We loved the journey towards Paddington Basin
...expensive modern apartments glaring across the canal at
squalid, Victorian houses glaring back at them
...a tidier character
...then a rather bohemian feel
Little Venice
Our approach to the Basin was crowded with boats
It was very odd to pass an entrance to
Paddington underground station just a few metres from the water.
And then the canal turned a bend and we faced
a remarkable skyline that frames the basin itself
...the very last remaining space against a pontoon
...beautiful with the lights of surrounding buildings, bright against the darkness
The street where Elaine had shared a flat
It was a fascinating, photogenic walk
...lunch in the Waterside Café in Little Venice
Towering office buildings and apartment blocks, sweeping curves,
acres of glass, and imaginative open spaces between and amongst them.
We left the basin at 9:00 on the second morning
...turning right onto the Regent's Canal, through the Maida Hill Tunnel,
and on into the Regent's Park
The mansions and mansion flats along this stretch are amazing
Our view of London Zoo
...an enclosure of some white, unidentified birds
And the Mandarin Ducks swimming alongside the boat
were far more interesting than them
the fascinating Feng Shang Princess floating pagoda restaurant
...we moved on through Hoxton, Haggerston,
Bethnal Green and South Hackney
Camden Lock, famous, iconic even, and a popular
venue for visitors and hangout for locals
...made our way down the 5 lock/mile stretch
towards Limehouse and the Thames
cylindrical blocks of flats were being built
inside the framework which used to support gasometers
a group of four Hasidic Jewish rabbis
Limehouse Basin
...moored up against a high wall alongside a handsome old yacht
complete with naked female figurehead
...we could watch boats coming and going
Lock from Limehouse onto the Thames
We walked alongside the Thames. It was awesome.
And then at night - wow!
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