Friday, July 21, 2006

While on our trip to Iceland, we decided to "pop" over to London for a day and see the sights. We thought it apropos to spend the 4th of July in England. Autumn was the best tour guide one could ever wish for.

Take a ride on the Millennium Wheel, London's view of the world! It looks far more intimidating than it truly is, if you are scared of heights. After waiting in a small queue, we rushed forward to board the capsule as it ever-so-slowly glided along the loading dock.
The sealed, fully enclosed car holds a good 25 people or so, with benches in the middle to sit on. Most folks chose to stand, exclaiming as we slowly rotated higher at an almost imperceptible pace. The entire car is clear, so the views were stunning in all directions as we rose above the smog and haze hovering over the sweltering city. Cameras were clicking and there was constant movement as people jostled for elbow room along the edge of the car. And then, we were at the top of the arc! We were fortunate that the sky wasn't cloudy because we could see for miles. After I got off, I took this photo looking up through the cables... what a giant wheel it was!

It was fun, and provided me with a better overall grasp of what London is all about. I saw the landmarks I had only heard about for so many years in their proper perspective.

3 comments:

Trée said...

Now that looks like a lot of fun. :-)

Agnes said...

Amazing...and petrifying all at once. (she said, noting that the entire monstrosity hangs over the water....she suspects in case one of those cars needs a place to fall)

EEEEEEP. How odd that this thing frightens me. I have no fear of heights or of roller coasters and the like. That just looks far too large.

Autumn Storm said...

How good a photographer are you! Those top two are amazing, will have to download them when I get home, doubt any of mine are that good :-) Great post, the memories well.