Our first day in cloudy London was packed with many interesting places. Our first stop was the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Located at the infamous address of 221b Baker Street, it resembled a Victorian-era house more so than a museum. Of course that was the idea, to show precisely what Holmes’ and Watson’s apartment would have looked like. Aside from the household features, there were also mannequins representing some of Doyle’s more popular Holmes stories. Overall the museum was really cool, and once again I had to restrain myself from buying everything in the gift shop. Our next stop was Trafalgar Square. In addition to the large lion statues and famous column, there was also a countdown clock until the opening ceremonies of this summer’s Olympics! We then continued walking down the street until we came to the Horse Guards, which are just like the guards at Buckingham Palace, except that they’re on horseback. After snapping a few photos we kept walking towards Big Ben. Along the way we passed Scotland Yard (the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service), Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives), and the Cabinet War Rooms.
We soon arrived at Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, it was only going to be available for touring for a little while longer, so we didn’t think it was worth the pretty ridiculous admission price if we weren’t going to get our money’s worth. We instead settled for pictures around the outside. I’ll just have to add that to my list for next time! J Big Ben and Parliament are right across the street from Westminster, so we took the opportunity to get some pictures from that perspective. We then headed across the bridge and over to the London Eye! While I had definitely been excited to go on this, I was also pretty nervous since I absolutely hate ferris wheels. It ended up being really cool, offering spectacular views of the entire city. There were also tablets in which you could look up specific buildings, which would then be highlighted for you so that you could look for them outside. Our final stop of the day was Buckingham Palace. While the famous “changing of the guards” ceremony wasn’t taking place that day (they only do it every other day at this time of year), it was still pretty awesome to see.
Our second day in London began at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Since it was Good Friday we weren’t able to go in the church, but it was still a very impressive building to see from the outside. We then walked across Millennium Bridge, which was “destroyed” in one of the Harry Potter movies. On the other side of the Thames River is Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, which we took a tour of. Although it was built relatively recently (1997), it was designed to look like the original, which burnt down in the 17th century. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and the accompanying museum was also pretty interesting. We then made our way to the Tower of London! This had been at the top of my list for London activities, so I was really excited to finally be there. I’ve always been interested in King Henry VII and his many wives, so to see where one of them was beheaded (Anne Boleyn) was really something. The displays on the royal fusiliers and torture chambers were fascinating as well. The crown jewels are also housed at the Tower of London, but the line was much too long and there was an additional charge to see them.
Following our visit to the Tower of London we walked out to Tower Bridge to get some photos. Afterwards we took a river cruise on the Thames that brought us back the London Eye area. The river guide was really funny, pointing out the orange capsule on the Eye that was for gingers only, and the missing capsule that you only had to pay half-price to ride (as long as you hold on tight). The next stop on the agenda was the Ice Bar! Made entirely of ice (including our glasses), about 30 people are allowed to enter at a time. Everyone gets a 40-minute time slot to enjoy their drink while wearing a snazzy parka and gloves. It was a very cool experience (pun definitely intended), and since they apparently exist in many cities I would love to check them out in other areas as well! Following the Ice Bar, we hopped back on the tube to get to our Jack the Ripper tour! Unfortunately, the powers that be decided that 7pm on a Friday night would be the best time possible to begin renovation works on the line we were travelling on (apparently this is going on often and all over the city in preparations for the Olympics). We were forced to get off of the train about three stops early, and had to power-walk/run to make the tour on time. I’m really glad we did because it ended up being awesome (yes, I’m pretty morbid)! We were brought to several locations were murders took place, and given very detailed facts and pictures.it was definitely a great and spooky way to end the day!
Our final day in London began at the British Museum. Sadly, Brianna left us that morning to go meet up with a friend in Rome, so from this point forward it was just Amanda and I. We spent about two hours at the museum, looking at endless amounts of relics that the British have accumulated from conquered territories over the past few centuries. We saw tons of mummies (including Cleopatra), as well as the Rosetta Stone! Afterwards we went back to our hotel to collect our bags, and then ventured over to the British Library. Because of the Easter holiday weekend, though, the library was closed. Another place to visit next time I guess! We then continued on to King’s Cross Station, where our train was departing from. Of course we had to get pictures at Harry Potter’s Platform 9 ¾, which was a nice way to kill some time since our train was delayed.
I had an absolutely incredible time in London! While it’s hard to compare the two because they are so different, I would have to say that I enjoyed London slightly more than Paris. I would definitely go back to either city in a heartbeat! It was cool to see so many places that I’ve seen on TV (Sherlock, the royal wedding, etc) and in the movies. The people were all very friendly too. Hope to be back someday soon! Thanks again for reading!
Click here from my first London album
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