Today we got on the Overground at Hackney Central and took it to the underground. From there we rode until Green Park, where we got off for Buckingham Palace. Lauren and Dad were slightly worried that we wouldn't make our 10am reserved times for the palace tour, but we made it with no issues. We got to the palace just before 10am and went through security and started our own self-guided walking tours.
Unfortunately the Queen was at her summertime home in Scotland, so we were not able to say hello. The rest of the tour was nice though! We got to see quite a bit of the palace and learn a little bit about how the royal family lives. We also got to see a lot of the artwork that's on display in Buckingham Palace, which I thought was neat. Overall we were inside the palace for close to two hours. Sadly, we could not take any photos inside though.
The front of Buckingham Palace. Should we tell everyone that the Queen isn't even home?
The backside of Buckingham Palace
Part of the lawn at the palace.
After the palace tour we walked up toward Hyde Park. Originally we were going to get on the double decker bus tour again (we got a two day pass), but instead decided to take a little walk through the park. We ended up getting lunch at a cafe on a pond in the park. It was a peaceful setting for lunch in the busy city. I got the fish and chips! I felt so British! It was good, but it tasted similar to fish and chips we can get in Maine. No complaints though!
Gate at the entrance to Hyde Park
We also got a pitcher of the summer punch. So much fruit!
Fish and chips with mushy peas!
View of the pond from where we were eating lunch. Hard to tell that were in the middle of a city!
After lunch we walked back to the entrance of the park and finally did get on the hop on-hop off bus. We rode the bus across the city of London to the area near the Tower of London on the east side.
View of the bus
Driving back past Trafalgar Square
Pret! They're just as common as Dunkin Donuts in Boston.
The outside of St. Paul's Cathedral. Unfortunately we didn't have time to go inside. Next time!
View down the Thames River. Just another beautiful day in London.
About to head over the Tower Bridge.
Included in the price of our bus tickets were passes for free river rides down the Thames. So naturally that was our next stop. It was nice to see the city from the river, but the boat itself was more like a river taxi than a relaxing boat ride.
View of the Tower of London from the river.
Another shot of the Tower Bridge.
Another bridge in London (I can't remember which one it is).
The Millennium Bridge
View of the London skyline. So many cranes
We found Big Ben again!
We departed the river boat at the London Eye docks. Since we were there John, my dad and I decided we wanted to ride up it. We had been thinking about it since we got to London and we decided now was as good of time as any. Lauren and my mom stayed on the ground and took a walk around the area while we rode up. The view was really nice over the city and I'm glad we did it!
The inner workings of the eye
Here I am!
Looking eastward down the Thames
Nice view over the city.
All the buildings look so small.
Looking down at the other car. We're at the top!
Ahhhh, I'm falling down!
After the eye it was nearly time for dinner! For dinner Lauren and John led us to an Indian restaurant that they had been wanting to try in Covent Gardens. Lauren read that Indian food is really popular in London, so she was excited to try it out. I got a chicken dish that was lit on fire! I was pretty happy, I thought it was good.
Covent Gardens near where we went to dinner.
It finally started to rain a little bit. Just a sprinkle though.
My food is on fire!!!!
After dinner we took a walk in the light rain to see some more of London. We walked to Piccadilly Circus and around Soho a little bit toward Oxford Circus. I thought it was really neat to see the city in the light rain while the sun was just setting. It felt like what I thought London would feel like.
Piccadilly Circus. So many ads.
Another view of Piccadilly Circus.
The rest of the family ended the night by having a drink at a pub in Soho. I met up with Kyle and Garrett, who were also in London, and we got a drink at a pub near Trafalgar Square. It was good catching up with them and hearing about their adventures throughout Europe. This was their last nights in London, as the next morning they were flying to Amsterdam where they were going to meet up with everyone else to fly back to America. I felt a little like I should also be heading back to meet everyone, but I still had a week and a half of my adventures ahead of me! The night ended by me taking the 45 minute local bus back to Hackney. I almost fell asleep but I was afraid that I would miss my stop.
Thursday (8/20/15) was a very early day. Me and the parents had booked a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath, and we had to meet the tour group at the Gloucester Road Underground stop at 7:45. Our apartment was an hour from Gloucester Road, so we were out of the building by 6:45.
It was worth getting though, as this was our day to see Stonehenge and Bath! I was very excited to see Stonehenge, even if it is just a pile of rocks. The trip out to Stonehenge took about two hours, and I think I slept for most of it. Once there we had about 90 minutes to explore.
Stonehenge did not disappoint. I thought it was really neat seeing all of the rocks and wondering how they got there. I still find it amazing that it was built all those thousands of years ago and no one knows how or why it was completed. I can see how people would be disappointed though if they were not in the right mindset.
Look at all the rocks!
And another view of the rocks!
Me and the rocks.
Dad and the rock.
I took like 60 photos of Stonehenge, yet they all look shockingly similar.
All of the people grouped around in a circle to take a photo of the circle of stones.
A different view! This is the side that as fallen down more in the past 3000 years.
I don't know how they moved rocks that big without modern equipment.
After Stonehenge we got back on the bus and continued on our way to Bath. The tour guide was great, telling us interesting and funny bits of information along the way the whole time. I would highly recommend the guided tour.
We got to Bath around 12:30 and had about three hours to see the city. I didn't realize how beautiful of a city Bath was! I'll let the photos do the speaking:
The Roman Baths. The City of Bath was built around the ancient baths that the Romans built here thousands of years ago. We didn't have time to tour the baths, but we were able to sneak a little view.
Royal Mineral Water Hospital. I don't know what this is today, but I thought that was a cool name.
This is where we got lunch! A pasty is a meat filled pastry, sort of in the shape of a turnover. It was really good! We ate our pasties on a bench in a square where a street performer was singing opera music. I don't usually like opera, but she was really good!
Traditional buildings in Bath. I like all of the chimneys. But the entire city is built from this sandstone material that made it look really beautiful.
Another view of a classic Bath building.
All of the town houses in a large circle. Apparently Nicolas Cage used to own one of these houses.
View of a park in front of the houses.
The whole city looks like this sandstone color! We spent part of the three hours just walking around looking at all of the buildings.
But we also had time to stop and have a drink! Bath is known worldwide for it's cider, so we decided to get some. And we needed different types to get a true appreciation for the local cider.
The outside of the Roman baths.
A bridge over the river. That's as descriptive as I can be.
One last view at the buildings of Bath. This building here is the cathedral.
Overall I really liked Bath and Stonehenge and I'm glad we were able to see some of England beyond London. It was a day well spent! The weather was a little rainy in Stonehenge, but it cleared up in Bath. I feel like we experienced classic UK weather for the entire seven days that we were on the island, which is fitting.
The trip back to London took about two and a half hours. We arrived back around 6:00 and met up with Lauren and John. They had their own adventures during the day where they went to the British Museum, had tea time, went up to Abbey Road, and saw the neighborhood of Camden.
For dinner we went to a traditional British pub in Southwark. It was one of the oldest pubs in the city! The pub itself was rather crowded with people having drinks, but the dining area was more quiet. The food and drink were both pretty good. I had the mac and cheese for dinner while Lauren had her traditional fish and chips. Her's actually came in the newspaper wrapping!
After dinner we walked to the bus stop to head back to Hackney. We walk across the London Bridge to get to the bus, which was pretty neat to do after the sun had set. We got back and started packing up to depart the next morning. We had another very early day ahead of us, as we had scheduled an 8:04 am train to Belgium.
Overall I had a great time in London and I wish we had more time! Now that I did a lot of the touristy stuff, I would love to go back to London and see more of the actual city. The three days that we had just wasn't enough!
