London

I took a three-day trip to London with my friends Carlos, Karen, and Geminis. (I flew out on the night of Friday, May 11, and we returned on Tuesday, May 15. Our days in London were Saturday, May 12, Sunday, May 13, and Monday, May 14.) Some say that London is too big, and you need to know what you want to see before you go. I’m here to tell you that, while that might be a more time-efficient way to plan your trip, it is not entirely necessary. From someone who just walked around the whole of London in just three days, here are my recommendations (listed in the order that me pasaron a mí):

Speak English

My mind ended up so confused while I spent the whole weekend speaking Spanish in England. My friends are from Mexico, and translating English for them while also having to explain the differences between British English and American English was the biggest conscious effort I’ve ever had to make to constantly switch languages de repente and speak one or the other consistently.

Fly Cheaply

Ryanair is the way to go. (Left to right: Carlos, Karen, Geminis)

Take the Tube

The London Underground is an extensive metro system. It takes about two hours to get from one side of the other, and you may have to switch trains up to four times in one trip (I know from experience), and while it’s not quite as cool/easy/fast/well-organized as the Madrid Metro, it’s certainly better than the DC Metro, and it is a quicker and more economic option than taking a taxi.

I made some friends on flight on the way there: a woman named Alison who is from England but works in Madrid, and a nice Madrileño couple (Dulce and José) whose son is studying in London. As Alison explained to me, in an effort to calm my nerves about hailing a taxi as a worst-case scenario: “you know that image of the black London taxi with a yellow sign, and a red telephone booth? That’s real; you can’t miss it.” Here’s proof of the red telephone booth:

A one-day all-access travel pass costs ₤7.70 to ride the Tube as much as you want. We certainly took advantage of that opportunity! Our trip to Windsor Castle went like this:

From Wanstead Park, take the London Overground line towards Barking, to Barking.

From Barking, take the District line towards Edgware Road, to Paddington.

From Paddington, take the National Rail Service to Slough.

From Slough, continue on the National Rail Service to Windsor.

(Correction: The National Rail Service costs extra.)

Look Right

It is true that they drive on the “wrong” side of the street, (which is really the right side), and that the driver is on the other side of the car. It makes “look both ways” all that much more important. Don’t do what I did, and start crossing the street when you’ve only looked one way, because the likelihood is that you’ve looked to the left, but cars are approaching from the right. Because of this, walking traffic also moves on the right side of sidewalks and elevators. Weird.

Madame Tussaud’s

We didn’t actually go into Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, but it looked pretty cool from the outside! A mime approached us and encouraged us to go in. It’s right around the corner from the Baker Street Underground. There is a cool statue of Sherlock Holmes right outside of it, and a figure of Kate Winslet was on display.

Convent Garden

I still don’t actually know if Convent Garden is a real garden. If so, I didn’t see it. What we did see, however, was the Convent Garden Market, which was hopping with activity.

The Royal Courts of Justice

…were opened by Queen Victoria in December 1882, and is located on the Strand, a street in the City of Westminster.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

…is the highest point in London!

Millennium Bridge

…is a footbridge that crosses the River Thames. You may also recognize it as the “Brockdale Bridge” from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).

From it, you can see the:

...Shard London Bridge, aka. The Shard of Glass, aka. The London Bridge Tower, which is tallest building in Europe. Construction is to be completed later this year.

(more pictures of the Shard London Bridge, taken from the Tower Bridge):

…The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral

...and some other landmarks.

Shakespeare’s Globe

…is another one that we didn’t have the chance to go into, but it was recommended to me by a friend. I took a picture of the outside. Shakespeare is buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford-on-Avon, but he also has a plaque in the Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Golden Hind Replica Ship

...is pretty cool. We walked right passed it. For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hinde

Southwark Cathedral

Tower Bridge

…is beautiful and iconic. Not to be confused with London Bridge, which is simply a traffic bridge crossing the River Thames (nothing exciting). The HMS Belfast is right in front of it, which was the largest cruiser in the Royal Navy, built in 1938.

The Tower of London

…was closed when we got there at the end of the day, so we didn’t get to go into the castle. From the view across the River Thames, you can see the water-gate called "Traitors' Gate."

  

Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is a shopping district in London said to look like Times Square in NYC. Some of its attractions are the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, M&M World, Chinatown, theaters, and shopping. So cool!

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is especially cool to visit during the Change of Guards, which we did! There were a ton of people. According to the Union Jack flag situated on top of it, the Queen was not in residence at the moment.

Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Abbey

Of course we couldn't take pictures inside, but believe me when I tell you that we saw the graves of tons of kings and queens, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Henry Irving, Charles Dickens, etc.

Big Ben

London Eye

Riding the London Eye Ferris Wheel, the tallest Ferris Wheel in Europe, was one of my favorite things. Our ticket included a short 4-D film about the skyline of London, which was really neat! I love skylines.

Golden Jubilee Bridges

National Gallery and Trafalgar Square

Entrance into the National Gallery is FREE, which is GREAT for a student budget! We didn’t have a lot of time to look around, but the artists I recognized included: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh. It was also here that we saw the Official Olympic count-down clock =)

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Hyde Park, most popularly known for the Speakers’ Corner, is one of the Royal Parks, which is home to The Serpentine River, a Peter Pan statue, and Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.

Windsor Castle

Despite the light rain, the cold weather, and the train-mess involved in getting there, Windsor Castle was stunning, and I am so glad that I took the trip to see it. We took an audio-guide tour through the castle grounds, Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, the Drawings Gallery, and the State Apartments. So beautiful!

Apollo Victoria Theater

Another highlight was seeing Wicked with Geminis in the Apollo Victoria Theater. I was not familiar with the story, but the show was fabulous. (Although, The Wizard of Oz was kind of ruined for me after that.) We had nosebleed seats, but it was still a great time. Also playing in London this weekend was Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, and Singing in the Rain. 

En fin…

En fin, I would love to go back and spend some more time. I think you could easily spend at least a full day in any one of the attractions I just mentioned. Ojalá que tuviera el tiempo y el dinero para hacer eso. This wall-hanging in our hotel pretty accurately summarizes the weekend:

Wishing I had more time and money to vacation to London,

Love, ~Taylor

(**Source Note: All statistics and historical information have been verified by material published on Wikipedia.)