London! Oh how I love this city. I visited with my Dad for a week after I graduated high school and immediately fell in love, so I was thrilled to be able to share the city with Evan seven years later.
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| Oxford Circus- lots of high end shops, and LOTS of people! |
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| The Royal Guard house |
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| We were actually in the middle of an argument when we took this photo...traveling isn't always sunshine and unicorns, folks! |
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| Big Ben and Parliament |
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| Tralfagar Square (I think) |
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| Westminster Abbey |
Westminster Abbey was actually closed one of the days we were in town. We think members of the Royal Family and government may have been present, as it was the day after one of the victims of the terrorist attack (a car driving into a crowd, and the man stabbing bystanders) two weeks prior had passed away. There were police everywhere, and the roads and entrances were either closed off or heavily monitored.
The Churchill War Rooms were phenomenal, deeply explaining the lifestyle of Winston Churchill and his cabinet during WWII.
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| The Cabinet War Room, where Churchill and his Cabinet met |
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| Map room, where members updated status of troops across the world |
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| The map anticipating new borders across the previously Nazi-occupied Europe |
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| English propaganda posters |
The three days we spent in London were uncharacteristically sunny and warm, so we used it as an excuse to cross all the bridges, and walk over 20,000 steps per day (according to my watch)!
In front of the Tower of London. We didn't go inside because it costs about $35 per person, and I had already seen it when I visited with my dad. The inside is amazing and a good time, but it wasn't what Evan and I were interested in at the time.
One afternoon we made our way through Kensington Park and Hyde Park, which can be considered the equivalent of NYC's Central Park. We walked three miles through those parks after who knows how many earlier in the day, and our feet were DYING by the time we returned to our flat.
Buckingham Palace is in Kensington Park, so we got a nice view of the Queen's home.
From there, Hyde Park seemed like the go-to place on nice days.
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| The park has a river running through it that locals paddleboat on |
We also ran across some youths doing parkor over a pedestrian overpass...lots of very close calls.
And we walked and walked and walked...
And we found this awesome street market tucked between some buildings and train station on the South Bank!
They had some bomb diggity food!
Evan was skeptical at first, but the deliciousness won him over...
And then theres Dan Waffle!
These two ladies make egg-shaped waffles and pour toppings on them, sprinkled with peanut brittle. Dang they were yummy!
Oh look, the Tower Bridge!
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| The lighting was tough in this spot |
Off to St. Paul's Cathedral! One of my favorite places in London...it's gorgeous on the inside, outside, and top! There are three levels- ground level, the whispering gallery, and the dome!
We'll start from the Dome veiw...we had to climb over 300 steps to climb to the tippy top!
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| West side of London |
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| The Millenium Bridge and Tate Modern |
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| Over looking the proper 'City of London' |
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| The triangle is called the Shard |
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| The Financial District |
To climb and descend the dome, we had the pleasure of using these spiral staircases!
But as you noticed from the veiws above, it was worth it! And the inside does not disappoint, either!
The middle section between ground level and the dome is called the Whispering Gallery because (theoretically) you should be able to whisper up there and have your travel mate hear what you say, no matter where they are in the Gallery. I have yet to successfully accomplish this.
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| Those are actual statues in alcoves above our heads, not paintings |
The following are on the ground floor:
It's pretty easy to leave that place breathless...both from the climb and the beauty.
Now after that stunning artwork, I'm going to slap you back to reality and present the every-day tube station that we used to travel to the splendor of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Then bright and early on April 9, we took the Eurostar to Paris! Yes, we went through the Chunnel (tunnel under the channel between England and France), but it was only really dark. The rest of the views were better.
The Eurostar served breakfast just like international flights! (Although the coffee was prebought). So far I'm liking this train travel!
Au revoir!!
