Friday, November 7, 2025

Nov. 7th - London: street market, Tate Modern and full moon

L O N D O N   B R I D G E


Although the London Bridge is famous, it's not the most popular bridge in London. I feel like it gets confused with the Tower Bridge, a lot.  Still, the neighbourhood around it is very vibrant and worth a visit. 


FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge

The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old stone-built medieval structure. In addition to the roadway, for much of its history, the broad medieval bridge supported an extensive built up area of homes and businesses, part of the City's Bridge ward, and its southern end in Southwark was guarded by a large stone City gateway. The medieval bridge was preceded by a succession of timber bridges, the first of which was built by the Roman founders of London (Londinium) around AD 50.


Being around the water is always a good choice.


There she is! 
The Tower Bridge is the next bridge over, so visiting the London Bridge gives you the opportunity of photographing one of London's most iconic post cards from a nice angle.


The Shard Building

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shard#:~:text=The%20Shard%2C%20also%20referred%20to,of%20The%20Shard%20Quarter%20development.

The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey mixed-use development supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in SouthwarkLondon, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development. Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 feet) high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom; the seventh-tallest building in Europe; the second-tallest outside Russia behind the Varso Tower in Warsaw, which beats the Shard by less than half a metre, and the 203rd tallest building in the world. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in 1975.

The Shard's construction began in March 2009; it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012. Practical completion was achieved in November 2012. The tower's privately operated observation deck, The View from The Shard, was opened to the public on 1 February 2013. The glass-clad pyramidal tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor, at a height of 244 metres (801 ft). The Shard was developed by Sellar Property Group on behalf of LBQ Ltd and is jointly owned by Sellar Property (5%) and the State of Qatar (95%).


Tower Bridge

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge

Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined basculesuspension, and, until 1960, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and is one of five London bridges owned and maintained by the City Bridge Foundation, a charitable trust founded in 1282.




Southwark Cathedral

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwark_Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwark, London, near the south bank of the River Thames and close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Southwark. It has been a place of Christian worship for more than 1,000 years, but the church was not raised to cathedral status until the creation of the diocese of Southwark in 1905.


B O R O U G H      M A R K E T

I discovered this street market by accident, just walking into a tunnel, out of curiosity. And what a fun place! The Borough Market is huge with dozens of street food vendors of all types. It's a great place to just walk around and to gain a lot of pounds!
I spent hours in there!

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borough_Market

Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built in the 1850s, and today the market mainly sells speciality foods to the general public.

Ok, here are some exemples of the kind of delicious food you can find here. 
German cakes and pastries... I got a cheese cake I used to eat as a child in Blumenau, a German city close to where I grew up. 


... this delicious super crispy chips. 
I had a sample from these super friendly gentlemen!


... strawberries covered in chocolate from a chocolate fountain.


... Scotch eggs, which I believe is something similar to what I used to eat as a child too.
Who knows???


...all kinds of French cheeses.


...Spanish Paella. It must be good, because the line up was long.


... and the traditional English Fish & Chips.
Apparently, this one is the winner of the National Fish & Chip Awards! 
That explains the constant line up as well.


Like a little girl in a candy store!


Fish & Chips picnic with friend Renato, Marcio and Maria Paula, who joined me later for a late lunch. Great food and even better company!


T A T E     M O D E R N    G A L L E R Y


After a few detours, I finally arrived at my goal destination for today: the Tate Modern Gallery. 



The information worker suggested that I started in the 10th floor, where the cafe is, so I could have a view of the city. The balcony was closed, but it was still beautiful to have this aerial view of south London from up there. 


FROM WIKIPEDIA: TATE MODERN

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tate_Modern#:~:text=Tate%20Modern%20is%20an%20art,art%20museum%20in%20the%20world.

Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate BritainTate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is located in the former Bankside Power Station, in the Bankside area of the London Borough of Southwark.

Tate Modern is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the world. As with the UK's other national galleries and museums, there is no admission charge for access to the collection displays, which take up the majority of the gallery space, whereas tickets must be purchased for the major temporary exhibitions.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the museum was closed for 173 days in 2020, and attendance plunged by 77 per cent to 1,432,991. However, it recovered strongly in 2022, with 3,883,160 visitors, making it the third most visited in Britain and the fourth-most visited art museum in the world.


T H E     A R T


The art was very eclectic and international.

Artist: Richard Long (England)


Artist: John Tunnard (England)


Artist: Hamed Abdalla (Egypt)
Art: Lost or Escaped




Artist: Joseph Koudelka (Czech Republic)




Mike's favourite: Mondrian

Artist: Piet Mondrian (Netherlands)
Art: Composition C (No III with Red, Yellow and Blue 1935)


Artist: Guerrilla Girls  (USA)

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_Girls

Guerrilla Girls is an anonymous group of feminist, female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world. The group formed in New York City in 1985, born out of a picket against the Museum of Modern Art the previous year. The core of the group's work is bringing gender and racial inequality into focus within the greater arts community and society at large. The Guerrilla Girls employ culture jamming in the form of posters, books, billboards, lectures, interviews, public appearances and internet interventions to expose disparities, discrimination, and corruption (the latter includes conflicts of interest within museums). They also often use humor in their work to make their serious messages engaging. The Guerrilla Girls are known for their "guerrilla" tactics, hence their name, such as hanging up posters or staging surprise exhibitions. To remain anonymous, members don gorilla masks. To permit individual identities in interviews, they use pseudonyms that refer to deceased female artists such as Frida KahloKäthe Kollwitz, and Alice Neel, as well as writers and activists, such as Gertrude Stein and Harriet Tubman. According to GG1, identities are concealed because issues matter more than individual identities, "Mainly, we wanted the focus to be on the issues, not on our personalities or our own work."



Artist: Wang Guangyi (China)
Art: Great Criticism - Pop 1992



Art and religion room





Artist: Marcel Duchamp (France)
Art: Fountain 1917, Replica 1964 



Artist: Nalini Malani (India)
Installation that creates a tribute to women's lives forgotten through history. 


Artist: Simone Leigh (USA)


Artist: Daniel Spoerri (Romenia)
Art: Prose Poems



Artist: Romare Bearden (USA)
Art: Misteries - 1964 


Artist: Maret Anne Sara (Norway)

Máret Ánne Sara (born 23 December 1983) is a Sámi-Norwegian artist and author. Her work explores political and ecological issues affecting the Sámi and Indigenous communities of northern Norway.

Máret Ánne Sara's installation features sculptures, including the monumental column Goavve and the maze-like structure Geabbil, which are constructed from reindeer hides and other animal parts. These materials are used as a tribute to the reindeer, honoring their lives and spirits while also serving as a commentary on the impact of climate change and colonial practices on traditional Sámi reindeer herding. The work incorporates elements like wooden poles with carved earmarks, bones, and electrical cables, and is accompanied by a soundscape featuring environmental recordings and Sámi music. 

F U L L    M O O N


My 10 minute walk to the subway station was the most pleasant one, but it ended up being much longer because I stoped many times to admire this natural beauty! The full moon was absolutely astonishing and brightened up the Thames River... and my heart!


I was there! :)


The largest full moon of 2025.
(even much more impressive in person)



With this magical evening I say "goodbye, London!"
You have been awesome to me since 1997 and has never disappointed me!
I hope to see you again soon!

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