After almost three years, I visited for the second time the city of London. This trip was scheduled in order to experience one of the most historic live performances of all time, the one and only Monty Python performing live (mostly) for their last time at the O2 arena, after nearly 35 years since their last live appearance at the Hollywood Bowl back in 1980.
Τhis is more of a personal blog post-photo story, containing photos of these four days in London and special captures of the Monty Python show. Enjoy and share if you like it!
Arrived at the Stansted airport, on our way to find our bus to central London. A sci-fi like station made of concrete and metal. Could not resist.
First stop at Stratford. Lucky enough, our airport bus passed by one of my listed destinations for this trip. This is the Cart and Horses pub which is famous due to its connection with the British band Iron Maiden, as their "birthplace". In the spring of 1976, the band secured a residency at The Cart and Horses pub and had a couple of gigs there. The place is full of Iron Maiden memorabilia and there is still the small stage they played back then. A unique experience for every Maiden fan.
Our hotel was located near the Shepherd's Bush station. Very close to it was the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, a very famous music venue originally built in 1903.
The walking marathon has already begun and while waiting for the tube in Notting Hill station I took this picture.
Magic hour and we are heading to the center of London, near River Thames and the City of Westminster.
A carousel on the road draws my attention. Childhood memories and thriller movies combined.
Some boys doing skateboard at the streets of city center.
A landscape view of London. For some reason I had in mind the cover of the "Animals" album from Pink Floyd.
Capturing the London Eye (also known as the Millennium Wheel) from a different point of view.
Inside the British Museum, there is a space called "The Great Court", with great architectural design and natural lighting.
Crossing one more bridge on River Thames.
A different perspective.
The recently restored Painted Hall is located at the Old Royal Naval College of Greenwich. Full of great paintings.
The massive painting inside the building dome, made by Sir James Thornhill, took him almost 19 years to complete.
The Southwark Cathedral, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It was funny that I only had once shot to take, because after this, I had to "help" the cathedral with 2 pounds per shot...
Picture taken near the Parliament Square. A painter, a man looking at his smartphone and the "not" visible statue of George Canning above everyone. I had a "Canning" plan...
The Peter Harrison Planetarium.
Picture taken at the Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College of Greenwich. Great combination of natural and artificial lighting.
And now for something completely different...
And here we are, ready to witness a historic moment. To see live, the most important comedy group of the pop culture, Monty Python. Performing for their last time on the 20th of July 2014 at the O2 arena. I never imagined that these British legends would ever hit the stage again, but dreams sometimes come true. The venue is very well organized, easy to reach, and it was full of Gumbys and lumberjacks waiting to see the show. First stop at the merchandise shop and off we go.
The show was supposed to be broadcast live all over the world at cinemas, cable TV etc. So, at 19:30 exactly it began. All the classics were there. The stage was huge, and the five remaining Pythons were amazingly good. It was impressive how quick were the changes, reminding me the BBC series, mixed with songs, video projections and a bit of a musical taste.
To conclude this post, I would just like to say that watching these legends performing their historic comedy sketches was a lifetime experience. There were some tribute moments for the missing Python Graham Chapman and that is the reason the show was titled full of sarcasm "One Down, Five To Go".
All of the footage is published just for this personal blog and please do not copy or reproduce any of the images for commercial reasons. Support the silliness by visiting the official website of Monty Python and wait for the release of the show on Blu-Ray coming soon.