Journeys›Photograph

Two Days in London, September 2022

·City of Westminster, United Kingdom·#travel#september#urban photography#architecture#london
Ornate stone archway building at night, displaying multiple white flags with red crosses and Union Jacks.

Two days in London, and the first stretch of it was after dark, walking up the Mall toward Buckingham Palace. Admiralty Arch was hung with a row of white ensigns, Union flags lined the road on their poles, and the flag over the palace flew at half-mast — the whole route still dressed from the Queen's funeral earlier in the month, crowd barriers stacked in piles along an otherwise empty road. Strange to have the Mall almost to myself.

Daylight went the other direction, south of the river to Battersea Park, where the Peace Pagoda stands above the Thames path with a gilded Buddha looking out through the trees, small bells hanging off every roof corner.

Then back into Westminster to Trafalgar Square, laid out to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Nelson on his column about 169 feet up. The fountains were full and people were sitting on their rims in the sun. The National Gallery runs along the north side, doors open, so I went in for a while. At the edge of the square, a small heap of wrapped bouquets left on the pavement, most of them going brown.

A vertical British flag hangs from a crown-topped flagpole on a tree-lined avenue with barriers.Draped Union Jack flags on poles line a green lawn and red flower beds under a cloudy night sky.Buckingham Palace illuminated at night, with the Victoria Memorial's golden statue and other figures in the foreground.Buckingham Palace brightly lit at night under a dark, cloudy sky, with empty paved ground and barriers in the foreground.A grand interior features a large crystal chandelier, an ornate white ceiling with a skylight, and multiple levels with columns.A multi-tiered white and dark pagoda with a golden Buddha statue in an alcove, surrounded by green trees under a blue sky.The National Gallery building with a large dome, columns, and red banners, with people walking in front.A large public square with a fountain, people, a tall monument, and historic buildings under a partly cloudy sky.

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