I enjoyed this band for a couple of reasons. First, it was just cool to see a brass band playing in London. It felt very English to me. Second, it reminded me of the Mr. Bean Christmas where he leads the street band in Christmas carols. :)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
London Again
During our last week in England, I really wanted to visit London one more time.
This is Leicester Square, where most of the London movie premiers happen. It was still decorated for Harry Potter. I really wanted to go to London for the premier, but we were in the Lake District for Gavin's work.
A big picture of the bad guys. :)
I really wanted to see another play while in London, so I saw Love Never Dies, which is the sequel to Phantom of the Opera. I knew the story and had heard the music before hand and actually didn't want to see it because it was a really stupid story. However, I heard in the news that they revamped it and it was getting great reviews, so I figured I would give it a shot. It was very enjoyable. It's a lot different than the Phantom (it takes place at Coney Island, of all places) and no where near as good, but I really enjoyed it. I was sitting next to this guy who loves going to musicals and he was a lot of fun to be sitting with. He was so happy he found another kindred soul who loves musical but has a spouse who doesn't.
After the musical, I went to Hyde Park where they were doing the Winter Wonderland Festival.
This was a restaurant. It is in a giant blow-up cube. 
I really wanted to go jump inside the giant snowman, but it was only for little kids.
There was also a whole bunch of stalls there selling goods and food.
On my way back to the tube to head to the train station, I passed this on Regent Street. I thought it was cute.
I miss London. I really enjoyed being able to go there so quickly and spend the day. It's such a wonderful city.
Barcelona Guitar Players
This video is from the Park Guell. We loved sitting outside in the sunshine, listening to these guys play some Mozart.
Barcelona 2
After the Sagrada Familia, we went to the Park Guell, which is on a hill in Barcelona. It was designed by Gaudi originally as a housing complex, but no one really wanted to live there. Gaudi's house is there, though.
The buildings at the entrance of the park.
This is the famous lizard fountain designed by Gaudi.
The roof of the lower court.
The passageway under the roadway.
Sitting on the courtyard on top of the lower court. The benches were really neat. They were tiled and curved like a snake.
In the courtyard, this lady was doing different poses for tips. She wasn't very good. She kept falling over.
We hiked around some of the different paths in the park.
View of the Sagrada Familia and Barcelona.
A tiled wall in the park.
We hopped on a bus tour which took us past the football stadium.
The Barcelona Football stadium.
This is an industrial park near the train station. It has six light houses around it.
The train station. This is just a small fraction of the scooters parked there.
The Placa d'Espanya
The Venetian-styled towers by the Placa d'Espanya.
This is the Font Magica de Montjuic and the National Museum. We were really disappointed that the fountains weren't working while we were there. They are supposed to be really cool.
The National Museum.
There were escalators going up to the museum.
The view from the museum.
The Anella Olimpica.
The Olympic Stadium.
Inside the stadium. (sorry it's blurry, the bus was moving). One of the Barcelona football teams play here now.
The Fundacio Joan Miro, which is a modern art museum dedicated to Joan Miro. He was a surrealist painter.
Barcelona had some cable cars that took you from a point near the Olympic park to a point near the port.
This monument is at the entrance to the World Trade Center.
Before our flight home, we stopped at a fish restaurant on near the port. The ceiling curved out and had mirrors so you could see everything around you reflected. We're sitting in the corner. :)
This was one of the best meals we had in Europe.
We loved Barcelona. It had such an unique vibe to it. It's a huge city, but has a really laid back, relaxed feel to it. I wish we had more time to spend there because there is so much more we wanted to see and do there.
Sitting on the courtyard on top of the lower court. The benches were really neat. They were tiled and curved like a snake.
In the courtyard, this lady was doing different poses for tips. She wasn't very good. She kept falling over.
We hiked around some of the different paths in the park.
View of the Sagrada Familia and Barcelona.
A tiled wall in the park.
We hopped on a bus tour which took us past the football stadium.
The Barcelona Football stadium.
This is an industrial park near the train station. It has six light houses around it.
The train station. This is just a small fraction of the scooters parked there.
The Placa d'Espanya
The Venetian-styled towers by the Placa d'Espanya.
This is the Font Magica de Montjuic and the National Museum. We were really disappointed that the fountains weren't working while we were there. They are supposed to be really cool.
The National Museum.
There were escalators going up to the museum.
The view from the museum.
The Anella Olimpica.
The Olympic Stadium.
Inside the stadium. (sorry it's blurry, the bus was moving). One of the Barcelona football teams play here now.
The Fundacio Joan Miro, which is a modern art museum dedicated to Joan Miro. He was a surrealist painter.
Barcelona had some cable cars that took you from a point near the Olympic park to a point near the port.
This monument is at the entrance to the World Trade Center.
Before our flight home, we stopped at a fish restaurant on near the port. The ceiling curved out and had mirrors so you could see everything around you reflected. We're sitting in the corner. :)
This was one of the best meals we had in Europe. 
We loved Barcelona. It had such an unique vibe to it. It's a huge city, but has a really laid back, relaxed feel to it. I wish we had more time to spend there because there is so much more we wanted to see and do there.
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