“You know, travel does broaden the mind.” Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith
Last post I provided a complete list of all the sites we really, truly saw while in England and Paris. And I provided a rating for each of those sites. I dubbed items on that list as the “Grown-Ups Table List.” The requirement to be on that list were that they were sites that met at least one of the following descriptions: (1) we spent money at the place or paid tickets to go; (2) the site wasn’t part of something larger (i.e. the Golden Gallery would not count as a site because it’s a part of St. Paul’s Cathedral; and (3) we interacted with the site in a meaningful or purposeful way (meaningful and purposeful meant that all four of the following requirements were met: (a) walked by it/across it; (b) were on foot and stared it it for awhile without calling it dumb; (c) took at least two pictures of it; and (d) made a conscious decision to go out of our way to interact with it).
So, now let’s continue on with what we could call the “Kiddy Table List”: all the other sites that we saw but were sites that we more or less stumbled upon or would have seen regardless of how much we tried to avoid them (ahem, London Eye). The ratings for these will be more of an up or down vote to indicate (1) yes, it was cool to see and I wouldn’t mind seeing again; (2) yes, it was cool to see but I don’t need to see again, (3) no, it wasn’t cool to see and I don’t need to see it again, (4) impossible to miss no matter how hard you try, or (5) totally indifferent.
Here we go!
20th Century Landmarks
BT Telecom Tower (impossible to miss)
Canary Wharf skyline (impossible to miss)
The City of London’s skyline (impossible to miss)
H.M.S. Belfast (yes, cool; want to go back)
Leake Street Arches (yes, cool; want to go back)
London Eye (impossible to miss)
Abbeys, Cathedrals, Churches, etc.
Holy Trinity Church (Hastings) (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Notre Dame (yes, cool; want to go back)
Southwark Cathedral (London) (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
St. Mark’s Church (London) (totally indifferent)
Bridges
Golden Jubilee Bridge (impossible to miss)
Pont Royal (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Water Meeting Bridge (totally indifferent)
Historical Sites
America Ground (Hastings) (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Assemblée Nationale (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Dover House/Horse Guards Parade/Old Admiralty Building (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Gare du Nord (totally indifferent)
Grand Palais (yes, cool; want to go back)
Greenwich Market (totally indifferent)
Greenwich Pier/Cutty Sark (yes, cool; want to go back)
Les Invalides (yes, cool; want to go back)
Oxford University (totally indifferent)
Royal Pavillion (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
St. James’s Palace (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
St. Pancras International (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Monuments
Bela Bartok Statue (South Kensington, London) (totally indifferent)
Nelson’s Column (totally indifferent)
Women of World War II Monument (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Parks, Natural Landmarks, Squares
Old Royal Observatory Garden (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Primrose Hill (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Regent’s Canal (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
Regent’s Park (yes, cool; wanna go back)
River Avon (yes, cool; don’t need to go back)
River Thames (impossible to miss)
Seine (impossible to miss)
Shottery Fields (Stratford) (not cool, don’t need to go back)
St. James’s Park (yes cool, want to go back)