Wow! It is difficult to know where to start, after
many events in the last few week. Nothing of particular
importance happened in May and June, during which time
I (Paul) studied hard for the Masters degree exams,
whilst Valeria continued with her belly dance lessons
and day job. July 2nd though, saw the beginning of our
18 day summer trip and things then became eventful.
On Wednesday 6th July 2005, the decision was made as
to which place would win the 2012 Olympic games, and
Paris and London were the favourites. Trafalgar Square
in the centre of London was where thousands of people
gathered, with the pictures shown worldwide on TV. We
were in London anyway, so we headed down to the square.
Below (left) a picture an hour before the final decision
is made. Below (right), the crowd go crazy seconds after
London defeats Paris, NYC, Moscow and Madrid for the
Olympics. It was one of the most emotional events ever
being there. Many people had expected Paris to win,
thus, when the word 'London' was said, it made it all
the more emotional. Everyone went absolutely mad with
excitement at that moment, as hundreds of millions of
people worldwide focused on everyone in Trafalgar Square.
All
photos by Valeria Lo Iacono & Paul Symonds - 2005
Ten minutes after the announcement of London as the
victor for 2012, Tony Blair talked directly to the Trafalgar
Square crowd (see below left), talking live from the
G8 summit in Edinburgh. We were stood next to the front
stage and meters in front of us, Steve Cram (former
world mile record holder between 1985 and 1993) and
Kelly Holmes (800m and 1500m Gold medallist from the
2004 Greece Olympics) were stood nervously on stage
minutes before the decision (picture below right).
London was in a positive and exciting mood that evening,
and the photo below left, we took in Piccadilly Circus
that same evening. The following morning though, we awoke
to find out that minutes earlier four bombings had occurred
in Central London. The subway and bus systems were stopped
and Central London came to a standstill. Police sirens
sounded non-stop as ambulances etc went flying here there
and everywhere, as we went out walking around. The picture
below right, shows Victoria train station, with everyone
waiting outside the station, which at that time was cut
off for security reasons. Notice in the bottom right of
the photo, the two guys dragging their cases through the
street - the only way to get around with your luggage.
In the late afternoon the buses started again and we managed
to use a red London bus to take our bags down to Victoria,
from where we travelled to the airport for a flight to
Malta.
Two final pictures from London below.
On the left, a picture of myself in the Science Museum,
stood beside the famous Stephenson's Rocket' - one of
the first steam trains and built in 1829. Although popularly
considered to be the first steam locomotive, that feat
actually goes to Richard Trevithick 25 years earlier.
On the right a picture of the missiles from HMS Belfast,
a British warship which sits on the Thames River and is
now a tourist attraction. The ship is well worth visiting
if you have a chance. Once you get below decks the ship
has many fascinating things to see.
Just before visiting London, we spent
3 days visiting Brighton, on the South coast of England.
Brighton has to be one of the best cities in England for
living, with dozens of cafes, art galleries, small shops,
tonnes of great small pubs and an excellent boardwalk
which in the summertime, includes a beach volleyball court,
children's swim area, boules game area etc. Why go abroad
when there is the delight of the British seaside resorts
to enjoy. (It was real windy and a jacket was required).
Below left a picture of Valeria having just won three
cuddly toys on different games on the pier. Valeria says
she rarely wins anything but Brighton bucked that trend.
Below right, a picture of the Royal Pavilions, a building
which King George IV lived in until 1827.
Below another two pictures of
Brighton, and an insight into the British psyche. In
the large photo below, there are many signs of British
life with
- A guy wearing a white cricket top
- A sign in the top left of the picture saying 'English
coffee shop' (although tea shop would be perhaps more
British).
- An English pub in the background (see the Sussex Pub)
- Many locals and tourists enjoying a few pints and
cream teas in the open air
- A Kookai shop. An example of the cloning of high street
shops which are now found in every British city.
- In the picture on the right, a street entertainer
walks a tightrope whilst simultaneously playing the
violin.
We had never expected to like Brighton so much. It is
well worth visiting in the summer months.
After Brighton
and London, on the way to Sicily, we stopped off in Malta.
(Malta incidentally, is a few miles South of Sicily).
We had been warned how small Malta is. It is real small
and I think it must be one of the smallest countries in
the world, if not the smallest. You can drive around the
whole country in one day, if you get up early enough.
The other thing about Malta and which surprised us a lot,
is that it is so damned expensive. Despite the GDP being
only €8000 a year and with wages at a third of those
in the UK, the food and many other things were more expensive
than when we were in London. The
two pictures below, were taken in Sliema in Malta, an
area which we found to be the nicest in the country. Scenically,
Malta is very beautiful.
The last picture is our funny for
the month. This is a picture showing an English
beach (Brighton) in the middle of the English summer.
Notice that despite being July, everyone is still
fully clothed on the beach because of the cold wind.
Even the lady taking a shower on the beach is fully
clothed.
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