Seeing through the Eye
My last day, I had some free time, so I went into London. I found out there is a free local bus from my hotel to the Central Bus Terminal at Heathrow, saving me 3 pounds on the “Hotel Hoppa” bus they try to get all the visitors to take. Hah.
I bought a 6-pound all-day transit card so I could ride the Underground wherever I needed. I’m not sure I fully availed myself of the savings, actually, but that’s OK. I rode to Piccadilly Circus with the intention of riding the London Eye. This is an enormous ferris wheel built by British Airways around 2000. It sits on the banks of the Thames across from the Houses of Parliament. I started walking toward Trafalgar Square, but wasn’t quite sure which way to go. When I asked at the National Museum how to get there, they pointed up over the building tops where, sure enough, I could see the wheel.
I still had to maneuver around a bunch of side streets before finding one that went down to the river (try Northumberland Drive if you’re wondering), during which I passed the mounted guards at Downing Street, a WWII memorial to women in combat, and numerous statues of old, dead military men.
The Eye is across the river along a boardwalk that also contains the museum and a strip of street performers. I gave money to the guy playing four parts on a xylophone by holding two mallets in each hand. He was playing “If I Were a Rich Man,” so it seemed especially appropriate.
I was shocked that the Eye costs 12.50 pounds—around $25!! And there was a long, snaking line to buy tickets, almost like the lines to ride roller coasters in the US. I decided to go for it. 30 minutes in line for the ticket, and then another 15 minutes in line to get to the boarding dock.
The ferris wheel consists of “capsules,” which are enclosed, (American) football-shaped pods with Plexiglas walls. Only the floor is not see-through, and it is narrower than the point of maximum width around the belly, so you really can see a lot. The Eye moves slowly and continuously. Occasionally it stops if they have to load or unload an elderly or disabled passenger. The round trip takes about 30 minutes.
It’s pretty neat, actually. I started out watching the activity on the river, with boats going up and down, and people walking across the multiple foot bridges spanning the river. As the height increased, I picked out landmarks—there’s Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament. Oh, and Buckingham Palace, and St. James Park. Farther up the river I spotted St. Paul’s Cathedral, which I know is right across from the Tate Modern (where I went last time I visited London), but I couldn’t see the museum. I guess it’s too short.
Up near the summit—130 meters high—it became possible to notice the overall layout of London, and to view some of the surrounding hills and highways. Descending the other side allowed me to see the southern features better, while the northern ones were visible on the upswing.
Then came an interesting surprise. There was an announcement on the capsule PA that “our picture would soon be taken,” and could we please move to the ends of the capsule and face north if we wanted to participate. Nominally, it was a “commemorative” picture, and of course our pictures were on sale by the time we had landed and walked down the gangway. But there are other reasons to have cameras set up at the Eye. You can get pictures of people who might have been doing things they shouldn’t have while up in a private capsule for 30 minutes.
I chose to stand a bit away from the camera and doubt I was captured. Don’t know quite why, but I just suddenly felt like I didn’t want my picture snapped. As noted above, it’s a fine London tradition to have cameras everywhere and record people’s actions on tape, but I’m not quite as used to that as the locals. (Now that I think about it, what did I expect from a ride called the Eye?)
I bought a 6-pound all-day transit card so I could ride the Underground wherever I needed. I’m not sure I fully availed myself of the savings, actually, but that’s OK. I rode to Piccadilly Circus with the intention of riding the London Eye. This is an enormous ferris wheel built by British Airways around 2000. It sits on the banks of the Thames across from the Houses of Parliament. I started walking toward Trafalgar Square, but wasn’t quite sure which way to go. When I asked at the National Museum how to get there, they pointed up over the building tops where, sure enough, I could see the wheel.
I still had to maneuver around a bunch of side streets before finding one that went down to the river (try Northumberland Drive if you’re wondering), during which I passed the mounted guards at Downing Street, a WWII memorial to women in combat, and numerous statues of old, dead military men.
The Eye is across the river along a boardwalk that also contains the museum and a strip of street performers. I gave money to the guy playing four parts on a xylophone by holding two mallets in each hand. He was playing “If I Were a Rich Man,” so it seemed especially appropriate.
I was shocked that the Eye costs 12.50 pounds—around $25!! And there was a long, snaking line to buy tickets, almost like the lines to ride roller coasters in the US. I decided to go for it. 30 minutes in line for the ticket, and then another 15 minutes in line to get to the boarding dock.
The ferris wheel consists of “capsules,” which are enclosed, (American) football-shaped pods with Plexiglas walls. Only the floor is not see-through, and it is narrower than the point of maximum width around the belly, so you really can see a lot. The Eye moves slowly and continuously. Occasionally it stops if they have to load or unload an elderly or disabled passenger. The round trip takes about 30 minutes.
It’s pretty neat, actually. I started out watching the activity on the river, with boats going up and down, and people walking across the multiple foot bridges spanning the river. As the height increased, I picked out landmarks—there’s Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament. Oh, and Buckingham Palace, and St. James Park. Farther up the river I spotted St. Paul’s Cathedral, which I know is right across from the Tate Modern (where I went last time I visited London), but I couldn’t see the museum. I guess it’s too short.
Up near the summit—130 meters high—it became possible to notice the overall layout of London, and to view some of the surrounding hills and highways. Descending the other side allowed me to see the southern features better, while the northern ones were visible on the upswing.
Then came an interesting surprise. There was an announcement on the capsule PA that “our picture would soon be taken,” and could we please move to the ends of the capsule and face north if we wanted to participate. Nominally, it was a “commemorative” picture, and of course our pictures were on sale by the time we had landed and walked down the gangway. But there are other reasons to have cameras set up at the Eye. You can get pictures of people who might have been doing things they shouldn’t have while up in a private capsule for 30 minutes.
I chose to stand a bit away from the camera and doubt I was captured. Don’t know quite why, but I just suddenly felt like I didn’t want my picture snapped. As noted above, it’s a fine London tradition to have cameras everywhere and record people’s actions on tape, but I’m not quite as used to that as the locals. (Now that I think about it, what did I expect from a ride called the Eye?)
