5.23.2014

London

It seems like months ago that we were in London, but it was only a week and a bit ago. It takes 3 hours to get from our apartment in Paris to the centre of London (thanks to the Eurostar). Not too shabby! Even though they are only a few hours apart, Paris and London are completely different. London has successfully embraced mixing modern architecture with old, while Paris has successfully embraced keeping things (from the outside) looking like they did 100 years ago (except for one big oops).

We stayed at B&B's for our entire trip. Needless to say, I had my share of English breakfasts.

We went on some free walking tours. This is a great (and affordable) way to see the city and also learn things about London. Like how this cat made oysters a trendy food. This is Samuel Johnson' cat, and SJ famously said  "Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

You'll notice London has it's fair share of statues.

If you think this is London Bridge, you are terribly wrong! This is tower bridge.

This, is the world famous London Bridge my fair lady. As you can see it's not much, plus it was built in the 70's so that explains why it looks so..blah.

We also found a great free view from the terrace of a new shopping centre.

One of the tours was the "Jack the Ripper" tour. The best part about this was seeing the East Side. When we go back to London we will spend more time here.

Ale's are a big deal in the UK. We had our share of real cask ale. This is non pasteurized beer without secondary carbonation. It's served at room temperature. After your first sip, you'll say "wow this is warm flat beer" but apparently this is how real beer is supposed to be served. 

You can't go to London without seeing some sort of guards changing.
As we were standing in front of Buckingham palace, the front gates opened. Our tour guide said "I've never seen those gates open." Then, a few motor bikes drove out.
Then this person drove out....the Queen!
After the queen sighting, any "changing of the guards" was a little less exciting.

Trafalgar square.
Bali memorial.
Can you see Big Ben? No you can't! Because Big Ben is the bell within the clock.

Our short stay in London was too short. We will be back!

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