My friend needed a travel buddy and since my schedule is super flexible, she put me on her flight benefits and thus began my travel saga. First stop on the itinerary was a four day trip to London. Neither of us have ever been there before so it was an exciting and busy week.
Landing on the morning of the 10th, after getting sick on the plane, my trip was already off to a rough start. After about an hour on the Underground, we arrived at our hotel in the Kensington area. Eager to explore (and walk off the nausea), we headed out to see Big Ben.
The place was bustling with tourists and for good reason. Along with Big Ben and the London Eye, there is the London Aquarium, river boats, and some talented street performers. The London Eye was a little pricey but worth doing once. The weather was kinda foggy when we went (classic London) and if I had to do it again, would plan around the weather so you get better visibility.
At night we decided to walk over to the Buckingham Palace to harass the big hatted guards. It was a bit of a walk but the Underground is pricey and we got to see more of London along the way. The palace was pretty ritsy on the outside but they rudely refused me entrance even when I offered them $20 so no comment on the interior (probably London kitsch).
The next day we got the Go London Card which gave us a riverboat ride, hop on double decker tour bus tickets, and St. Paul's Cathedral. The riverboat ride is a can't miss. Along the river you see some really old buildings mixed with newer architecture, in our case a battleship, and of course tower bridge.
We got off at the Tower Bridge stop and checked out the Tower of London. It didn't take us long to explore the whole place and not only did I see some fancy jewelry, I also tried my first fish & chips! I don't like seafood though so it wasn't for me but hey when in London... The Tower of London was a nice warm up for our legs before the 528 step climb to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. I know what you're thinking, 528, that's a lot of steps!, and you are right but it is well worth it for the view.
The London trip flew by and in just four days, we covered at least the major parts of London. Coming from Boston, the architecture and feel was oddly similar and overall London didn't feel so foreign to me.
