After I ran my half marathon in Killarney, I flew to London late Sunday night. I had to pay a ridiculous amount of money ($200) for over weight bags and that was AFTER I threw a bunch of stuff away.
I am staying at a hotel chain called Tune hotel - in the Kings Cross area. It is right by the tube, is clean and safe. My room has no windows and I had to pay for TV, towels and internet, but it is really cheap for London!
The first day was really hot - 93 and I was super sore from running so it was a rough day. I started off walking toward the Buckingham Palace. On the way there I walked through Trafalgar Square and stopped at the National Portrait Gallery. I'm not a huge art person so I just walked through the portraits, but a few caught my eye - Kate Middleton, Maggie Smith, and Marc Quinn. Quinn froze quarts of his own blood and made a cast of it. So there is a blood head bust of him in a special case in the Gallery. Weird. I made my way down the mall to Buckingham Palace.
Kate was in labor so lots of excitement at the Palace. There were tons of news crews there waiting for the birth. I got there at the tail end of the changing of the guard ceremony.
I rested in St. James park for a bit and continued walking to Picadillly circus, Big Ben, Downing Street, Houses of Parliament, Parliament Square, the London eye, St. Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey (the line was huge so I didn't go in the Abbey). I went to Churchill's War rooms and museum - fascinating.
On Tuesday I slept in a little. It was hot and sprinkled a little. Lots of England got storms but we were lucky. I went to St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, and London Tower. They did a huge cannon salute to the new heir to the throne who was born yesterday. The tower was great - a lot of bloody history. I did not go to the Jewel tower. My friend Stacy will be so disappointed, but the line was HUGE and it was hot and you couldn't take pictures anyway.
On Wednesday I walked to Kensington Palace and passed Harrod's and Victoria and Albert Museum. I would like to go sometime - many museums are free here. I spent some time walking in Hyde Park and the Palace gardens.
It was a little tricky getting to the Palace today. Some roads were blocked, there was lots of security, and lots of news stations because Will and Kate went home with the baby yesterday. The Palace was good and they told lots of stories, but I can't keep it all straight! There was an exhibit of some dresses of the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana. I went back to Westminster Abbey and there was NO line. I got right it. You couldn't take pictures which is always a let down. The middle part of the Abbey looks like a normal cathedral, but the rest of it is full of dead people and their monuments. It is an active church - they have services there and of course weddings and the coronations are held there. I find it odd because it's basically like getting married in a cemetery. You are walking all over graves. Many kings, queens, poets, authors, scientists etc are buried there - about 3300 total including Robert and Elizabeth Browning, Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, Geoffery Chaucer, Charles Darwin, Sir Issac Newton,
It was another beautiful day today. Really warm for English standards. I'm going to stonehenge tomorrow :)
I am staying at a hotel chain called Tune hotel - in the Kings Cross area. It is right by the tube, is clean and safe. My room has no windows and I had to pay for TV, towels and internet, but it is really cheap for London!
The first day was really hot - 93 and I was super sore from running so it was a rough day. I started off walking toward the Buckingham Palace. On the way there I walked through Trafalgar Square and stopped at the National Portrait Gallery. I'm not a huge art person so I just walked through the portraits, but a few caught my eye - Kate Middleton, Maggie Smith, and Marc Quinn. Quinn froze quarts of his own blood and made a cast of it. So there is a blood head bust of him in a special case in the Gallery. Weird. I made my way down the mall to Buckingham Palace.
Kate was in labor so lots of excitement at the Palace. There were tons of news crews there waiting for the birth. I got there at the tail end of the changing of the guard ceremony.
On Tuesday I slept in a little. It was hot and sprinkled a little. Lots of England got storms but we were lucky. I went to St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, and London Tower. They did a huge cannon salute to the new heir to the throne who was born yesterday. The tower was great - a lot of bloody history. I did not go to the Jewel tower. My friend Stacy will be so disappointed, but the line was HUGE and it was hot and you couldn't take pictures anyway.
On Wednesday I walked to Kensington Palace and passed Harrod's and Victoria and Albert Museum. I would like to go sometime - many museums are free here. I spent some time walking in Hyde Park and the Palace gardens.
It was a little tricky getting to the Palace today. Some roads were blocked, there was lots of security, and lots of news stations because Will and Kate went home with the baby yesterday. The Palace was good and they told lots of stories, but I can't keep it all straight! There was an exhibit of some dresses of the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana. I went back to Westminster Abbey and there was NO line. I got right it. You couldn't take pictures which is always a let down. The middle part of the Abbey looks like a normal cathedral, but the rest of it is full of dead people and their monuments. It is an active church - they have services there and of course weddings and the coronations are held there. I find it odd because it's basically like getting married in a cemetery. You are walking all over graves. Many kings, queens, poets, authors, scientists etc are buried there - about 3300 total including Robert and Elizabeth Browning, Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, Geoffery Chaucer, Charles Darwin, Sir Issac Newton,
It was another beautiful day today. Really warm for English standards. I'm going to stonehenge tomorrow :)
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