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We had two flights ahead of us. The first one out of Singapore to Dubai was on a double decker A380 which was exciting to look at before bording but looked exactly the same once inside the aircraft. We walked at a brisk pace to then met our connecting flight in Dubai to London. Once on that flight we were delighted to find we would be having a spare seat next to us for the duration of the flight. Therefore becoming our favourite flight yet.
20 April 2013
We arrive at the Gatwick Airport at around 8am. At the carosel to collect our suitcases we see mine coming into view with a large plastic bag around it and a pair of undies and a book floating around the plastic bag instead of within the suitcase. We are glad our suitcases at least arrived from our long journey to the other side of the world but not too impressed by the broken zipper on my suitcase. I guess that’s what you get for a cheap $40 suitcase. We go to buggage inquiries and the lady is friendly and says she can replace our suitcase with another, free of charge. This
was exciting news and our first drama is easily sorted within minutes and we are off again. Our transfer picks us up and we are bubbling with excitement and enthusiasm that he lacks in sharing. The first thing to admire is the fact that it is a beautiful sunny day in London, 20
th of April 2013. The beginning of the Spring is still a wee brisk for us Australians but we cared little for the cold with such a beautiful clear sky above us. There was not a cloud in sight, which is odd for the usual London weather. We arrive at our hotel and of course the room will not be ready until the afternoon so we stow away our bags – freshen up as much as we can and run back out into the sun to explore the city.
Once at the metro station we buy a London Pass and quickly use the book they give you to great effect. Our Oyster Pass already loaded with 10 Pounds each is tapped at the entry of Earl's Court station and we are off to Westminster. We walk out of the station and into the sun with the view
of the river Themes infront of us. Walking up the stairs to our right and right there is Big Ben, perched at the top of the Elizabeth tower at the edge of the palace of Westminster. There are many tourist around but quiet enough to get good photos and room to breathe. The Westminster Palace is beautiful and my favourite, possibly because it is the first great old architecture that we gaze our eyes upon. We cross the Westminster bridge and grab a coffee from McDonalds inside the massive aquarium building next to the London Eye. Here we sit, warm our hands and assess our plans for the next few days as we stare in bewilderment that we are indeed on the other side of the world with buildings surrounding us built in the middle ages. We admire the Westminster Palace a little longer and get some great photos from the other side of the bridge where it can take up an entire panorama photo from its sheer size. It is now the House of Parliament but I think because of its beauty it is a lot more fitting to refer to it as a palace than anything to do
with politics.
We venture off to Westminster Abbey and get inside with our London Pass. Here we are befuddled again by the aged building in such a pristine condition. Inside we are amazed at the old tombs and engravings that age back to a time when Australia wasn’t even discovered. I see the murals for the Kings and Queens that before I had only read about in books. From the outside the Westminster Abbey is impressive, its white walls kept white for almost 1000 years. Images of the famous Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding flood ones memory out the front of this most magnificent Abbey.
Before long we are off again and catching the tube to St Paul’s cathedral. Unfortunately the magnificence of this building can’t fully be admired because it is jammed between streets and buildings rather than along the river Themes. It is massive and its familiar dome top protrudes from the roof, within the walls its whispering gallery. We again get inside with our London Pass and after exploring the floor and marvelling at its ceiling we walk up to the whispering gallery ourselves. We were able to explore the inside of such places
like the Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s cathedral in a different way as we were unable to take photos we found ourselves admiring the beauty of such places rather than worrying about getting the right photo. We walked up to the roof of St Pauls where we looked across the great city of London to the river Themes and beyond.
When down at the bottom we found a red telephone box which we hopped in and took our token photos. Then we were off again and on our way to walk along the River Themes and towards the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. The river was easy to find and therefore the Tower Bridge was easy to spot and follow. As we wondered along the river edge we found a spot where we walked down and onto the actual bank to touch the water of the River Themes.
Once arriving at the Tower of London we sat down with some traditional English fish and chips which were unfortunately rather disappointing but Australia has a pretty decent reputation for fish and chips too. We waited at the walls of the Tower of London for around 5 minutes for the next tour with a Beefeater. Beefeaters, or more formally known as Yeoman Warders, have guarded the tower of London since it was the official residence of King Henry VII the first of the Tudors dynasty. They have guarded the Tower of London through its period as a prison and now act as tour guides. Our Beefeater was a butch round man with cheery cheeks and a billowing voice. He was hilarious and had a brilliant sense of humour. He even welcomed home us Aussies to the former prison, referring to our first status as convicts. The tour group was around 80 people large and we stopped at around 6 spots. The second spot inside the walls Nathan and I were at the front of the group and I was whisked to the front to be the ever so infamous Anne Boleyn. We saw the draw bridge, explored the White Tower in the middle of the walls, the crowned jewels and the church. The Ravens were still there, made certain by the myth surrounding their presence. If the ravens were ever to leave the Tower of London the crown will fall and Britain with it. The Tower of London has many statues of animals which were also most famously kept within its walls when its status was a zoo, including a polar bear, a lion and monkeys.
After the Tower of London was explored as much as we could as Nathans backpack was getting heavy and it was nearing 7pm. We walked to the river where we got on a tour boat that was included in our London Pass. It was beginning to get a little bit chillier than what we were dressed for and we had some annoying tourist behind us who talked the whole way so we were unable to hear the commentary from the boats speakers. However the views were spectacular and the sun was still shinny as it was starting to fall past the horizon. We got another good look at the Westminster Palace with the sun sinking behind it.
The sun was setting on our first day in London, as it was such a big day we highly doubted that we would have enough energy to make most of its night life. We got the tube back to our hotel, the Best Westerns Burns Hotel. When we emerged from the tube we got some sandwiches and sat down to eat them for dinner. Then we went to our hotel and basically collapsed. Unfortunately our room was booked as a twin rather than a double so we had two separate single beds in our room and they were unable to change it until the next night. We were so tired that it didn’t matter and we fell asleep quickly in our separate beds until we awoke for another action packed day.
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