10.12.07

Christmas across London

I love the Christmas decorations this year in the city. In years past it seems like they haven't put much thought into them, but this year its different. This year its been fantastic and it really sets the mood for the whole holiday season. Here are a few shots from the city:


Trafalgar Square

If you click on the picture to enlarge you can see the details and the twinkly lights of the tree better. The tree in Trafalgar Square is a gift given by Norway every year as a thank you for England's help in WWII. The views are great here at night when the fountains are lit up and you can see Big Ben in the background.



Setting up in Greenwich Market

I live about 10 minutes away from this market and although this picture doesn't do it justice, the decorations are beautiful this year. Greenwich Market is fabulous for buying artisan goods of everything you can imagine- particularly beautiful hand made bags. The stall directly to the right is selling mulled wine and apple cider, traditional English drinks for the holiday season.


Covent Garden
Covent Garden is absolutely beautiful this year. All the lights are decorated with icicles and it looks like a winter wonderland. Covent Garden dates back to the 1600's and was generally a place where people sold things. It became famous for its flower sellers and was the inspiration for Eliza Doolittle in My fair Lady. It is also well known for the street puppetry of 'Punch and Judy'. Today it is full of musicians who perform, great shops, open stalls, great food and street performers of all sorts. Two of my favorite places of the market include a vintage toy shop called Pollock's and of course the Royal Opera House which is right in the main square. You can never go wrong with a day at Covent Garden and I personally find it a lot more manageable shopping here than some of the busier places like Oxford Street or Bond Street.

4 comments:

Michelle said...

christine, i loved these pictures. peter and i just watched a special on pbs, "rick steves' european christmas." don't know if you've heard of him or not, but he travels all over europe and does shows on his travels. anyway, i LOVED watching this christmas special. he highlighted christmas traditions in seven different cultures across europe. i loved watching and seeing how simply christmas is celebrated in europe as opposed to the US, where everything continues to be super-sized in every way. so thank you for being a little connection for me to that simple world that i long for every now and again!

Anonymous said...

Ya, have heard of Rick Steves. Christmas in Europe is wonderful. Most of the great holiday traditions that we've all grown to love come from here. Although I miss Christmas in America, I wouldn't trade my experiences here for the world!

sherrie said...

covent garden looks awesome. i could spend all day there i'm sure. looks like i'm not the only one watching rick steve's christmas show! hehehe

Jess said...

hehe...Shad and I watch Rick Steves too, but not the Christmas Special yet. I like the Covent Garden pic too. It almost looks like they use fiber optics. It makes me want to go there so bad! I would just love to visit the Royal Opera House toO!