The Tower Of London – How I Love Thee
The Tower of London is steeped in history and in mystery – all of it extremely relevant to England, and to history lovers everywhere. What went on behind these walls built as early as the 11th century by William Conqueror – may be better left to the imagination. If you would like to know more about The Tower of London and it’s history, just click here. However, a visit to London cannot be complete without a visit to one of it’s historical landmarks, and I highly recommend a visit to the Tower of London. Oh, how I love thee Tower Of London, let me count the ways:
1) I love you from this angle
The Tower of London
2) I love you with my three kids in front
The Tower Of London
3) I love you with poppies and the significance behind the recent installation of the ceramic poppies. By the way, they were just starting to put all the poppies into place at the Tower Of London to commemorate the British soldiers who died in World War 1.
The Tower Of London and A Sea of Remembrance
4) I love you from this angle with more poppies, and people dressed in red adding to the effect
Poppies At The Tower Of London
5) I love how your historical architecture can sit side by side with the modern City Hall
The Tower of London and City Hall
6) I love just capturing you with or without trees – but I think this bit of tree in the picture is quite nice!
7) I love you because you are splendid!
Tower of London, oh, how I love thee!
8) I love you, and I think you know…. the red in this picture could be the blood in my heart
Tower Of London
9) I love your stylish buildings
Tower of London
10) I love you Tower of London – look, even the sky and grass around you look magnificent, but you shine brightly and are the star
Tower of London
11) I love your arches
Tower Of London
12) I love your buildings – oh, I beg your pardon….I think I’ve said that before!
Tower Of London
13) I love your White Tower, the oldest part of the Tower
White Tower, the oldest part of the Tower
14) I love how you put lions outside out of the Tower and to me this looks like the lions are guarding the Tower and it’s secrets
The Tower of London
15) I love how there are so many refreshments all around, and especially ice-cream with Flake (delicious English chocolate)
Refreshments at The Tower Of London
16) I love how the Tower of London blends in with the Tower Bridge in this picture – two amazing Towers!
The amazing Tower Bridge and Tower Of London
17) I love how you look different in all my pictures – you are one unique amazing landmark!
Tower Of London
18) I love how everyone is going to think “oh, these two pictures are the same” – but can you spot at least five differences?
The Tower Of London
19) I love your history and your mystery. So much went on between these walls, that some of it is better left unsaid.
The Tower Of London
20) I love to keep folks in suspense, but think I better let you in on a bit of the history incase you didn’t know it. Here’s a picture who’s words will tell you quite a bit
Tower of London History
Well, I’ve named just twenty, and I think that’s plenty. There could be plenty more, but I think we’ll stop right there. I hope you enjoyed my collection of pictures of the Tower of London. Did I tell you that I love it?
Left A Part Of My Heart In London
I think I left a part of my heart in London, and perhaps writing about it or posting some pictures might help my heart-ache and might help me get over London, but I don’t think so. I have been ever so busy since I got back from the UK about three weeks ago, and have been meaning to carry on with writing about my trip and sharing pictures, but it’s been hard to do so. I just about got over my jet-lag – that took me over a week to recover from!
Oh, I forgot to show you this picture last time of St. Martin-In-The-Fields
St. Martin In The Fields, Trafalgar Square
Where did I leave off? I think I was only on Day Two of my five days in London. Did you know that I then traveled up north, and spent a few more days in the UK before heading over to Turkey? We went to an all-inclusive resort in Antalya, and I’ll be writing about that sometime soon. Here are some more pictures of London.
Walking back from Buckingham Palace, we weren’t really sure how to get to Big Ben, and we kind of just stumbled in that direction. On our way, we saw the HM Treasury.
HM Treasury Building
near the HM Treasury
near HM Treasury, Westminster
I just take pictures of anything, so I decided to do it some more
The Red Lion, Parliament Street
London Phone Booths in Westminster
Oh, look what I see!
Palace of Westminster/Houses of Parliament
So, the bus moved out of the way, and the picture is a little different
Houses of Parliament
Funny how the sky seems to change
Houses of Parliament
Westminster Station
Big Ben
St. Margaret’s Church, next to Westminster Abbey
Of course, I have to have one of my kids pose in front of Big Ben!
Big Ben
Oh, how I could keep taking pictures, and did!
Westminster near Houses of Parliament
Westminster Station
Oh, and why wouldn’t you get all your kids to pose together in front of Big Ben? Of course, you would!
Big Ben
Well, I have to leave off here, and I’m still not done with Day Two! It’s not that the day was too long, it’s just that there are quite a few pictures to go with the day. We came back to this same spot the very next day, and got more pictures, including quite a few of Westminster Abbey, not shown in this post – that’s why you have to go back to the same place more than once at times. Also, don’t worry about the part of my heart left in London, it’s been left there before too. Well, until next time!
Enchanting London
Day 2 in London started off with a nice view from the hotel:
View from Trafalgar Hotel – Room 305
We explored the lobby area
Hilton Trafalgar Lobby & Bar
Breakfast was included, and we were allowed one item from the menu as well as the continental breakfast. The menu offerings were English Breakfast, pancakes, waffles, Eggs Benedict and a few other items. Since this was our first full day, we just had to have English Breakfast, which consisted of baked beans, egg, bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, and black pudding (which I did not eat as this makes me feel a bit uneasy).
English Breakfast – complete with Black Pudding
Here’s a view of our table, and then a view of the restaurant
Hilton Trafalgar Restaurant
Hilton Trafalgar Restaurant
Now to the outside which beckoned me with all its might.
Trafalgar Square area
Trafalgar Square
We headed to Charing Cross Station and bought our travel passes – I was told it was best to buy Oyster Cards, that are basically tube and bus passes that you swipe for unlimited travel during a certain period of days. 2 adult Oyster 3 day passes were £60, that contained a £5 refundable deposit per pass – so the net cost was £50, plus £3.60 per day for my son’s travel pass. London certainly is not cheap for getting around or eating out, but it is well worth it. These passes can be used unlimited amounts per day and after you have used £8.60 or so up in a day, it won’t take any more from the balance off your card, so you can keep on taking more rides after you have maxed that amount out, and you won’t pay anything further – the key is to at least use it up to the value of £8.60 in that day. However, I think a single ride is about £2.70 or £3.30 or so, so it makes sense to get the Oyster Pass and you can use it on the red double decker buses (just not the Big Bus sightseeing buses).
The London Underground – Piccadilly Circus
Oh, the train is here!
The Tube
The London Underground
The London Underground
So where to today? I thought we’d just wander around and might as well start off with Buckingham Palace. This involved taking the train to Green Park and then walking through the park to the Palace. We could have walked to Buckingham Palace from our hotel in Trafalgar Square, it would only have been a 12 minute walk or so.
Once we had come out of Green Park station, this is some of what we saw
The Big Bus, London
near the Ritz Hotel
Sightseeing bus
London
London near the Ritz Hotel
I had always fancied going into the Ritz Hotel, this is a favorite hotel of the well-off, including celebrities and royalty. Therefore, my curiosity peaked and I could not resist going in.
The Ritz Hotel
I can just imagine Princess Diana being welcomed by this employee of the Ritz and then entering the hotel.
The Ritz Hotel
Here are some pictures taken in the hotel
The Ritz Hotel, London
Here I am at the Ritz
The Ritz Hotel
Last one of the Ritz
The Ritz Hotel
Better stay on track and get to Buckingham Palace – so we headed through Green Park. English parks are so beautiful, just how parks are supposed to be – with lakes, ducks, and lots of greenery. The parks in London are some of the best I’ve ever seen. People in London really make use of the parks, and frequent them often.
Green Park, London
Here’s my little girl enjoying Green Park
Green Park
Just a nice building I saw in Green Park
Green Park
Here is that building again
Green Park
Here’s an English Bobby (another word for police man) in Green Park
English Bobby in Green Park
Green Park
Green Park
Green Park
Green Park with a view of Buckingham Palace
We have arrived at Buckingham Palace, every time I see this place – it feels like the first time, and that is how I feel about most of the places in London, they are special to me time and time again.
Guards Marching outside of Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace and it’s beautiful blooming flowers
There’s me and Chandi with the blooming flowers of the Palace behind us
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
This memorial just opposite Buckingham Palace is another must-see and very popular with tourists
Queen Victoria Memorial
Queen Victoria Memorial
Buckingham Palace Guard
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace Informational Sign
Queen Victoria Memorial
Queen Victoria Memorial
and yet one more of the Queen Victoria Memorial
Queen Victoria Memorial
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace Gates
Now, I will show you one last photo of Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
As we left Buckingham Palace and walked by one London’s many parks – St. James’s Park – so central, just like Green Park, and Hyde Park. We saw this memorial on the ground – I had to take a picture – I absolutely adored Princess Diana.
Diana, Princess Of Wales Memorial Walk
We continued on our walk until we got to a tube station that would take us to Westminster, and this is what we saw:
Flowers of London, near Buckingham Palace
St. James’ Park
St. James’s Park
St. James’s Park
St. James’s Park
St. James’s Park
St. James’s Park
I take way too many pictures, and just think that each picture is unique in it’s own way. I don’t want to tire you with all my pictures of Buckingham Palace, and the Parks, but believe me….I have many more! However, I feel that you can get an insight into life in London – at least with the park pictures, as there are mostly local Londoner’s in the pictures who are on their lunch breaks, and just enjoying the beauty of what is around them. Next post, I will show you some more of what we saw today on Day 2 (which was our first full day in London).
London Is Ever So Lovely – Can’t Get Enough!
My favorite place in the world is London – it is one of the places I can go to again and again, and never be bored. I just love London! Me and my family flew to London on July 22nd, 2014 and arrived in London on July 23rd at Heathrow Airport at around 3:15 pm. We were to have 5 days in London…..I wish I could have stayed longer! In this post, I will just show you what we saw on Day One in London. Since we were going to stay in Trafalgar Square, that is the picture I will show you first.
Trafalgar Square
UK Border at Heathrow, London
I could have got a taxi into London, but no….that would not make sense – the traffic is crazy there, and it would have been ever so expensive. I could have got the Express Train from Heathrow, but that was £42 for all four of us (Chandi – my 5 year old would have been free). I thought, no…I have spent so much money already on this trip that I need to economize a little where I can – so what did I do? I was daring and did just as I have done many times before – I took the underground from Heathrow into Central London. Besides, you can’t beat taking the underground for speed – yes, the Express would have been faster – 15 minutes instead of 40 minutes or so, but after an 11 hour direct flight from San Diego, I think 40 minutes was not too bad.
The Tube aka London Underground
Why do I say that I am daring? Well, you have to be daring to take the underground when you are traveling with three kids, 3 big suitcases, one smaller rolling carry on bag and about three or four more bags. After all, you get just a few seconds at times when those tube doors open and it is quite a process to get all the suitcases, myself and 3 kids out of the door on time! We changed lines at Piccadilly Circus where we got the Bakerloo Line (the brown line) and got off at Charing Cross – just one stop away. After getting out at Piccadilly Circus, and lugging our suitcases up a big flight of stairs (there are escalators, but sometimes you are faced with plain old stairs too and no elevators), I was tempted to just exit and walk about 12 minutes to Trafalgar Square, but decided to plough on and change lines – which meant for the sake of one stop – having to go through all that again…getting out of the tube doors on time, and going up more stairs. Understandably, it was daunting, and we were already quite exhausted.
Charing Cross Road Station – Trafalgar Square
Charing Cross Road, near Trafalgar Square
So you might want to know how much it was on the tube? The tube is another name for underground – but you already probably know that. I had to get two adult one-way tickets since my daughter is 17 years old, and a child’s ticket for my 12 year old son who just turned 13 during this trip, and that cost a total of £14.20 – my 5 year old was free.
We stayed at the Hilton Trafalgar right on Trafalgar Square, you might be able to see it on this picture.
The Hilton Trafalgar – right in Trafalgar Square
I think I’ll pass on telling you how much it was for my hotel for 5 nights and for our flights to London from San Diego….I’ll be paying it off for quite some time! Anyhow, we checked in and were really happy with our hotel. Additionally, it was heavenly to notice that there was milk for tea in the room, instead of cream or powdered cream….how I hate having to put cream in tea – I always call down to the reception to ask for milk. Similarly, I must have cream for my coffee, and not milk – let’s just say I’m spoilt when it comes to my hot beverages!
Hilton Trafalgar in the room self service
Hilton Trafalgar
Hilton Trafalgar
Hilton Trafalgar
I had bought a new Nikon P600 and initially put a setting on it to print the date and time, however, I don’t think I changed the time to local time in England – so it probably reflects an incorrect time of at least 8 hours behind (USA time is 8 hours behind that of England). I subsequently decided to take off the setting a day or so later, as I was trying to decide whether it was kind of cheesy having the date on my prints. Some of the pictures were taken with my Canon G10 and some with my Note 3. I think you have to have a number of devices with you when you travel, as your batteries will get exhausted and what better than to reach into your bag for another fully charged camera!
Well, that is enough talking right now, and let’s get to some pictures.
Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column, also St. Martin In The Fields
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square and the Blue Hen
Trafalgar Square
Admiralty Arch, near Trafalgar Square
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
We walked over to Leicester Square later that evening, it is only a 5 minute walk.
St. Martin In The Fields – an English Anglican Church (center of the picture)
near Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square/Leicester Square area
near Leicester Square
near Leicester Square
Leicester Square
I craved fish and chips, but we ended up going to Pizza Hut in Leicester Square on our first night, that’s what the kids wanted.
Leicester Square
This hotel looks ever so nice at night time – it’s right in the heart of Leicester Square
The Hampshire, Radisson Blu – Leicester Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Well, that was Day One in London. I already am having the time of my life, and want the next four days to go ever so slowly. Next time, I will let you know about Day Two, and/or the remainder of my visit in London.
Star Of India – Star of San Diego
I like to think that I have something in common with the Star Of India. After all, I’m Indian, live in San Diego and was born and raised in England. Well, the Star of India was put together on the Isle of Man in Great Britain, and now calls San Diego home (just like me). As to why she has “India” in her name, you can read more about that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_India_(ship)
Here are more pictures of the Star Of India:
Star Of India
Star Of India
Star of India, San Diego
Star of India, San Diego
By the way, these pictures were taken with my Canon G10. I still can’t decide if I like pictures taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 better or with the Canon G10. If you have any comments on what you prefer – the pictures on this post (taken with the G10 or the other Star of India post taken with the Note 3), please let me know.
The Star of India can be found berthed on North Harbor Drive, near San Diego Lindbergh International Airport. You should not visit San Diego without visiting the Star of India – after all she could easily be the Star of San Diego!
Social Media and My New Pinterest
I just had to add a new interest, or should I say Pinterest? Pardon the pun………if my kids knew that I just said that, they would get mad at me. I am always having fun with word play, much to their consternation. Well, to go back to Pinterest – I don’t know what took me so long to get into it. All, I can say is it’s a lot of fun. All the pictures don’t have to be your own, you can like other people’s pictures and pin them on your board, and others will hopefully like what you pin, and re-pin. It’s a bit like retweeting on Twitter, and you can like pins too – now you’ll be reminded of Facebook. You can also pin videos, so hence YouTube can be brought in……now you have all your social media played out just in Pinterest.
I like to divide up my travel or my interests (such as on empowerment, or the British Royal Family, especially Princess Diana) into boards, it’s a little like having photo albums all sorted out, and not lumped together. I have one album, more appropriately called “board” on Pinterest for London, one for Izmir, one for Istanbul, one for Italy, one for San Diego, and one that I named Travel Repins when I didn’t really know what I was doing, and still don’t quite know what to call it. This board is where I just put pictures that I like taken by other people into one big collection, and this one isn’t at all organized – it has pictures from all over the world in it.
I still have to do more on Pinterest, I can’t just leave only mostly my pictures on my boards for instance – like the ones on Izmir or Istanbul. My board on London has many pictures from others who have taken pictures of that amazing city. Just like with all social media, it’s about sharing. After all, there are so many other pictures to discover out there in the world, we have to go beyond ourselves, and share the work of others.
I have to find more time, and have been lacking time lately…..life has caught up with me. Now just living day to day leaves hardly any spare moments to even dabble in social media, unfortunately. However, my emails from Pinterest even when I’m not active myself, have shown me what people are interested in, and I’ve noted with much curiousity, that people are really into London, and why not? London is one of the best cities in the world, if not the very best. However, I would like to add some interest for San Diego, especially since I now live here. So, I will work on my board on San Diego, and on some of the other boards, where I might only have my pictures.
Lastly, you know I like to have pictures in my posts…..so here are three pictures taken by me in three of my favorite cities and of course on Pinterest.
First, one of my favorite destinations….beautiful Venice in tantalizing Italy.
Venice, Italy
Then, lovely London in enchanting England.
Tower Bridge, London
Lastly, Paradise on Earth in Coronado, San Diego, in sunny California, USA.
Coronado, San Diego
I think you ought to give Pinterest a try, you just might find it Pinteresting!
Follow me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/luchanik/
My Love Of Travel – It Started In Lovely London
Life is constantly evolving, and you never know from day to day what the next day will have in store for you. I made a post not too long ago, and just modified it now – Social Media and My Whirlwind Life, I also modified the page about me – About Luchanik Travel & Cruises. Why? Well, just two days ago, I finally made a decision – I no longer want to be a travel agent!
I’d now like to deviate, and focus on the place where it all started – England, and specifically lovely London! My love of travel started right here, I have to say that one of the best places in the world is London. I can go back to London time and time again, and never be bored of seeing the same places….each time is like the first time. I absolutely love it, and miss London a lot.
I really like going to this area of London – the Tower Bridge in the St. Katharine’s Dock area.
Tower Bridge, London, England
Tower Bridge, London, England
Tower Bridge, London, England
Tower Of London
I also love seeing Buckingham Palace time and time again – let’s say I have a fascination with Royalty.
Buckingham Palace, London
Buckingham Palace, London, England
I believe this picture was taken close to Buckingham Palace.
London, England
Here I am standing right in front of the spectacular monument near Buckingham Palace
London, England
London has some beautiful museums, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
You can’t go to London without checking the place Princess Diana called home – Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace, London
Kensington Palace, London
Don’t miss seeing London’s fantastic parks, complete with ponds, lakes, and ducks.
Hyde Park, London
London, England
I just loved going in the Houses of Parliament and listening to how they argue.
Houses of Parliament, London
Westminster Abbey, London, England
This picture was taken close to the Houses of Parliament
Dean’s Yard, London
I love Harrods of Knightsbridge, London – you just have to go in this amazing, but very expensive store.
Harrods of London, Knightsbridge, England
This is close by to Harrods – stunning architecture in London, quite fabulous!
near to Harrods of London, England
Now, one of the best photographs that I treasure is that of Princess Diana, and Dodi who were tragically killed in an accident when Diana was at her happiest. I cried so much when Diana died, she was a childhood hero of mine, and I had even wanted to attend her wedding to Prince Charles – of course, I was not invited – so sad! I was so happy to see a shrine dedicated to them in Harrods which at that time was owned by Dodi’s father – I’m not sure if he is still the current owner or not.
Princess Diana and Dodi at Harrods, London
Harrods candy shop time and cappuccino time! Of course, I also like to get a pot of tea when I go into Harrods, with a scone with clotted cream and jam, doesn’t that sound nice? Oh, I crave for my English things!
Finally, a London street scene.
Central London, England
I love London, it surely is one of the best places to visit, and I highly recommend it.
Social Media and my Whirlwind Life
I have been busy lately. Very busy. I figured I might as well give you a brief explanation of what has kept me so busy. Well, after spending two years full-time from home as a travel agent, and making videos – some great, and some just mediocre, as well as venturing out on Twitter and trying my best on Facebook (never really liked Facebook), I had a wake-up call – I really needed to earn enough to support my three children. Besides, I didn’t sell as many cruises as I should have, or would have liked to.
So guess what, I have now got a job! A job that pays! I am not ready to tell you yet where my new job is – let’s just say it’s still in Hospitality and Tourism – that’s what I love, and where my heart is. It is so nice to have a steady paycheck, and not to rely on just commission. Of course, I will always continue to always promote travel – I put so much effort into it. So whereby my heart might yearn to make a video, or I might ache to get on Twitter, or even do a post here, sometimes, I may not be able to do it as much as I did in the past couple of years.
However, please don’t despair, I will still try to post and respond, and perhaps make a video or two and take photos, but I might just not be as active as before, and I might not respond as quickly as before.
I don’t like posting without including pictures, and what kind of pictures do you include when you do a post like this? I could only think of cappuccino to keep me awake because I’m going to be tired, a picture of London where I yearn to go when I next get a holiday (England is where I was born, and I have family there), and a picture of Italy, which also happens to be one of my favorite destinations.
Cappuccino – Harrod’s, London
Tower Bridge, London
Venice, Italy
Happy New Year to you all! May this year be good to us all.
Treats From Around The World
I don’t like tricks much at all, but I certainly like treats! Today, I will share some virtual treats with you, and I hope you will enjoy them.
Treats from USA: I love chocolate, so here is a picture of a great chocolate factory that produces terrific chocolate. Enjoy!
Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory, San Francisco, CA
Treats from Italy: I love tea, but can’t produce any great pictures of tea, and since I also love cappuccino, here is one for you (let’s pretend this picture was taken in Italy, but it really was taken in England). Enjoy!
Cappuccino – Harrod’s, London
Treats from England: This is a picture that was taken by my son Luca, and he won a prize for it at his school in a photography competition. I am so proud of him! I know that a lot of kids the world over will be eating this type of candy on Halloween. Enjoy!
Harrods of London Candy Shop
Treats from India: Okay, so this next one….I didn’t go to India to take the picture, I took it closer to home in Artesia, CA (close to Los Angeles), but still….these are sweets of India, and they’re delicious! Enjoy!
Sweets of India
I can’t share any more treats with you, as I think that’s enough treats for one day. Also, as I looked through my pictures, I couldn’t help but think that I should have taken more pictures of food from my travels around the world, why didn’t I take pictures of fish and chips when I lived in England, or pasta when I was in Italy, or Indian food when I was in India a long time ago, or even a picture of any type of food in Jamaica? That could be a reminder for us all – you never know when you might need those pictures or the virtual treats. Enjoy your treats everyone!
luchanik 