I thought about visiting London a few times but felt I should set aside enough time to give it the time it deserves, set an agenda and strategize a power tourist attack plan. I went down to the train station, grabbed a schedule and began to work out a plan. Afterwards I noticed a travel agency type building near me and browsed the flyers for things to do in London. I found an interesting way for the extreme tourist to see as much as possible in a short time with a pass. The pages which will follow are the result of using this pass and all the things I saw on one of my trips.
So I finally had my plan, purchased a train ticket, a pass to see London and off I went. There is so much to see in London, what an amazing place. It'is one place I could definitely live. I got on one of those double decker buses that London is famous for (at least for me) and rode it around the city, hopping on and off all day.
After riding around the city and doing a bit more strategizing, I got a real feel for what would be required to actually see even a small part of this place in any reasonable amount of time. So, the next thing I did was head on over to Buckingham Palace, (the Queen is living large by the way) and watch the changing of the guards. I attempted this multiple times by the way and learned a good lesson. The first time I figured I’d show up 30 minutes early to beat the crowds. Unfortunately, so had about 1000 other people, turns out this is quite an attraction.
So, I watched from a distance, the statue directly in front of the place as best I could and shot a few pictures. It was interesting but I couldn’t get a close enough look at the whole process. So I turned up again but will cover that later.
Now, on to Windsor Castle (again, wow what a place). I took the subway over to a train station in the southwest of the city and purchased a ticket (using a pass I had for a discount) then hopped on a train and off I went to Windsor. The place the train stops is loaded with restaurants and shops and is designed for (in my opinion, with tourists in mind). It was torture but I managed to escape without purchasing anything as I wanted to go to the castle first.
I managed to make it to the entry point after working my way through part of the town. The place is on a hill overlooking the city so you can immediately see the strategic importance of it’s position. I took a guided tour and ended up buying a few things at the museums and display areas that are actually part of this place. It has it’s own quarter for the staff, a church, enormous doll display, suits of armor and weaponry, gardens and just too much to cover in one page. It is absolutely enormous and you should definitely go if you ever have the chance. I did get to have my picture taken with a guard, in what I believe is called a Beef-eater type uniform. They guy actually let tourists come up and snap a photo as long as you didn’t touch him, pretty decent I think. I could go on and on here but I had to pry myself away as my train was leaving soon. So, I grabbed some souvenirs and made my way back to the station.
I ended up back in London proper and headed over to St Paul’s Cathedral which is another world famous location. This place is absolutely huge and like all cathedrals I’d encountered filled with prominent and rich people from the past entombed throughout the building. It is beautiful and the colors, architecture and craftsmanship of the entire building is remarkable. I think this is the place where the royals come for service or special occasions but I’m not sure. I ended up finding my way up to the very top of one of the spires. That was a trip in an of itself, it required traversing stairs, a walkway of sorts, through some doors (very small in places), a circular path and finally through a relatively small opening and out on the ledge.
It overlooks London and was quite a climb, I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re not in reasonable shape as I was sweating by the time I made it up. Well back down then and on to other places of interest
Next stop, the London Bridge. I whipped out subway pass, hopped in the appropriate train and next thing I know I’m comin up in the area of the Bridge. There is quite a bit to see in this area but my mind was set on the bridge. I showed up for a tour and we walked through the innards of the thing to see how it works.
The guide explained its history, how it was built and various aspects of it’s operation. We were of course offered a chance to puchase souvenirs and after some climbing worked our way back down to inspect the cables and walkway. Oh, the bridge provides a heck of a view from the top and if you want to see the river and a great shot of London, take a trip over and climb up.
One page couldn’t possible do London justice so I will add in a few more pictures and move on. I saw so much, shot literally thousands of photos and posted bunch of them here for the discerning eye. After the bridge I wandered over to Picadilly circus and various other places throughout the city. Take a look and visit my other pages as they are fileld with photos. I should mention that at this point i was a samuri with the subway, buses and public transportation in general in London, which is excellent I should add. More later