Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year 2015!


Happy 2015!  We took Tim with us to see the London fireworks last night.  This year the City of London made the decision to ticket the event to better control the ever-increasing crowds.  Unsurprisingly, everything was under control and orderly despite the sheer number of people out celebrating.

We arrived at the viewing area by 9:30 and then braced ourselves for the long wait until midnight.  Luckily, the weather was fairly mild and no rain.  There wasn't room to sit down, so we stood up and talked (or in Ryan's case, played games on Garett's iPhone).  The only entertainment was a DJ and music.  Tim thinks they should add a few live acts next year and charge more to get in.

Below are some pictures I snapped during the evening.  I didn't take any pictures of the grand finale, which was absolutely amazing.  It was great to experience it in the moment instead of through a lens.  If you get a chance, Google the BBC recoding of the fireworks.  It's about 10-15 minutes in total.

After Auld Lang Syne, we high-tailed it out of the gated area and started heading north.  Most of the tube stations in the area were either closed or too crowded, so we wound our way through St. James' Park, past Buckingham Palace and through Green Park. We walked close to 2 miles through the scenic parts of London before we caught a bus home.  All of the streets in central London were closed, so we joined the masses of people walking down the middle of the roads.

It was also our 20th wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve, so I couldn't resist adding a picture from our big night out, as well as a couple of pictures from Christmas.

Happy New Year!

Shelly


Ryan, Tim and Garett at the starting point - we had to pass through several checkpoints to get into the viewing area for the fireworks


The final entry gate where our tickets were scanned


We made it!  Now the waiting begins...


Our vantage point was great!


3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!


I'm not the only one using a smart phone to record the fireworks


Everything was choreographed to music, but sometimes the noise made it hard to hear the music


You'll have to trust me when I tell you that it was spectacular in person


Shelly, Garett and Ryan after the fireworks - it's not often that we have the chance to take a photo in front of Buckingham Palace after midnight


Garett and Shelly before our anniversary dinner at River Cafe


Ryan in a rare moment without a Minecraft t-shirt


Christmas dinner at our place


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