My original plan was a day trip to London to watch the Tour de France (point 10 in my before I'm 40 list) and while I was waiting for Froome and Co to zoom past - I had time to cross off one of my TV/Travel bucket list too- 24: Live Another Day. Most of the filming was around Trafalgar Square and the Mall which was the end of stage 3 of the 2014 tour. I killed two oiseasu with one pierre!
The stage 3 finish line was half way up the Mall and along
with the line there was the organizers, sponsors, TV crews, bike teams, a lot of
security and every car had a French number plate, this meant road and path
closures. Around 11am the crowd was scattered around the Mall, but the foreign
tourists were more interested in Buckingham Palace than finding a viewing spot
of the route.
Before I found my spot I decided to run around London in
Bauer style to find the 24 locations with help from wikia.com. (http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Live_Another_Day_filming_locations
)
First Bauer site was along Pall Mall for two locations:
DAMMIT 1! I couldn’t
get to Carlton Gardens where the outside scenes of the US Embassy were filmed,
as the nearby roads were closed off for Le Tour. I couldn’t get to the front of
the Athenaeum Club on Waterloo Place either. Outside the Athenaeum Club was where Kate met with Jack to start their
bid to save London and where Jack and President Heller escaped the Secret
Service for their trip to Wembley Stadium. It was also where Belcheck dropped
the President off after their trip.
Athenaeum Club
I headed up to Trafalgar Square and took a detour to the Two
Chairman Pub on Warwick House Street, just off Cockspur Street. Here is where Chloe
O'Brian blows off Jack and goes off with Adrian.
Trafalgar Square was full of cycling fans (Nelson would be
turning in his grave the amount of French around his Column), and this was
where Simone Al-Harazi was hit by a bus.
Trafalgar Square
Across the Square and along Duncannon Street to Charing
Cross station and the station exit by Pizza Express where Jack ran out when chasing
Simone Al-Harazi.
The next 5 hours I sat near Buckingham Palace waiting for
cyclists to zoom past in the rain. With the French commentary coming out of the speakers along the route and the carnival of mainly French companies passing by a few hours before the riders, I did have to look at Buckingham Palace behind me a few times to remind me that I was actually in England not France.
bikes to quick for a photo
Waterloo Station
where the 'missile' hit
I hope Le Tour comes back to England soon or maybe I will get to watch it actually in France. There was an amazing atmosphere similar to London 2012, so it wasn't a bad day like Jack always experiences but I do have
a few more dammits:
DAMMIT 2! I was
nowhere near the Gillette Building in West London, where most of the inside
scenes were shot.
DAMMIT 3! No time to get to Liverpool street station where
Steve Navarro was caught by Jack.
DAMMIT 4! No time
but already been to Wembley Stadium back in 2012 and last year to Camden Lock –
Jordon Reed RIP & past the East London mosque, Whitechapel which is in the
opening scenes of episode 1 we stayed in the Ibis budget hotel next door
(England through the eyes of a Frenchman – London part 1).
I should get on with completing my 40 things to do before I'm 40 list but I'm sure another weekend of watching another 24 box set won't hurt.
