Loads of fun in London!

The month of November has been packed full with traveling.  The weekend following our trip to Bern we had another trip lined up to go to London.  While Daniel has already been there for work, it was my first time to the city and I was quite excited about it, although it was going to be a very quick visit (less than 48 hours)... but we tried to make the most of our short time there.  

We arrived late on Friday evening, and when we checked in to the hotel, we were initially given a smoking room, so we asked if a non-smoking room was available.  Well, apparently it pays to not smoke because we were upgraded to a suite!  I have to say I think it is the nicest hotel room we have ever stayed in... check it out below.  I mean, a hotel room with a hallway... that is pretty sweet :)  Plus we had a nice view of Hyde Park as well.  I think the room was almost as big as our apartment!

Anyways, enough about the room and onto the the city.  My favorite thing to do when I arrive at a new destination is to just walk around and explore, so that is what we did on Saturday.  We first headed toward Piccadilly Circus, which reminded me a lot of Times Square in New York, primarily due to the large illuminated signs... but Piccadilly was actually the first place in the world to use outdoor illuminated signs.

Next we headed toward Trafalgar Square, which is the location of the National Art Gallery and St. Martins-in-the-Field Church, the parish church of Buckingham Palace.  On top of the center column stands a statue of Admiral Lord Nelson, who is considered one of England's greatest heroes for his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars.

For lunch we had a chance to meet up with my friend, Leisa, and her fiancé, Malcolm, at a nearby pub (Leisa and I went to UCSD and got our Masters in Education together... she moved to London shortly after we moved to Germany).  We enjoyed the classic English fare, fish and chips, and it was mighty tasty.  After lunch, it was time for more exploration.  We walked down to the River Thames and took in the views from the South Bank.  Once again I learned the difficulty of taking photographs in the winter sun, but I still hope you enjoy these shots that I took along the way.

What looks like a gigantic ferris wheel is the London Eye.  It is a 450-feet high observation wheel that provides great views of London and beyond.  We decided not to go up on Saturday... but we did cave in on Sunday, so keep reading to see those pics.  We then walked right by Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  The clock tower is often referred to as Big Ben, however the name actually refers to the main bell.  The tower has the world’s largest four faced chiming clock.  Of course, we had to take a picture in front of the famous landmark.  

Right next to Parliament is Westminster Abbey.   This church has seen the coronation of all the monarchs who have acceded to the throne since William the Conqueror was crowned King in 1066.  Interred here are 17 monarchs and innumerable famous scientists, writers and artists including Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, and Charles Dickens.

Next we headed toward Buckingham Palace.  On the way we walked by the Horse Guards building.  There are actually several regiments that guard the Royal Family... the Foot Guards are the ones that guard the palace and also wear the Bearskin hats.  There is also a cavalry regiment, and we had a chance to take pictures with some of these guards.  I tried to distract him, but no such luck... and the horse tried to bite Daniel!  Thankfully he walked away unscathed.  We also took the requisite photos in a red telephone booth, and then we finally made our way to Buckingham Palace.

By then it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for yet another of Daniel's "work functions."  This time some of our friends from Frankfurt came along to attend as well, and we all had a blast together that night.  And yes I wore the same dress in Bern... I figured it was just too pretty not to!

Sunday morning we were greeted with chilly rain showers.  Despite this, we went to watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, but we believe we saw the simplified version due to the torrents coming down.  Plus my camera batteries right before too!  Oh well, we will just have to see the full-blown ceremony on our next visit.  We then decided to dry off and have lunch in yet another pub... why not, we were in London, right?  After lunch, the rain calmed down a bit so we decided to walk around some more before we had to head to the airport.  We ended up having just enough time to ride the London Eye.  At the beginning of the ride, it started to rain again, but thankfully during the 30-minute trip, it started to clear and we were able to enjoy the view even more.

As I mentioned before, it was just a quick weekend trip so we had to head out before seeing eastern London, including the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London... but we definitely plan to go back and I already look forward to it.  Besides we had to get home to get ready for our trip to Morocco, which I will be posting about very soon.  Until then...