Europe 2009 – London Day #1

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Migrated post from Blogger.com.
Refer to Europe 2009 Blog Migration.

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For this first full day in London, the following took place:

  1. Took the Tube from Borough to London Bridge – 1 stop on the Northern line.
  2. Had a look around and walked over London Bridge.
  3. By chance I encountered the Monument – this is a tower monument erected to commemorate the great fires of London. £3 to go up all 311 steps and receive a certificate.
  4. From the views I decided to walk to the Bank and from their to St Paul’s Cathedral (inspired by Mary Poppins somewhat)
  5. Did an audio tour of St Paul’s which included upstairs in the dome (a recurring event was climbing circular stairwells throughout the day…)
  6. Walked down the block to the Millenium Bridge and across the Thames to the Tate Museum of Modern Art
  7. Honestly I didn’t really get the modern art… Didn’t spend much time here…
  8. Walked along Southbank/ Thames River Walk all the way to the Big Ben.
  9. Continued around to St Margaret’s/Westminster.
    Similar to St Paul’s- tourists can’t take photos but you had audio tours offered (£4 @ St Paul’s, free @ Westminster)
  10. Walked down along St James Park to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately by this time it was 4pm so the Changing of the Guard was over for the day.
  11. Walked down The Mall to Trafalgar Square. From there caught the Tube to Baker St.
  12. Final activity for the day was Madam Tussaud’s – started at 5:45pm…
  13. Tubed back to Borough and am currently blogging while eating a chicken burger with a Guinness beer.. (fish n chips not avail as it’s a Public Hol)

A couple of thoughts:

  1. The Tube isn’t too bad, but in contrast Singapore’s MRT is the best experience so far… And Melb is not even worth comparing…
  2. London is really tourist-friendly: Tesco has this package deal of sandwich of pasta meal + snack + drink = £2!!!!!
  3. Melbourne’s inner suburbs are clearly based on the architectural styles of London… I find Borough like a Richmond back in Melb… Roads are narrower here and the layout is reminiscent of the sheer age of the city.
  4. Really love the history and centuries worth of layers built up and up… The monuments, particularly Westminster
  5. Beer (Guinness) isn’t that bad but I still prefer a glass of red wine anytime!!!

Photos taken: 227 (includes a handful from before today)

One Reply to “Europe 2009 – London Day #1”

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