London is huge but their transit system (to a foreigner) is top notch. Even with zero knowledge of how anything worked, we were able to easily navigate the city via tube or bus.
It helped that it was all in English, though you'd be surprised how many differences there are in the everyday spoken language. Their version of slang threw me way off at times, just simply because Americans don't phrase sentences the same way. I loved hearing it, but I'm pretty sure that everyone in the country thought I had a learning impairment because of how slowly I caught onto what they were saying.
PSA: I have nothing against those with learning impairments. Don't sue me, kay? I may be sarcastic, but I'm not THAT much of an asshole.
Uh, no ma'am.
We booked a private 1 bedroom, 1 bath flat (with kitchen!) in Nottinghill for $600 for 4 nights. It was located just 15 minutes walk from the Bayswater & Queensway tube stations. Whole place to ourselves.
Yvonne told us we were crazy, but our first day we decided to just walk. We picked a direction and went.
First stop was Hyde Park
Hyde park is smaller than I thought, but very lively and beautiful even in the dead of winter. There were birds EVERYWHERE and lots of dogs out to enjoy the sunshine. We didn't get a chance to stop into Kensington palace, but we will next time.
We stopped by the Science Museum.
Harrods was more crowded than I've ever seen any of the Disney parks. I needed out immediately and as a result, have no photos of the inside. I can't even give you a good description. I saw a lot of elbows and butts though if you want to know how that was.
Answer: wrinkly.
So I call bust on this place during any major shopping season...or weekend...or at all.
We used our Oyster cards and hopped a bus headed towards Trafalgar Square to see The National Gallery.
No pictures inside The Gallery but I got ONE.
But for serious, The Gallery is massive. I love art and art history. I can talk your ear off with all my little factoids about a painting but I was all funned out after about 30 minutes in here.
The artworks are SO GOOD that you just can't even appreciate or handle the perfection after the first 50+ masterpieces.
You start to actually become some unimpressed bourgeois jerk about it.
"Oh that, I saw that like 20 times in the previous 3 rooms. Can we please something GOOD now?!"
So, we left pretty quickly before I started insulting the Rubens paintings. (I love Ruben's work for the record.)
The spot where the scaffolding was set up is marked by a glass pillow sculpture featuring the names of those executed.
but at least we got a great view of The Tower Bridge.
B. I am afraid of heights so, no.
We decided to go over to a Christmas market & then called it a day.
The tour cost us about 20 pounds total and lasted almost 2 hours. Our guide seemed like a nervous public speaker, but she was extremely knowledgeable. There were 5 of us in the entire tour group.
The Western section opened in 1839. The first grave is from that same year.
I was inspired to come see this place after learning that a majority of the cemeteries in the game Fable III were based off of this place.
Many of the monuments and grave markers are crumbling and in serious need of repair.
I cannot recommend going here enough. It was uncrowded, and full of history. I absolutely loved it.
Perhaps it was too commercialized. Crowded? Gimmicky?
Don't get me wrong, I would recommend you go there...I just didn't get the same spark from it that I did in Ireland.
Until next time,
Lulu