As my plane circled over London I watched an awesome sight. There was a magnificent view of the Thames River, the Millennium Dome, Big Ben and the Royal Albert Hall. I realized I was about to visit one of the most fascinating and historical cities in the world. I was there last April and seeing the sites in person that one merely catches a glimpse of in movies and on television can be breathtaking.
Once on the ground we had to get accustomed to the traffic flowing on the left instead of the right. I noticed the cars and lorries (trucks) had right hand drive. There were so many things to see. The one attraction that daily draws over 5,000 spectators is the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Very efficient, very colorful, very military-plus it’s free to observe
Other notable landmarks are incredible. Piccadilly Circus is always jammed with traffic, Harrod’s is the English version of Nordstrom’s, the British Museum has relics from mummies to dinosaurs and Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament are impressively huge. The Tower of London and Tower Bridge are over 1000 years old. There is also a guided walk which takes one through the section of London where Jack the Ripper performed his murderous deeds in the late 19th century.
I particularly enjoyed the Beatles historic sites. There is the famous Abbey Road crosswalk leading into their recording studio as well as the building which was their home for Apple Records and the rooftop of their last concert. There are plenty of pubs and coffee shops around this fabulous city. Fish and Chips stalls can be found almost anywhere.
The one thing I noticed that was not in abundance was the storied London fog. I was disappointed, since after watching Sherlock Holmes and Hitchcock movies I was expecting a blanket of fog covering London at night, and there was none, darn! The one thing I remember most is the catch phrase, “Mind the gap.” We heard that barked every time we left their underground subway system which has a little gap between the train and the platform, so one doesn’t trip over it. So fog or no fog, Mind the gap
Once on the ground we had to get accustomed to the traffic flowing on the left instead of the right. I noticed the cars and lorries (trucks) had right hand drive. There were so many things to see. The one attraction that daily draws over 5,000 spectators is the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Very efficient, very colorful, very military-plus it’s free to observe
Other notable landmarks are incredible. Piccadilly Circus is always jammed with traffic, Harrod’s is the English version of Nordstrom’s, the British Museum has relics from mummies to dinosaurs and Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament are impressively huge. The Tower of London and Tower Bridge are over 1000 years old. There is also a guided walk which takes one through the section of London where Jack the Ripper performed his murderous deeds in the late 19th century.
I particularly enjoyed the Beatles historic sites. There is the famous Abbey Road crosswalk leading into their recording studio as well as the building which was their home for Apple Records and the rooftop of their last concert. There are plenty of pubs and coffee shops around this fabulous city. Fish and Chips stalls can be found almost anywhere.
The one thing I noticed that was not in abundance was the storied London fog. I was disappointed, since after watching Sherlock Holmes and Hitchcock movies I was expecting a blanket of fog covering London at night, and there was none, darn! The one thing I remember most is the catch phrase, “Mind the gap.” We heard that barked every time we left their underground subway system which has a little gap between the train and the platform, so one doesn’t trip over it. So fog or no fog, Mind the gap
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