Hyde Park Corner. We also stopped at a few new places, such as Spire House and, in Hyde Park, the Apollo Statue and Queen Elizabeth Gate. From Hyde Park Corner, we rented bikes from London's bike share program, to cycle to our next stop. There are parking spots throughout London where you can rent a bike for a nominal fee and use it as much as you like without incurring additional fees unless any single trip is over thirty minutes. Since Peep had mentioned to me that while at the National Art Gallery she discovered she enjoys looking at paintings, I decided to make the Tate Modern our main stop for the morning. We made our way through Central London and over the River Thames on bike to visit this modern art gallery.
Parking our Bikes: The first place we tried to park the bike had a broken controller, so all the parking spots were filled up as no bikes could be rented from there. The second location was also full, as was the third and fourth locations. The fifth location was closed due to nearby construction. Finally, after re-crossing the Thames, we found a location with two empty spaces, so Peep and Paap parked their bikes while I rode to the next location where, thankfully, there was one spot open. We met up again by the foot bridge leading across the Thames directly to the Tate Modern. Having spent so much time finding parking for our bikes, Peep and Paap became worried about getting back to the Corinthia in time for a follow-up business meeting from the day before. Instead of going in the gallery, they headed back upriver on the underground while I entered the gallery alone with plans to meet back with them at the Corinthia at four that afternoon.
Tate Modern: This art gallery is one of five in the Tate group and specializes in contemporary art, dating from 1900 to present day. Inside its many rooms are paintings, sculptures, photographs and films dealing in the genres of Abstraction, Arte Povera, Expressionism, Surrealism and Pop Art. It includes works by such well-known artists as Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. It took me about an hour and half to see the items on permanent display there.
Parliament Square: It was still well before our meeting time when I returned, on bicycle, to the Corinthia. I walked through the lobby there just in case the meeting had been postponed, but didn't see either Peep or Paap, so I headed back outside to continue seeing the city. I had decided to go to the London Museum and went to get a bike to ride there. The first place I tried to rent the bike would not accept my credit card, and neither would the second. Instead of spending all my time trying to rent a bike or walking back and forth to the museum, I changed my plans and walked over to Parliament Square, where I hung out for a while before getting some pictures of the downtown sites. I planned to be back there the next day, but the weather was nice so I figured it would be a good idea to get some pictures at that time.
Meeting Up: I was back at the Corinthia a couple hours later and met up with Peep and Paap only to learn that they hadn't had the meeting yet and instead spent their time in the lobby, leaving for only a short time to do some shopping on nearby Strand. It was while they were gone that I checked in, which is why I missed them. The meeting was still planned to take place, so I was on my own as they were busy the remainder of the evening.
I stayed in the area, walking around nearby streets and seeing the sights, such as Cleopatra's Needle, a stone obelisk from Alexandria given to the British in 1819 as a gift from the Egyptian ruler, Muhammad Ali. I crossed over the River Thames and saw many street performers entertaining the crowds. I then stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant before getting some night shots of a few London landmarks.
Evening Activities: I lined up with the dozen or so other photographers with their tripods and cameras pointed toward the Palace of Westminster (a.k.a. Houses of Parliament) and shot photos as the sun disappeared behind the historic building. I also took shots of the London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus before putting my camera away and calling it a night. I was still a couple of miles away from the hotel when I tried again to rent a bike, and this time was successful. I even found a place to park it near the hotel on only my second try. Needless to say, with all the difficulty I experienced throughout the day with the bike share program, I did not use it again for the remainder of the trip. When I finally returned to the hotel, I found Peep already relaxing in our room.