London #1 -Information and Curiosity

THE SHARD
After 430 million of £ spent and 72 floors, The Shard is the third tallest skyscraper in Europe with 310 meters high. Its 44 lifts are travelling 6 metres for second and the 95% of this skyscraper is made of recycled material.

LONDON EYE
Seven years and 75 million of £. It was born with the name of Millenium Wheel and on 2011 became London Eye. There are 33 capsule, due a bad luck beliefs the thirteenth (13) is missing.
In a sunny day you can see up to 40 km (like the Windsor Castle)

THE TUBE
Inaugurated in 1863, It was used as a shelter during Second World Wars.
In 150 years three children were born in the underground.
From the TFL web page we know that : is made of 402km length tracks, the annual passenger numbers is 1.32 bilion, 33 Kph is the average trains speed, Angel is the station with the longest escalator and the longest journey is from Epping to West Ruislip (54.9 KM).

HARRODS
With his 8 floor and 300 departments , is the most famous warehouse in all London.

The interiors are inspired by Ancient Egypt, because in 1985 Mohammed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian entrepreneur, took over the warehouse, paying him 300 million pounds (selling it only in 2010 to Qatar Holding for 1.5 billion pounds).

The exterior is illuminated by 11,300 always on light bulbs and there are 10 doors for entry. On the ground floor there is a statue reminiscent of Dodi Al-Fayed, son of Mohammed, and Lady Diana, both victims of the same accident.

ST. PAUL CATHEDRAL and MILLENNIUM BRIDGE
St Paul was the first Protestant cathedral in the world.
It appears as a background in the film Mary Poppins.

The Millennium Bridge
Opened to the public on 10 June 2000, but closes 2 days later due unexpected vibrations produced by the large number of people.
After 8 month of improvement the bridge was fixed and now working perfectly.