This was a must for me. There was some initial push back about it, but I was like, “when am I ever gonna see Stonehenge?” The plan was we would wake up early and Tito Ted would drive us there.
We woke up early and waited and waited… til about 12 noon. Tito Ted rolls up and starts to take us there. ( I am still bewildered to this day what happened!)
It felt like it took more than an hour to get out that way.
Finally we get there and I couldn’t believe it!!! It was light rain, so we had to wear the cheapo poncho coat they sold for $ there!
While this was awhile back, I love looking back at that time when not everything was as the tip of your fingers (cell phone) and you have to learn your way around.
We didn’t know what to expect when we arrived, but we covered a lot of the first day.
London Eye
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
The Mall
Admiralty Arch
Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column, Fountains and Lions
Piccadilly Square
We were staying in Ireland primarily for our vacation, but we decided to go to London to meet with Jasmin’s aunt. So we flew into Gatwick airport and jumped on the Gatwick Express (train) to London Victoria.
Once we arrived to Victoria station, we were trying to figure out what to do with our luggage. Jasmin asked if we could store our luggage we were able to.
Victoria station is near many of the known landmarks. Once you get out of Victoria station, they are within a mile (Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey…etc). So we headed towards that direction.
We first stopped by the London Eye and paid for the tickets to go up. I took some pictures while up there. It is nice and gives great views on a nice day.
It was a nice start off to our trip here. We decided to go back over the Westminster Bridge and take pictures of Big Ben and go to Westminster Abbey.
After that, right next to Big Ben is Westminster Abbey. I believe when we went, they said we couldn’t take pictures and I had my digital SLR, so I don’t think I took pictures inside. Westminster Abbey has some very famous people buried there. We spent a couple hours here.
We walked to Buckingham Palace. It was busy and the coolest thing was that this was the first time I heard soo many languages in one place! Culture!!!!
We watched the guards and took pictures.
Then we walked the mall all the way to Trafalgar Square. By this time Jasmin was tired of walking, so we took a break.
When we got closer, you can see Admiralty Arch.
Admiralty Arch
Admiralty Arch
Admiralty Arch
Nelson’s Column
Nelson’s Column
Nelson’s Column
Nelson’s Column
Nelson’s Column
After using the bathroom and paying for it (first time paying to pee), we walked around. Seen some famous red phone booths, so we took pictures in them!
We walked a bit further on Haymarket st and got to Piccadilly Square.
We then walked up Regent Street a bit. This was famous for having the high end designer stores.
At the end, we had to get back, so we paid a pedicab.
We headed back to near Big Ben. On the way I saw this statue:
It was getting dark. Jasmin’s London family were busy with a local fair, so we had to wait til it was over and they would get us.
Finally, Jasmin’s aunt called and said to meet us at a station, so we bought an Underground pass and jumped on the train (forgot which station we went to).
