Good food, good weather, favorite places.
I wrote yesterday about my lovely hike through Bois de Vincennes, in central Paris. We had arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon after a quick ride through the Channel Tunnel; only two and a half hours from London to Paris!
A lovely hike through Paris woodland.
As I sat over my tea and croissant in an unremarkable Paris boulangerie, looking out into the pre-dawn darkness, snow began to fall. Large, fluffy flakes quickly dusted the sidewalk. Traffic was light on this Saturday morning, although it was nearly 8am. Sunrise wasn’t due for nearly another hour, but I bundled up and headed out, across the street and into the Bois de Vincennes, a sprawling, forested park sometimes called the “lungs of Paris”. I was determined to continue my unbroken sequence of weekend hiking – today was my fifteenth consecutive weekend hike, now spanning five countries.
Random scenes – I just wanted to share.
In my wanders about the streets of London, and visits to its famous sights and museums, I photograph scenes that capture my eye or my imagination. Some just don’t justify a whole blog posting. So here are these random scenes, tidbits to tickle your fancy – below and in the gallery.
Continue reading “London miscellany”Favorite photos and videos.
Wow, 2025 was quite the year. With a dozen or more hikes in New Hampshire, and travels to Australia, England, Greenland, Iceland, New Zealand, Colorado, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and South Carolina, I had many opportunities for photography. Check out some of my favorite photos!
Last sunset of 2025!
I wanted to capture the last sunset of 2025 with an expansive view of London. So I climbed to the top of the famous dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, squeezing my way up the ever-narrower spiral staircases and internal alleyways until I reached the Golden Gallery that circles the spire on top of the dome. It was 3:30, so I had a half hour to wait for sunset. Today the sky was clear, but the cityscape was filled with a light haze. As the sun sank lower, and the other tourists snapped their selfies to my left and right, I realized the sunset would be perfectly aligned! Below is the view just before the sun disappeared into the southwestern clouds, seen right through the London Eye, past Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower), Westminster Abbey, and our flat in Pimlico. Neat!
The iconic castle, prison, royal residence, and home to the Crown Jewels.
No visit to London would be complete without a visit to the iconic Tower of London. Originally built in the 1070s by William the Conquerer, it was the first stone castle in England, and has been expanded and revised numerous times over nine hundred years. Today, it serves largely as a tourist attraction, and as secure storage for the Crown Jewels. We arrived early for our ticketed entrance time of 11am, and wound our way slowly inward following a queue of hundreds of other visitors. The Tower (really, several towers surrounded by concentric defensive walls and a moat, now dry) was decorated for Christmas and thronged with holiday visitors.
A sunny (but chilly) day for a hike through the countryside.
Today was a beautiful, sunny day, albeit a bit breezy and quite chilly. Nonetheless I was eager to get out for another long walk – my fourteenth consecutive weekend hike. I selected a route in the North Downs, outside the town of Guildford to the southwest of London. This week, the whole family came along. Despite extensive delays on the rail system, which has reduced service this week while crews leverage the holiday week for some maintenance work, we made a fine day of it.
London is beautifully decorated for the holiday.
London goes all-out for Christmas, with homes, stores, streets, and squares boasting elaborate decorations. The long nights encourage beautiful light displays, often including massive designs that are draped along major shopping streets. Throughout December I’ve snapped photos of some of my favorites – and even my full gallery of photos doesn’t begin to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the decorations across the city. Perhaps the most elaborate was produced by Anabel’s, an exclusive club on Berkeley Square, London. Its entire façade has been overlaid with an fantastical scene inspired by the Narnia stories.
Merry Christmas!
Preparing for the holiday in London.
Part of the joy of spending Christmas in London is the opportunity to explore the city as we prepare for the holiday. We began by attending a production of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It was a real treat to see one of my favorite stories, on stage, in the city where the story is set!
Beautiful weather, and light crowds, the day after winter solstice.
The ancient site of Stonehenge is one of those world-heritage sites that really must be on anyone’s life list. It’s only two hours from London, so I’ve been eager to visit. And, because it was designed with exquisite solar alignment to the winter and summer solstices, with winter solstice being (likely) the more significant date, I sought to arrange our visit for yesterday, the winter solstice.
My research quickly dispelled that notion. Stonehenge was anticipating thousands of people to show up for sunrise, many of whom would need to walk miles alongside the road (in the pre-dawn dark) from remote parking locations. All the tour operators were sold out, and would require departing London before 4am. I decided, instead, to book a private tour for the day after solstice. Wow, was that ever a good move!
David Kotz 