2003: I Will NEVER Go On The London Eye!

2023: I went on the London Eye.  

Never say never again.

In 1999, the London Eye opened.  In 2003, when the Bolger Five were visiting London, I turned down entreaties from my daughters to do the London Eye.  I viewed as a newcomer gimmick that, since it didn't exist in 1983, much less in 1683, it couldn't be worth visiting.

(Also, to be fair to me, the prices were outrageous, especially for a family of five!).  This time, I allowed to Carol that maybe we could do the London Eye, a decision I came to on June 6th after we got to London.  This second day was June 7th, so I shifted attitudes pretty quickly.

There was a long line, so we paid even more money for the Fast Past (but only for two people, sorry daughters!).  We essentially walked right on (there was a brief line, but nothing of note at all).

They hustle as many people onto each car as they can (except for some left empty?).  So in the pell mell rush to get on, I made it but the doors shut on Carol before she could get on.  Still jet-lagged, I became quite cranky with the workers loading the cattle cars, gesturing with thumbs-down (thankfully I used the thumb in a downward motion, rather than a different finger in a straight-up fashion).

Well, they halted the Eye (which is essentially a massive Ferris wheel) and backed it up so Carol could get in the same car as I was in.  I was a bit demonstrative before they reversed it and let her on, so I'm not sure whether she actually WANTED to be in the same car as me.  I'm not a dummy, so I'm not going to ask her in case I get the answer I don't want.

Anyhow, the Eye takes a half hour to do one rotation (speed is not of the essence).  At first everyone grabs their location to stand, with the views of Parliament/Big Ben being the prized spot to stand.  After a bit, however, people move around, so we got great views of everything.  In the beginning, our view was directly at St. Paul's Cathedral.  While the Cathedral was hit 28 times in one night of Nazi bombing that tried to destroy it, the Dome was impervious.

The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral stands 

resolute  as fire raged around it on

 December 29, 1940.  It is a prize-winning,

iconic photo.  This may be a surprise to people,

 but I was not alive to take this photo. It

was taken by Herbert Mason of the

Daily Mail.

By the time we got around to the top of the Eye, we had expansive views of London and the Thames, with St. Paul's and Parliament/Big Ben being the highlights.

Part of the infrastructure

of the Eye.  You can see

the cars of the Eye across

the photo.

A level view of Big Ben.

A beautiful view of Parliament, with

St. Margaret's church and part of

Westminster Abbey as well.

All three -- Big Ben, St. Margaret's Church,

and much of Westminster Abbey. 

St. Paul's Cathedral.

Sorry if this is too many photos of

Big Ben/Westminster Abbey, but

I love this photo, so here it is. 

Took this shot after getting off the

Eye, but I thought the random

tree branches/Parliament was

an interesting photo.  I might

be wrong though.

An eye's view of the Eye.

I'm glad I did the London Eye.  But I'll never need to do it again.