Welcome to London

Saturday, 9 June 2012

“Worst Storms for a Decade” scream the headline of the Daily Express.

“Depressed? You will be as series of lows brings cold, rain, and gales” another paper shouts.

Welcome to London.

Two and a half days until Weathergedon arrives and thoughts of catching a flight to Spain are seriously considered. A couple just arrived from Scotland describe the weather as “freezing cold…shivered for days” furthering thoughts of destinations bordering the Mediterranean until we learn they are from Florida and discount entirely their assessment of what constitutes cold weather.

Nevertheless, it sets Laura on a mission – see as much as possible as fast as possible – and everyone knows what happens when she sets her mind.

From our first stop at Leicester Square, we walk through Trafalgar Square, visit Benjamin Franklin’s Craven Street home of 16 years, view Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, and Whitehall from Hungerford Bridge over the Thames at Embankment Station.

A quick Underground hop to Tower Hill, and a check goes next to the Tower of London, Crown Jewels, Tower Bridge, the Gherkin, and the nearly complete Shard at London Bridge. Dinner in Camden Town and a bus ride back to Regent’s Park and our loop is complete.

We experienced Bangers and Mash, Fish and Chips, Fish Pie, and a Boddingtons on tap last night, so if London ends tomorrow, we have at least covered the basics.

The juxtaposition of old London icons and more recent additions to the skyline like The Shard and Gherkin make London all the more fascinating.

More to come on the Tower of London, always one of my favorite stops in London, and a surprisingly great visit to Ben Franklin's house.

A bit of trivia ahead of that post:

Who was the most famous prisoner of the Tower of London? An English Aristocrat, imprisoned there twice, once by a Queen who herself was imprisoned there before becoming Queen, he twice sailed to South America in search of El Dorado "The City of Gold" and was executed in 1618 having again fallen from favor with the English Monarchy.

The Gherkin (2004) behind the Tower of London (founded 1066)

The Shard (2012) behind Tower Bridge (1894)