Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After 9 and a half hours of flight and an hour in the not so long but slow moving immigration line, sure London is ready for the Olympics, we caught the Heathrow Express for Paddington Station. This wasn't here the last time we were and it is well worth the money to save the time. 20 minutes, which seemed more like 15 and we were in London. Chris later clocked the train going 100mph which would explain the quick delivery to Paddington. From there, a quick cab ride to the hotel and we ditched the luggage to grab the tube to Soho. We did a short walk around China Town and had a very nice dinner there. Afterward, we went through the theater area and down to Piccadilly Circus to see the lights before heading back to get some sleep.
The next day we decide to take advantage of the fact the we all woke early and head to Kew Gardens. A few years ago we had been to Butchart gardens in Victoria, BC and all we heard was how it compared to Kew. Maybe our memory has made Butchart out to be the Garden of Eden or maybe it was still too early in the season. It was very nice but not as nice as we were expecting. One thing I will say is the cafe there was very good. Yummy snacks! We grab the train back into town and stop at Westminster Abbey. Ryan really enjoyed the Poets corner, Darwin and Newton's memorials. Again, good food in the cafe. Chicken and mushroom pie was very nice and to sit and munch on it in the courtyard, very peaceful. Two hours pass by in a flash. A short walk up the street passed 10 Downing street, we weren't invited for dinner, and we passed through the Horse Guards to get to Trafalgar Square and the National gallery. Ryan and I are collecting how many of Van Gogh's sunflowers we can seen. So far, we've seen two and one was here. A short tube ride and we were back at Russell square with an hour before the British Museum closed so we ran over there to see the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian antiquities and the Elgin Marbles. After all this, we stayed close to the hotel for a nice little Italian place less than a block away from the hotel.
After the busy day yesterday, today was supposed to be less hectic. By 10 am we were at the Museum of Natural History for it to open. It had a good dinosaur exhibit and and interesting area called the Darwin center and the cocoon which was an area dedicated to the study of nature. But the best part was the building itself. Absolutely gorgeous! From here we went next door to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Again, I highly recommend the cafe to eat in. Good tea and scones. Next door from here was the Brompton Oratory which was the largest church in London until Westminster was built. After all this culture, it was time for some retail therapy so we headed to Harrods for lunch and window shopping. After buying a few trinkets, we walked along Rotton Row and the serpentine in Hyde park and on to marble arch. No retail therapy would be complete with out stops at H& M, Marks & Spencers on Oxford st and Hamley's. By now we were kinda hungry so we walked through Soho until we found a pub, not a long walk, for fish & chips. After a couple of pints we rolled on down to Piccadilly and a tube ride back to bed. So much for an easy day.
- comments