My last day in London – with Hairy Goat

The Shard, Europe’s tallest building.

I’ve been meaning to throw up a couple pictures from my last day in London –it’s only been three weeks. I don’t really have a good excuse other than the fact that work has been keeping me extremely busy, and when I’ve left work, I’ve been feeling exceptionally lazy most of the time.

The building in the reflection is the Lloyd’s Bank Building

Even over Easter.

This is the gherkin, at its base. One of my favorite buildings.

That said my last morning in London was excellent. I’d signed up for Harry Goat’s London Photography Mystery Tour, which started at the Bank tube station and then involved a 3-hour walking tour around the City of London.

The red-coated doorman at the Lloyd’s Bank Building has his own glass booth.

This was perfect for my needs – I had a leisurely breakfast, left my suitcase with the concierge, and then took a tour where somebody slowing the group down in order to take photos wasn’t a problem.

Is it brick or is it carpet. The tour guide was sure that it was brick, but I’m not so sure when looking at my photo.

Actually, the tour was fantastic – there were only two of us on the tour, plus the guide, which mean that we could go at whatever pace we desired. Our guide (whose name I’ve forgotten three weeks later), was friendly, knowledgeable, and interesting to talk to. I ended up seeing parts of London that I’d never seen before, wandering through alleyways that had I not had a guide with me either would never have ventured down or never have noticed in the first place. London is filled with tiny “streets” that look more like private walks than public passage.

The City of London’s emblem!

Given that I’ll be back in London in a few short months, Hairy Goat is on my short list of activities on that trip. They offer a tour of London at night – and I’m thinking it would be fun to bring along my tripod and join a group.

I have no idea what “man riding” is in this context, but I’m disappointed that it is banned.