London Revisited : there and gone
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Pictures are up!
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It was the 6th of June that we left from Philly International on BA Business. Our journey began in the Executive Club Lounge and dinning hall located one floor below our gate. Flying business class IS a big deal.. The fully reclining seats, personal entertainment systems, and persistent flight attendants made it quite an enjoyable experience.
We arrive in LHR around 8am and caught a cab to our hotel. Cab ride was a riot. Checked into the Royal Horse Guards Hotel, which made for our base of operations for the rest of the trip.
(06-06-2006) Walked down towards Parliament from our hotel. We soon realized the many things that were within walking distance from our hotel. Saw BIG BEN, and ate at the Embankment Café. Later that evening, we walked down to Buckingham Palace to find it completely dark. There wasn’t any sign of life. Not even the palace fountains were lit.
(06-07-2006) Got up late. Hit up Trafalgar Square and headed for the Imperial war Museum. While at Penn State, I visited the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. This was a more compact version with more exhibits. Skipped over the holocaust exhibits by chance as many other visitors have advised. Had dinner at Thai Silk new Waterloo Station. This black guy walked strait into me on our way there almost knocking me off my feet. Beautiful Thai waitress Oh-My. So shy, so kind.
(06-08-2006) An ambitious day, we set off early hoping to catch the changing of the guards which in our slightly dated (1993) travelers guide said could be seen at the Tower of London as well as a number of other places. Tell turns out things have changed a bit since 1993. There wasn’t any changing going on at the Tower of London. We’d been on foot ever since arriving in London, so instead of walking we fueled up our Oyster Passes and caught the District line to Tower Hill. Here we saw our first Royal Guardsman guarding the Crown Jewels which we saw. This Palace/Fortress has an impressive collection of weaponry, armor, and assorted swag. Skimmed through over 900 years of history in just hours. Saw the tower bridge just across from the Tower of London. Walked West for a good half hour to find what is simply called “The Monument”. This is a giant column in The City of London which marked the location where the Great Fire of London started. This column was covered in soot and was overall pretty unimpressive. There’s a spiral stair case that takes you to the top, be we opted not to. Walking further West we saw Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. This was definitely a hot spot for inspired theater majors from all over the world. From here we began our search for the Clink Prison. This was no easy task as we navigated down narrow streets where ambushes are frequent and attackers are at a disadvantage. After walking in several circles, we actually found the place deep in Winchester. Some interesting exhibits.. probably not worth the 3 pound admission. In the evening we walked by the London Eye, chilled by the water front and called it a night.
(06-09-2006) Went to Harrods and did some shopping. Ended up having lunch there at a cafe. They had this golf-cart sized hummer in the toy section which was selling for over $44,000 (www.minihummereurope.com). Walked through Chinatown on our way back. Yea.. got up late today. Didn’t get to see too much.
(06-10-2006) Got up early and saw the Changing of the Guards. A marathon of troops poured in and poured out of Buckingham Palace. Overall an interesting experience. Went and saw Madame Tussauds’ wax museum. Ridiculously expensive for what it is, but still a fun way to spend a couple hours out of the sun. Dropped by the Sherlock Holmes Museum (221 Baker Street). Pretty uneventful. England had just won their first game against Paraguay in the World Cup that day so there were ppl dancing in the fountains at Trafalgar Square. Checked out the National Gallery. Saw a whole bunch of famous works that I recognized from Art 110. We came back to the hotel and found Christina and Nicole waiting at our door wielding tremendous hiker packs which nearly made the narrow hallways un-navigable. Went out for a few drinks at a sports bar to celebrate.. their arrival and England’s 1-0 first round victory against Paraguay (by default).
(06-11-2006) Walked over to the Tate Modern Art Museum with Christina and Nicole. They changed it up pretty significantly since 2 years ago. Kinda upset they didn’t do anything with the main entrance this time around. The structure itself, originally a power plant, is amazing to walk through. Saw a whole bunch of weird, exotic arts including some authentic Andy Warhol’s. The art messes with your emotions. Walked North across the Millennium Bridge and up towards Oxford Street. Walked into the Royal Court of Justices where they had a open court yard with jets of water shooting from the ground. Nicole had a field day watching little kids run around naked. We ended up taking the underground to SOHO to eat at Fridays. They served Woo-Woo’s! That night we walked down towards Parliament and enjoyed the full moon and beautiful scenery
(06-12-2006) Went to an Internet Café so Christina could check her email and book some tickets. Ate at the Embankment Café and traveled with the girls to their Hostel. The girls got checked in and we headed down towards Chinatown for some food. We ended up eating at this Cantonese place. Nicole ordered their fried rice special or something and got this huge plate of noodles. It was hilarious! Met up with Stewart and Dave for one last night. Cheers Bar, had a few drinks, called it a night.
(06-13-2006) Got up early for our flight. Watched Firewall on the flight back. London Revisited comes to an end. Went climbing with Pat and Danielle when got back.
