We only
had 2 1/2 days to pack all our sight seeing of London into.Lucas’ Dad Jeff is very knowledgeable on the history of London. Therefore he sent
us an informative email about all the major sites and gave us a brief background
on them along with where they were located and how to get there. Thanks to him
I had a very thought out plan on what we were to see each day. J
Although I planned for us to be a little more ambitious than we were and we just
didn’t get to see everything we wanted. We
rented a “cheap” room in an apartment right by Victoria Station which is a huge
tube and bus station centrally located. It was about 4:00p.m. Tuesday by the
time we got all settled and hit the streets. We first had dinner at a
restaurant boasting Great Britain Food!! The food was good enough but not
spectacular. We later learned all the restaurants that say Great Britain Food
on the front are part of a large chain with the same menu. After fueling
ourselves we headed straight to see BuckinghamPalace. It was closed by
the time we arrived so we didn’t have the option to go inside. We took some
excellent pictures and moved on. A few blocks away we located Westminster Abbey
and the famous clock Big Ben. Again, both closed so we took pictures and continued
on our way. Next we saw The London Eye which is a giant Ferris wheel, maybe the
biggest? I can’t remember. We looked from across the river and agreed we would
come back another day to ride it. We then walked a few more blocks to Trafalgar Square
where there was a huge monument called Nelson's Column. Also in the square is the National
Gallery, of course closed as it was now getting pretty late. Our feet were
starting to get sore so we started back in the direction of our room. We hit
the sheets early with our next jam packed day ahead of us.
We set out early and took the tube to The Tower of London, which
isn’t a tower at all. It’s an old castle that they called The Tower because at
that time it was the tallest and largest building in London. You have to pay to get in, but then
you have the option to take a free guided tour. Our tour guide was awesome! I
over heard someone say that they’ve been on many tours there and this guy in
particular was obsessed with all the gory things that have happened in the
castle. We enjoyed all the stories very much. We got to see right where many
famous people were beheaded then buried. He also told us in great detail why
they were beheaded. We got to hear about a beheading that went badly because
the axmen was a drunk. He kept missing the guy’s neck so it took him 8 blows to
finally sever his head. They then do something to the head to preserve it and
so the crows won’t eat it and put it on a spike on top of the LondonBridge for all who enter London to see what happens to traitors. Isn’t
that fantastic!? Just think what society would be like today if we just chopped
everyone’s heads off. I bet we wouldn’t have so much debt. We ended up spending
a lot more time there than planned. We saw the Queens Jewels which were inside,
along with old armor and swords and things. We got to walk the castle walls
where the guards used to keep watch for anyone attacking the castle. Both Lucas
and I agreed The Tower of London is one of our favorite places we visited in London. After leaving
there we walked in the direction of the GreatFireMonument where they mark where the fire
started in 1666 that burned the whole city down. That was basically just a
large tower that you could walk up to the top. We weren’t feeling that
enthusiastic at the time so we moved on down to road a few blocks to St. Peters
Cathedral. I guess it’s one of the largest cathedrals in the world. It was
quite huge. They charged a pretty penny to get in so we didn’t go inside. If we
went inside everything we wanted we would be out of money and flying home
tomorrow! I can’t believe what they can get away with charging for these
things! After the Cathedral we took the tube back to our room to take a quick
nap and get cleaned up to have a nice dinner out.
The clock Big Ben on the right. I forgot the name of the bridge
Our last day to tour we got up early to figure out our train
situation for getting to our farm the following day. Then set off back to the BuckinghamPalace to see the changing of the
Guards. We weren’t aware that the Queen was going to be there so it was a mad
house! We couldn’t see any of the guard changing ceremony although we did get
to see the Queen! The masses of people were a big bummer so we hopped on the
tube to head out to the Camden
markets. This was something I read about and really wanted to do. We parked
Lucas at a Local Pub so I could go out and shop the markets on my own. That
took us right up to dinner time where we just grabbed something cheap in the
market and headed back to our room to rest our feet a minute. Lastly we decided
to squeeze in a ride on the Eye of London. It was a perfect blue sky day and we
were on it for the sunset. We couldn’t have planned it better!
Our three days in London
were exhausting, but we loved every minute of it! We didn’t get to see nearly
everything we wanted but both agreed we would like to go back again sometime in
our lives. It’s a great city with much to see and full of friendly people.
WOW! What great adventures, I am so jealous. London is one place I wish to go someday. I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for writing to us and keeping us up on your travels-I look forward to your next post...Sherry
Mike & I took Vance there in mid-June as a graduation/congrats on getting a real job gift. Mike had to work a lot, so Vance and I walked all over. Sounds like we did many of the same things. Riding on the London Eye was nice as you really got a great view of London. The tube system is nice. We had one a block from our hotel that Vance & I used to take to the Olympic Village and to Hyde Park. We had a great time. Sounds like you did too. Dee
WOW! What great adventures, I am so jealous. London is one place I wish to go someday. I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for writing to us and keeping us up on your travels-I look forward to your next post...Sherry
ReplyDeleteMike & I took Vance there in mid-June as a graduation/congrats on getting a real job gift. Mike had to work a lot, so Vance and I walked all over. Sounds like we did many of the same things. Riding on the London Eye was nice as you really got a great view of London. The tube system is nice. We had one a block from our hotel that Vance & I used to take to the Olympic Village and to Hyde Park. We had a great time. Sounds like you did too. Dee
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