Welcome to the Shard - (the tourist experience now) - it all starts (and predictably finishes) in the gift shop, all very nice-
- extremely shortly thereafter it all gets terribly serious however, a zig-zag tape lined walk towards "Coats off, empty your pockets please", all your belongings are x rayed (exactly the same as at the airport - except you get to keep your shoes on), you pass through not only a metal detector, but also what I can only assume is a T-Ray scanner (large green screens in the middle, monolithic devices mounted on tripods pointing towards one (make sure you are wearing nice pants) -
- and then into the second of the queues, waiting for lift number one (takes you half way up) being told by the extremely empathic lady lift attendant that "It should be cool up there" (I rather hope they let her up there one day to find out)-
-then a very quick break at the 33rd floor to queue for another lift (honestly, they redefine "express", each trip (once you make it into a lift) is only around 25 seconds in length, climbing something in excess of two floors a second - Canary Wharf could learn something)...
Just a quick shot of the lift roof, which is made of TVs showing a crazy montage of dizzying images (I guess to prepare you for what is to come)...
...and then boom, you are out, just a breath of colder air to greet you as you step out of the lift, the windows on this reception level covered in litho (to prevent people stopping and staring until the proper time, I imagine)...up a short flight of stairs....and...WOW...
...thanks to my training living at extreme Z+ levels at Canary Wharf I didn't feel any irrational/rational(?) terror (did wonder if I would do)...walked around (snapping as quickly as I could, as the clouds were getting threatening)-
- and then spotted another flight of stairs.... ;)
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