Trafalgar Square to Houses Of Parliament
We are still on Day Three of our Five Day Trip to London which was a three week trip in total. Another week was spent in northern England where my family lives, and one week was spent in Antalya, Turkey (I’ll have to write a post on that at some point soon – I hope).
Today is July 25th, we had left the USA on July 22nd at around 8 pm, and arrived at London Heathrow Airport on the 23rd at around 3pm local time, which was 7 am USA Pacific Time – we were lucky to have caught a direct flight which was a total of 11 hours. Of course, when you get to England, you kind of lose a day with traveling and then have to put the clock eight hours forward.
This post carries on from the previous one – Trafalgar Square via Whitehall to Horse Guards Parade. We had just finished looking at the Horse Guard’s Parade grounds, and this is opposite to the Ministry of Defence. Can you imagine that nearly all buildings in London – even if not exactly touristy, are so beautiful! To me, they are a treasure, and are all worthy of being photographed!
The Ministry of Defence, Whitehall
Another picture in the same area.
Whitehall, outside of Horse Guards Parade
This person, the Eighth Duke of Devonshire, apparently turned down the job of Prime Minister – his statue is shown in the picture below
Spencer Compton, Eighth Duke of Devonshire, outside Ministry of Defence, Whitehall
Whitehall, City of Westminster
Now, let’s not forget the women of World War Two, they had a significant part in the war too – they served, fought, and nurtured the wounded – here’s their memorial.
The Women of World War Two, Whitehall
We are coming up to Downing Street, now the home of David Cameron, and when I used to live there, it was home of Margaret Thatcher. There’s been a few other Prime Ministers in between of course.
Downing Street, SW1
Downing Street, SW1
Downing Street, SW1
Downing Street, SW1
London Eye from near Downing Street
This memorial is significant, it commemorates the end of World War 1.
The Cenotaph – the UK’s primary war memorial
The Cenotaph – the UK’s primary war memorial
The Cenotaph – War Memorial commemorates end of World War 1
Well, look what else I saw….King Charles Street Bridge. The arch connects the Treasury building to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building.
King Charles Street Bridge
King Charles Street Bridge
King Charles Street Bridge
King Charles Street Bridge
Now, I’m not sure what this building is exactly….but it is on the way from King Charles Street Bridge to
Westminster, near Whitehall
Here’s a building that just looked nice, so I took a picture of it.
Richmond House, 79 Whitehall
Well, a glimpse of the Houses of Parliament, and now we are getting close to where I was supposed to share more photos of – in this post. I think I dawdle too much along the way, and get way too distracted. Just to let you know, it is not that far from Trafalgar Square to the Houses of Parliament – I think you can make it in about twenty minutes if you walk fast.
Close by to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster
Next post….I have to share more pictures of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s Church.
Trafalgar Square Via Whitehall to Horse Guard’s Parade
Day Three in London on July 25, 2014 started off in the Trafalgar Square area. I already showed you some pictures in my previous post Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s Church, however, I didn’t want to bore you with too many pictures along the way to Westminster, so now I can bore you in this post…..excuse my dry humor!
So let’s continue the journey! This is very close to our hotel in Trafalgar Square, and is on the corner of Whitehall and Charing Cross
Whitehall and Charing Cross
Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Sqare
Just a bit of London for you, with some Londoner’s of course!
Whitehall, City of Westminster
London Bus No. 12 – Oxford Circus at Whitehall
Looking back at the Trafalgar Square area
Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square
55 Whitehall – Sherlock stood atop here in the “Empty Hearse”, so did James Bond 007 in “Skyfall”. This building now houses the Department for Energy and Climate Change
55 Whitehall – think Sherlock and James Bond!
Talking of Sherlock, here’s a pub named after him and that is close by to Great Scotland Yard.
Sherlock Holmes Pub
It is on the junction of Whitehall and Great Scotland Yard, which is pictured below
Great Scotland Yard
Some of my pictures are quite self-explanatory, so I won’t write the same info above them as the info is captioned on the picture. This building is right next to 55 Whitehall – it is the Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence, City of Westminster
And this picture will show you both 55 Whitehall and the Ministry of Defence in the same shot, as well The Clarence (restaurant)
The Clarence Restaurant, 55 Whitehall, and Whitehall Place, City of Westminster
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Statue, outside the Ministry of Defence, Whitehall
Want to see the Duke of Cambridge (not the present one mind you) up closer?
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Statue, outside the Ministry of Defence, Whitehall
I bet you didn’t know Whitehall was such an interesting place. It’s the area that houses a lot of the government departments and ministries, and of course the terrific Horse Guards Parade, which is a parade ground used for royal parades and ceremonies.
Horse Guards Parade Whitehall
Life Guard, Household Cavalry – Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall
Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall
Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall
Life Guard, Household Cavalry
Household Cavalry, Horse Guard Parade
Please beware – the horses may kick or bite you!
Horse Guard Parade, Whitehall
Horse Guard Parade, Whitehall
Guard’s Memorial, Horse Guards Parade
This is the Old Admiralty Building at Horse Guards Parade
1st Viscount Wolseley Statue at Horse Guards Parade
Wow, now they are all taking a picture of what I took a picture of before – the Ministry of Defence Building (sorry, I am spelling it the British way, Word Press wants me to put an “s” instead of a “c” in “Defence”, but right now I want to stick to the way I used to spell it while growing up in the UK).
The Ministry of Defence, Whitehall
Horse Guards Parade
I meant to share more pictures of Big Ben, St. Margaret’s Church, and Westminster Abbey, but I will have to share them with you the post after the next one.
Do you like taller pictures on Pinterest vs. horizontal pictures?
Do you like taller pictures on Pinterest vs. horizontal pictures? The reason why I ask is that you sometimes have to keep it in mind when taking pictures especially if you want to pin them to Pinterest. Your taller pictures will be more prominent and your horizontal pictures won’t stand out that much.
These pictures were all taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and taken with the camera held up creating longer taller pictures, rather than horizontal picures. I have discovered that on Pinterest, these kinds of pictures (taller) stand out more and the other ones look way too small. I forgot while I was taking pictures while I was in London, as I wasn’t thinking about Pinterest, but just the scene. Good job, I varied my picture taking and took so many pictures.
I like this pub, the Sherlock Holmes Pub/Restaurant – I didn’t go into it….but I liked it enough to take quite a few pictures. One of the advantages of taking a picture on a smartphone is that you can share it almost straight away. My pictures that I showed you in my last post were taken with my Canon G10, except the Sherlock Holmes Pub and Great Scotland Yard picture that I got off my Note 3. The Admiralty Arch pictures on that post were taken with my Nikon P600. It is hard to share pictures quickly when they are on your camera, although the Nikon P600 is a WIFI enabled camera, I often had problems as the download would stop mid-stream – probably because I had so many pictures. Therefore, my pictures on my traditional cameras (not smartphone) tend to get shared a lot later.
This first picture of the Sherlock Holmes Pub was shared via Pinterest pretty soon after it was taken in July, however, I prefer having it on my blog, so that it links back to my post. Now look at the one posted yesterday, it doesn’t look as good on Pinterest because it is smaller than the one that I shared on Pinterest back in July. I know they are two different pictures of the pub, but the taller ones looks more prominent.
The Sherlock Holmes Pub/Restaurant #3
I don’t think I have shared this picture before yet, on Pinterest or here.
The Sherlock Holmes Pub – #4
Here’s my taller picture of Great Scotland Yard, shared earlier via my smartphone in July – but it did not link to my page.
Great Scotland Yard
Here’s a few of the London Eye (although I am stepping out of sequence by putting that one in). Again, they were shared on Pinterest back in July, but not on my blog.
London Eye by the Aquarium #1
London Eye by the Aquarium #2
I will still end up taking horizontal/landscape pictures most of the time, as my pictures are also for my enjoyment and it feels more natural taking a picture that way – plus you can get more into the scene. Why can’t Pinterest allot more space for horizontal pictures? Anyway, you will still see many landscape pictures here as I often forget what’s best when I’m in the moment. I hope you like the pictures.
Big Ben, Westminster Abbey And St. Margaret’s Church
Can you believe it is now Day Three? I can’t. I am already feeling sad just writing this as if I was still there. My trip to London is half way over (almost). I need to get out of this pessimistic mood and make the most of it! So what to do, just go out there and see it and soak it in!
Admiralty Arch, The Mall
Well, hopefully, you remember that this is close-by to my hotel in Trafalgar Square, so you may have seen Admiralty Arch pictures that I have taken and posted before, but since I walked past this area quite a number of times during my stay, it is befitting to add some of what I saw on the way today to Westminster. We are headed in the same direction as yesterday, as there is nothing wrong with repeating what you just saw yesterday. Today is another day, and you always get a new perspective on the location on different days.
Admiralty Arch again.
Look what’s in the neighborhood of Trafalgar Square, here is a pub named after the great English detective!
Look at this great street – this was the location – well, the rear entrance of the original headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London. It’s within walking distance of Trafalgar Square.
Great Scotland Yard
Now, we are in the Big Ben area – what a stunning looking clock and housed in such a magnificent building!
Big Ben with London Eye
Wow, what beautiful architecture!
Westminster Abbey
My daughter in front of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Of course, I had to take a picture away from my current focus of Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and St. Margaret’s Church – but this is London, and why not get a London bus?
London Bus in Westminster
Here is a lovely church – St. Margaret’s Church – right next to Westminster Abbey
St. Margaret’s Church, next to Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben and London Eye
Do you like the name Houses of Parliament of Palace of Westminster? This building is known by both names, but I think most commonly…..Houses of Parliament. I once went in here and loved seeing Members of Parliament debating with each other – quite entertaining!
Houses Of Parliament
Houses Of Parliament #2
Statue of George V
Westminster Abbey
Houses of Parliament/Palace of Westminster
Such sisterly love from my two daughters.
George V Memorial
George V Memorial
This building was right in the vicinity.
Old Palace Road, SW1
Houses of Parliament/Palace of Westminster
Big Ben
Big Ben in the corner
near to Big Ben
Methodist Central Hall
I love Dean’s Yard – I find it so picturesque!
Dean’s Yard, close by to Westminster Abbey
Well, I really must stop now. Do you know I will probably have another post with more pictures of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s Church featured in it again? Either you will dread it or look forward to it, I hope it will be the latter. Well, until next time!
London Is Calling
London calls, and I’d love to come running, but sadness befalls me now as I can’t obey. Too bad. Well, I’ll just have to write about the rest of my day – Day Two in London which was July 24, 2014 – just over a month ago – and really my first full day. London has a power over me, I just went there, but I would like to be back there already….oh, well. Guess I’ll just have to be content looking back at my pictures.
Here is a picture taken at Trafalgar Square close by to our hotel
Trafalgar Square
This man seems to fit right in this picture, I don’t think he was the one who vandalized the phone booth with graffiti though, I hope not!
London is calling, excuse the graffiti!
Just a recap, we headed for Buckingham Palace through Green Park (pictures show in my post Enchanting London) and this is before we did that
Picadilly, London
Why would I not want to see the Ritz?
The Ritz Hotel, Picadilly
That night we ate in Chinatown, which is close to Leicester Square. Normally, I would have opted for Indian food as it is really great in England – where they are not afraid to add the spice, or for English food which is also superb, but my sister who we met up with this evening wanted to try Chinese food, and I’m so glad that we went to this restaurant – the Hong Kong Buffet – I will always remember how delicious the food was.
Chinatown, London
Do you know the food was extremely delicious at the Hong Kong Buffet? It was a good price too – only £9.95 per person, compared to what I paid one of the days in a restaurant in Covent Garden.
Chinatown, London
That’s my sister going into the restaurant with Chandi – my little girl.
Chinatown, London
Sorry about the half eaten food, I forgot to take a picture of it before it got to this stage, but better to show you something rather than nothing!
Hong Kong Buffet, Chinatown, London
This picture is a little blurry, but I think it shows the atmosphere of Chinatown really well.
Chinatown, London
This is where we ate on our first night in London (yesterday evening) – I did not want to eat pizza, I can get Pizza Hut in the USA, but my kids wanted it, so I had to give in. Tonight, we walked right by it after our meal in Chinatown.
Pizza Hut, Leicester Square
Right next to Pizza Hut in Leicester Square is Burger King – gladly, we did not go there on this trip, but I’m guilty of taking them there on a previous trip.
Burger King, Leicester Square
Okay, so this picture belonged higher up, but I wanted to put it next to the night-time picture of the same place – the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. We walked past it many times during our five days there, both morning and night.
National Gallery at Trafalgar Square
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
My computer is acting really weird right now, and going ever so slow, I guess I have overworked it with all of my pictures in I-Photo and I think I’m running low on memory. Anyway, time to go now and enjoy life here in San Diego! Have a great weekend!
Tower Bridge – My favorite Bridge In The World!
Tower Bridge – my favorite bridge in the whole wide world! It is also my favorite destination spot in London – the place I must go to whenever I go to London. I don’t know what it is about this bridge, but it has won my heart over and I gladly go visit it every time I go to London. Day Two of our July, 2014 visit had us visit the Ritz Hotel, walk through Green Park to Buckingham Palace, then walk over Westminster, and then we caught the tube to the Tower Hill Underground Station, which is where we exited to the Tower Bridge and Tower Of London area.
This is the welcoming scene.
Tower Bridge area #1
Now, throughout this post, I am not going to write much at all and have labeled all my pictures in this post with numbers. That way, when I want to put them on Pinterest, I will know which ones I have already pinned.
Tower Bridge #2
Tower Bridge #3
Tower Bridge #4
Tower Bridge #5
Tower Bridge #6
Tower Bridge #7
The Shard as seen from Tower Bridge area #8
Tower Bridge #9
Tower Bridge #10
Tower Bridge #11
Tower Bridge #12
Tower Bridge #13
Tower Bridge #14
Tower Bridge #15
Tower Bridge #16
Tower Bridge #17
City Hall – viewed from Tower Bridge area #18
Tower Bridge #19
Tower Bridge #20
I really wanted fish & chips, but would end up waiting until I got to northern England, where I had them twice! Oh, was I in heaven eating them!
Ted’s Fish & Chips, Tower Hill, London #21
Millennium Pier, Tower Bridge #22
Tower Bridge #23
We packed in quite a lot on our second day in London, which was really our first full day, and later this same day we would end up eating out at China Town. I will show you some more photos from China Town later on. See you next time!
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.
luchanik 