No trip to U.K. is complete without dropping some time, some £s, and some major pedometer-busting days into this legendary city of 8 million founded in 50 AD by the Romans.
The iconic Tower Bridge was completed in 1894 although its gothic architectural touches make it seem much older. Note: not the same as London bridge which is .5 mile upstream and not all that exciting.
The Tower of London is officially Her Majesty’s Royal Palace. It is where the Crown Jewels are kept, and also still houses six ravens which Charles II ordered to protect it in 1883. They must remain at all times for superstitious reasons.
The oldest part of the tower, the White Tower, from 1078.
The Tower of London as seen from the Tube Station
This ruined church, Saint Dunstan, was destroyed in 1666 and is now a park.
We needed a break from the tourists after the tower, so we headed for some authenticity in East London’s Banglatown, aka Brick Lane. We got lucky to be there on a Sunday to experience the giant multicultural food market that goes on each week. We got samples of food from at least a dozen different countries and experienced hearing languages from all over the globe. This diversity of peoples found in London is probably the most we’ve ever seen in a city, and it was so thrilling! In fact, there are 300 languages spoken in London.
After sampling at nearly every booth, and inhaling more spice aromas than we could ever desire, after a spirited debate we finally settled on Ethiopian. Mmmm…
After indulging our tastebuds, we indulged our eyes with the terrific street art and graffiti we stumbled upon on Brick Lane.
More graffiti
This is your brain on WiFi.
Fisherman on the roof.
We decided to tackle two of the “big four” FREE incredible museums of London. (There are 170 total!) On Day 1, we chose the British Museum, dedicated to human history, art and culture. It houses the biggest indoor square in Europe.
The Egyptian wing of this museum holds the largest number of artifacts outside of Egypt. One of the most notable pieces in this museum is the Rosetta Stone. More than just language learning software, the real stone was found in 1799 and created in 196 BC. It was the key that unlocked the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
This museum truly had it all, from across the globe and throughout human history. It was amazing! Here is a dynamic Africa exhibit with full size carnivale pieces called Moko Jumbie.
This exhibit, called “Cradle to Grave” was incredibly poignant and evocative using two ~30’ long pieces of fabric with pills in it to illustrate the journey of prescription drug use for a typical British man and woman over the course of his/her life time. There were over 14,000 pills in it. (Obviously this is a small snapshot.) And this is Britain…a country with no prescription ads and a national healthcare system. Can only imagine what the US numbers for popping pills are…
Absolutely astounding!
Mandy soaks in the River Thames. London, and Tower Bridge are pictured. The original London Bridge from the nursery song indeed fell down, and is thought to have been from a Viking attack in 1176. The more recent London Bridge from the 1830’s was demolished in the 60’s and now lives in Arizona.
The free (!) view of London from the Tate Modern Museum.
Inside the incredible Tate. The building is a former power station beautifully converted to a homage to modern art. One of the most visited art galleries in the world.
A replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, built in 1997. The original was torn down in 1644.
Visiting one of the oldest pubs in London established in 1542, the George Inn, which was visited often by Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare(!)
You really can’t get more authentic or cozy!
The Palace or Westminster by night, where the House or Parliament meets. A very active place these days with Brexit looming. It’s a very different experience than the last time we visited during the day. This building was miraculously built in 1066.
Westminster Abbey…the most notable religious site for the royal family. Many funerals and weddings have taken place here including Prince William and Princess Catherine.
Another important Cathedral…St Paul’s from 1256. We were lucky to attend service here on the site of Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the interior, but we snuck in a selfie.
Visiting the neighborhood of Little Venice for a walk along the canals. The canal boats were the cutest!
Many of them had even been turned into restaurants, cafes and shops. We couldn’t resist having tea at one to get a closer peek!
Exploring Paddington. Yes, the bear calls this home.
These boats are “boatstogo.” Much like carstogo, or bike share programs, you can rent a boat by the hour and bop around the canals and River Thames. So fun!
Hyde Park…the largest of four royal parks in London, complete with security guards on horseback!
Princess Diana’s Royal fountain
Prince Albert Memorial, commissioned by Queen Victoria after his death in 1872.
Cathedral of Science…aka Natural History Museum, also totally FREE! And an absolute must see!
What a breathtaking building, which features a suspended blue whale skeleton at its center as the first thing you see when you walk in.
The architecture is simply remarkable.
We could literally spend days here. Unfortunately we only had about three and a half hours. Especially spectacular exhibits were of Earth’s history, human evolution, and human biology. Human evolution included findings of homo nabeli, only found in the last few years which dates 300,000 years ago from South Africa. It was only about 4 foot 8 inches tall.
The amazing earth. It was hard not to walk away and feel discouraged by the state of what we’ve done to our planet in the last 200 years.
Trafalgar Square is the main square or London’s living room. Don’t feed pigeons here! It’s illegal!
This city is made for exploring and discovering! Thanks London! We had a great time.
