I had three days in London before I headed home to Seattle. To be honest, London didn’t have much of a chance with me. I was so looking forward to coming home, that I had one eye looking ahead. I was also just very burned out from big city Europe, it was becoming redundant. The fact that London was by far the most crowded of the cities I have visited, did not improve my enthusiasm for the city. But, it took me 35 years to get here, so I tried to make the most of it!
I made it to most of the main sights. The Tower of London and surrounding area, which included the Tower Bridge. Come to find out, the bridge you always see pictures of in London, is this bridge, not the London bridge which is a basic concrete slab these days (practically unnoticeable). I did have fish and chips in this area which was ok, but I prefer Ivars : ) This area also showcased several of the modern buildings in London.
I then walked to St. Paul’ Cathedral, Covent Garden (which sadly wasn’t a garden) a cute market/shopping area and popular square to hang out in, and Leicester Square. Covent Garden had a great vibe and a lot of street performers. Picadilly Circus (square) was a lot of fun. It is like a small times square with lots of street performers, live theatre, shopping, and restaurants.
I visited the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square areas twice (once at night). This turned out to be one of my favorite areas in London, with so many fountains. Just across the Thames River from this area is the London Eye, the 30 minute ferris wheel that offers views of the city (I decided it would be boring on my own, so skipped this attraction, it was also $25+).
In general the buildings in London were very bland – white or grey. I did like the area near the house of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey, which were more intricate and reminded me of the architecture I had seen in other big European cities.
Of course, I visited Buckingham Palace (which I was underwhelmed by) and the surrounding park areas including St. James, Green park, and Hyde Park, which has many memorials. It was nice to finally see some green, although they were mainly open grassy areas with some trees (no flowers). I even hit up Harrods, the massive and extravagant retail store. It was truly amazing – this picture below is from inside part of the food court.
I was not sad to say goodbye to London, knowing I was coming home. I will never forget the extremely crowded metro here where (as in most of Europe) the men were always offering to help carry my luggage up and down the stairs, they have a free newspaper twice a day (morning and evening), and you hear the words ‘mind the gap’ about a thousand times a day (referring to the gap between the train and walkway). After two days fighting the crowds and 7 weeks clomping around on my feet, I decided a spa day was in order. So I spent my last day getting a much needed mani/pedi and massage : ) It was wonderful!! Europe was everything I hoped it would be, but there is no place like home!!
