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Published: June 21st 2015
Before our 8 hour flight even commenced, I knew I was going to like London. The British cabin crew and stewardess on our flight were some of the nicest and most polite I've ever come across. I have to add that It was truly delightful listening to all the different English accents along the way too, especially when they used phrases like "are you in queue?" and "do you fancy a drink?" We had a tiny scare on the airplane when someone passed out in mid-flight, but fortunately everything was okay. The United Kingdom was the first stop on our multi-country tour around Europe that we were taking with our friends Naty, David, Erika, and Jose. We all had a part in the planning of our entire trip itinerary, and it was one of our most fun travel experiences yet!
Getting Around & The Oyster Card Once we landed in London, we took the train and then the metro (errr... I mean the "tube") all the way to our hotel Hoxeton Shoreditch. I will always recommend using budget-friendly strategies like using the Oyster-Card as your main mode of transportation, as you will get
some savings out of it. It's valid for underground metros, buses, trains, and riverboats. You purchase this blue colored card once, and then swipe it to fund your transportation as you go. As with any card, make sure you keep an eye on the amount you are using so you don't go over board. When using stairs or escalators, whether its on the tube or anywhere else, stay on your right side to let people pass you on your left. If you don't do this, you will be asked to move or pushed out of the way! Londoner's are surprisingly in a constant hurry, like little ants on a mission. But then again, that shouldn't come as a surprise in a bustling city like London.
The Pub Crawl Once we dropped our things off at the hotel and shook off some of the jet-lag, we set off to the city center to welcome London with a meal and some drinks. Everyone wanted to try the traditional
"Fish and Chips". Fish and chips is advertised in restaurants everywhere in the UK. The fish part is usually cod that is fried in
Pub Crawl
Beers out on the sidewalk!batter, and the chips are fried potato wedges, or in other words french fries. We are sorry to report that even after using loads upon loads of ketchup and tarter sauce, it was still very bland and tasteless... no one in our group liked it! But at least we can now all say we tried the traditional dish of London.
Covent Garden and Soho were our next stops. In a nut shell, this is an area with trendy restaurants, cafes, shopping, and bar hopping. We walked all around this area, and even caught some street performers doing some truly funny things. The majority of pubs close early around 11pm (some a little later on the weekends) and we learned it was out of respect for the local people that live there. "Bar hopping" or the "pub crawl" is the thing to do in Soho. You will see many locals doing it on the sidewalks, with one pint in hand chatting away with their friends. We wanted to give it a try, so we all stood outside on the sidewalk happily chatting away with our drinks and we even got a chance to meet some really nice people too; some foreigners
and some locals. I'm not sure what the drinking laws are in London, but in general just stay out of trouble and you'll be fine. We also came across a little China town which was ornate with Asian decor and restaurants. When we returned to our hotel, we learned that the lobby turns into a social type of bar/club. While some of us went to sleep, the rest stayed down in the lobby where the party continued into the early morning. One more thing about our interesting choice of hotel in the Shoreditch location. Apparently, it's a hip quarter, and one day while strolling around looking for breakfast options, we chanced upon an impromptu photo shoot, with real photography equipment and people busily working. It was kind of cool to see!
Our silly Changing of The Guard experience.... We all had our hearts set on seeing the infamous changing of the guard in London, so we decided that that was going to be the first thing we do in the early morning. In our minds, it was going to be a historical and traditional event that we'd be able to
easily see and learn from. However, when we arrived at Buckingham Palace early that morning, there was a line of people already forming at the front of the gate. As the minutes passed, things got worse, with a massive crowd of pushy individuals appearing and making it even harder to see what was going on. We ended up pushed back into a claustrophobic corner with the view totally obstructed by a large gate column. We were able to climb the column a bit to get a few glances and photos of the guards. Although we were successful at getting a few good photos, we weren't able to really see the ceremony. At one point, I even hopped on to Victor's shoulders to see what was going on. Apparently there's horses and stuff involved too but I couldn't get the full view. So the funny story is that we pretty much stared at a column the entire time! We burst into laughter as we realized what an epic fail this was. If you go see the changing of the guard, most chances are you won't be able to see a thing! We quit trying after a while, and squeezed our way
out of the crowds, and as far away from the palace and the crowd as we could. As we walked away, an interesting thing happened. We were half a mile down the street when all of a sudden the guards appeared. They were marching out of the palace and down the street to their quarters, where we were walking. So, in a surprising turn of events, we actually got the best view of the guards by far. Getting to see them marching this close ended up being way more interesting. They were right in front of us marching with their musical instruments and weaponry, and there were no silly columns or people blocking us. Perfect!
Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, London Eye... and all that jazz. From the street of the Buckingham palace, you can easily walk to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Along the way, we crossed into St. James Park, which has beautiful gardens. At the time of our visit, the flowers were in full bloom and were releasing golf ball sized pollen that left us in a sneezing frenzy... it was the strangest release of pollen we've ever
seen. Then we crossed the bridge which over looks the Horse Guards of St. James Park with it's beautiful lake views. We walked right up to the Big Ben clock tower and the Abbey and took lots of cool photos. It was fun seeing these iconic buildings in person. On the bridge near Big Ben, we saw a bunch of men (possibly from eastern Europe) luring tourists into a gambling trap with cups and balls, which appears to be a scam. I'm surprised the police haven't done something about it since it seems like these gamblers are always here targeting unknowing tourists. On the other side of the bridge is the London Eye. We passed up the chance to go up this impressive ferris wheel since the queues and prices were not worth it, but it's equally nice too see from outside. Near by we ate at Troia Mediterrean restaurant and had the falafels with hummus, it was very good!
Camden Town I'm really glad we followed a local's advice and visited
Camden town. I love its alternative hippie vibe with the colorful neighborhood buildings, bohemian markets, and wacky people. There's interesting
art and graffiti on every corner of the street. It reminded me of the hippie vibe of Asheville North Carolina. There's a pretty canal with long boats passing through. The walkways through the market are like a maze, which is really fun to get lost in because you are sure to find really good ethnic food, organic snacks, and handmade accessories. There was even a Colombian street food vender, which we were impressed to see here. We found a table and ordered some drinks, and stayed through the evening and people watched. I sensed this was a place that was popular with the younger crowd, but there were definitely people of all ages and backgrounds. I'd return to Camden Town for sure, especially with an empty stomach so that I may sample more of the delicious street food!
"You may say Im a dreamer, but Im not the only one"- John Lennon, The Beatles We were inspired by the Beatles to go out in search of
Abbey Road, which is the famous zebra crossing from their most recognized album cover. At first I kept calling it "The Beatles Road" but that's not
Victor walking Abbey Road
Same one from the Beetles Album :) the accurate name! lol The road was named after the recording studio where they recorded many of their major hits. I was surprised to see that there were another nine people there in queue to walk the road too. The road looks just like any other ordinary road, with beautiful homes and cars driving by. All the cars that passed by had to stop whenever someone was ready to cross. As the people crossed, they would pause long enough to get the infamous picture. I loved the silly experience of walking Abbey road. It also kind of felt like we were experiencing a bit of rock and roll history. I had Beatles songs playing in my head all the rest of the day. I almost forgot to mention that we also made a stop at the Sherlock Holmes museum for our friends Erica and Jose to enjoy, and then we ate at this amazing Thai restaurant called "The Monkey and Me." Do stop by to eat there, they have the best spring rolls ever!
The Red London Double Decker Tour Bus & London Bridge When we returned to London for
the second part of our travels, our hotel location changed to the Park River Plaza Hotel. This is a luxurious hotel that we got a good deal on, possibly due to scheduled reconstruction of the building. There were cranes all around the hotel, but then again, there are cranes and scaffolding and reconstruction on every corner of inner city London, and you'll soon identify these things with the skyline. The best part of staying at this particular hotel was that it was right in across from the Big Ben clock tower, so we could easily walk up and get nice night pictures of it glowing in the twilight hours. Night photography is Victor's favorite to take, so he was excited. This location also offered us easy access to the big red double decker tour bus of London, which is a symbol largely associated with London. There are many different bus companies offering these tours. The one titled "The Big Bus Company" offered us the best deal and included a river cruise... and it was half the price the other buses gave us, which was perfect for our budget! You can hop on and off all day, and get
taken to the furthest parts of London for sight seeing. The cruise on the River Thames was also really nice, and it was guided by a quirky guy who had us laughing the whole time with his clever commentary. At the end of the cruise you get dropped off at a pier near the very pretty London Tower Bridge. Our only regret is that we had not done it sooner; as we would have had more time to visit the Tower of London, which is a castle fortress and one of the oldest standing historical sights in London.
Windsor Castle & The Countryside Looking back at all my happy pictures at Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the countryside, you would never have guessed I had suffered from food poisoning the previous day! It was all because of a gelato I ate at a horrible Italian restaurant. Im very sensitive to food, and I take really good care of what I eat.. guess I let my guard down too soon in London. I felt so horrible that I had to accept the fact that this was truly out of my control, and that there
was no way I could go on the morning tour of the countryside with everyone. Our friends were really sad I was going to miss it, especially Victor. But just minutes before our scheduled pick up that morning, something compelled me to just go. It was the best last minute decision I've ever made, especially since the worst of my sickness had already passed by that morning, which meant the rest of the day was up to enjoy.
We had an issue with our tour company provider, so I'm not going to recommend them, but our guide and driver were really great. The first stop was the amazing Windsor Castle, which apparently is still used as a castle and is functional today! It's really big, with lots of history and rooms full of ornate gold accessories, and original priceless art. We were not allowed to photograph the inside, but we had free range of the outside. One of the most interesting items in the castle is the queen's childhood doll house. It was complete with real miniature silver china, and miniature crown jewels for the tiny sized thrown. Another item that I thought
was impressive was Napoleon's Bonaparte's cloak, which was resting on a mannequin, and proves that he was not as short as the legendary stories of him suggest. We tried to get a photo with a foot soldier who was standing guard near the entrance, but he got really mad at anyone who got near him! We strolled the rest of the abbey, which was quite pretty, and then hopped on the bus to go to Bath.
Bath, you are so beautiful! Bath is one of the most beautiful places in the UK, and it's one of my favorite World Heritage sites. I wish we had spent more time here! It felt like I was looking into a fairy tale book as I peered outside the bus window and saw it's miles and miles of green pastures, winding hills and valleys, roaming sheep, and perfect English cottages. I can only imagine what living here might be like! It's so pretty and dreamy, that even Matt Damon and Johny Depp have homes and properties here! I wanted to run out of the bus and go explore everything from the blooming fields to the quaint
streets. Once we reached the town, we are met by a beautiful cathedral and a large Roman building called the Roman Bath. Unfortunately, due to large unexpected traffic, we were behind on our tour schedule and were told to rush through the Roman Bath tour as quickly as possible (this is why we only join tours when we absolutely have to, they're too rushed) but at least we got a chance to see what it was like inside. The Baths are said to be fed by a hot spring, and are a Roman archaeological site. I would definitely recommend you make it out here to this gorgeous south west region of the UK, and stay for a few days... It will not disappoint!
The Mystical Stonehenge I can't remember the first time I saw pictures of this amazing place, but I always knew I wanted to go see it in person! I was amazed by how close it was to London (less than 2 hours away) and was automatically appointed the job of setting up the tour to go visit this World heritage site. So I added this location to our tour
of Windsor and Bath. Stonehenge is such a mystical place, with lots of unanswered questions. Like, why was it built? Who built it? How did they bring those giant rocks over and set them up the way they did? Was it aliens? Nah... I mean, aliens would have way better things to do with their time, like help the Egyptians build the pyramids of Giza! lol Kidding! Research suggests Stonehenge was built as a burial ground, since there are human remains buried all around the area. Some other theories is that it's a sundial, which activates like all other sundials, during the solstices. Carbon dating suggests that it was built around 3,000 BC. You may just accept that it is a monument made of large stones, carried and raised up by ancient people. And if you believe in the mystical and unexplained, you may even say it's a place of surging energy, like a vortex. The visit here was a little more crowded than I was expecting, but since it's on such a wide field there are definitely areas that are more open for you to enjoy away from so many people. The rocks are there for viewing, but they
were protected by a small looped rope that helped keep hands away from the structure. Victor wanted to be a daredevil and run over to touch the rocks, simply because it's forbidden lol He always has some kind of crazy idea up his sleeve!
Goodbye London! This concludes our wonderful time in London. We had mostly positive experiences (aside from my food blunder) and if you wanted to go even deeper into the history and past of London, you could easily spend another few days here to visit all the museums and abbeys. Sadly, we did not get to see any of the royal family, but we did get a sense of their presence all around London. Aside from seeing the royals on all the local currency, we also noticed that even the Ketchup bottles here have a stamp of approval from her royal highness, Queen Elizabeth... woah!
Our travels in Europe continue. Next we are off to the beautiful Island of Santorini, Greece!
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Fantastic journey!
Wow, you really did and saw a lot in London. I was especially impressed with your day trip out of the city. Like you, I loved Bath, so I stayed for a week. Chicken tikka masala (Indian) is now the #1 British food--thanks to all the immigrants and ethnic food restaurant, so I'm not surprised that you had great Thai food there! And I'm pretty impressed to learn that the Queen inspects all those ketchup bottles--very busy lady (lol). Great photos and what an amazing journey you're on! What a contrast Santorini will be!