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Welcome to the world of the Vincent D'Onofrio obsessed - and a bit of real life thrown in.


Friday, February 23, 2007

Landmarks

Seeing JoJo's post of the Golden Gate Bridge - a structure I could never be persuaded to go on - I thought I'd share some local no-nos with you.

This is the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge which crosses the Thames at Dartford near London. You cross from south to north via the Dartford Tunnels (I hate tunnels) and you come back via this very long, high bridge (I hate heights). It looks stunning from a distance. That's where I prefer to keep it, but I can't always manage to.



The Millennium Bridge was at first known as The Wobbly Bridge, because when they opened it, the stomp of feet made it sway. It had to be closed and strengthened. It is a pedestrian bridge, and was supposed to look like a flash of light across the Thames from St Paul's Cathedral to the Tate Modern art gallery (in an adapted disused Art Deco power station). I didn't think I'd be able to cross it, but I did.


Ah, the famous white elephant, the Millennium Dome. Millions of pounds of our lottery funds and government subsidies got it finished in time for the millennium celebrations. It was open for a year, with a variety of exhibits inside, and it lost millions more. Since then, a large number of projects have failed to materialise, and it has remained closed. It was sold for 1 penny, just so it wouldn't cost us any more, but we'll never get our money back. I refused to go there for any reason, and although I frequently drive quite close by (it's only about 3 miles from my house) I've never even been up close.

8 comments:

Claire said...

Your photos make me want to take a trip across the pond! I went to London only once when I was a teenager and I loved it there.

Jane said...

I get scared just looking at those pictures....I Hate Bridges!

l'oreal said...

jojo's post (and yours) is so beautiful. i loved the golden gate bridge. it was amazing to walk. the queen elizabeth bridge is beautiful as well. bridges in and of itself are just beautiful!

im a sucker for sight seeing

Anonymous said...

Ah the Millenium Hedgehog - another vanity project that fell flat on it's face and cost us a fortune in the process. Bitter and twisted? Moi?? Nice pix tho' Val ;0)

Anonymous said...

julie....

sweet photos and editorial on each of them, Val. I love the look of all of it. I am gonna fer sure pop over for a day from Brussels and check out London.

Eliza said...

Lovely photo's Val,but just looking at those bridges makes me glad my feet are firmly planted on the ground :-)

My daughter went to the Dome with school,but we never got there,always seemed like a waste of money to me.Unfortunately it seems I was right.

Eliza xxxxx

Nezumi said...

Great pictures Val. You bettter not come to my hometown than. It lies on an island surrounded by rivers. You only can come here by bridge, tunnel, or by water taxi (ferryboat). :o)

JoJo said...

Awesome pics Val - did you shoot them? You wouldn't even drive over any of the Bridges? As long as there is a guardrail, I'm OK walking and driving on Bridges.

If you ever get out to the USA, don't go near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - it's a 17 mile long bridge with 2 tunnels under Chesapeake Bay in Virginia for the shipping lanes!!!

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