I saw Westminster including the Clock Tower which contains Big Ben and the Parliament buildings. These highly recognizable sites are very accessible just outside a subway station. I was unable to make time for Westminster Abbey.
The famous clock commands attention in the London skyline.
The parliament buildings are visible in one of my few night shots from my trip. By the time night falls, I am typically too tired from walking around to take anymore photos unfortunately.
Cameras are everywhere in London and all over the UK I believe, making the country well deserving of its reputation as the most watched by police. The cameras everywhere seem to make the place feel safer, though.
These instructions at crosswalks probably save thousands of tourist lives each year! It was a bit difficult to remember where to look at first at crosswalks without the writing. It gets even worse with one way streets.
After already seeing the DVD in French and English before leaving for France, I saw the Chicago musical in London’s famed West End. It was enjoyable and I got a decent deal on my tickets online. Since the musical is imported, it is probably better in New York’s Broadway. Dozens of theatre productions run daily in London, compared to Saint John which has maybe only a couple dozen running one weekend per year.I had planned to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral which has a spectacular exterior. It cost nearly 10 pounds to get in though, which I decided was too much for just a church, so I just took pictures outside.
There was a beautiful park surrounding part of the church, with lots of nice tall trees.
The famous phone booths.
A pigeon perches itself atop one of the church park walls.
In the shopping arena, I bought a few new shirts as well as a pair of shorts on Oxford Street from Marks & Spencer. I also visited Harrod’s, which seems to be a very stuffy and expensive store.
They make you carry all backpacks in your hand, which gets tiring after about 3 seconds (hence why they are designed to be worn on the back!).
Expensive luxury is king at Harrod’s.
The London Eye, which I went up in, allows you to see the whole city from high up. Taking photos from within the eye is difficult because of the glass, and it was also getting dark when I went up. The city was starting to light up though, so that was interesting.
In the end, I saw plenty in London during my three days there. This concludes my blogging of the London part of my trip. You can now visit my gallery to see all of the photos I deemed worthy of posting. In my next post, I will discuss my travels in the ancient city of Rome!