Weekend in London
In the summer of 2012, I did a study abroad program in Spain through AIFS. The company offers many excursions throughout the trip to further explore Europe during our semester there, the first of which started before we even got to our destination in Spain....London!
We got to spend a few days in London as part of an introduction to our study abroad semester in Europe. After a short nap at the hotel, everyone in the program was quickly making friends and setting out to explore the city.
The first place we found in our adventures around the city was Kensington Palace. Behind me in the picture below is a statue of Queen Victoria located in the large expanse of gardens next to the palace.
After a walk around the palace and its gardens, we looked for some lunch. On our way, we passed by an old building with this written on its side...
For our first meal in London I had the signature meal of fish and chips! We asked a lady in a shop where the best restaurant to get them nearby was and her information didn't fail us! It was delicious!
In order to get to some scenic places further from our hotel, we had to take the tube. Mind the gap!
On our way through the city, we walked through Hyde park and saw Albert Memorial.
The first stop on our guided tour one afternoon was Buckingham Palace. There were so many tourists taking pictures. From what I understood from the tour guide, Buckingham Palace is the residence and workplace of the reigning monarch, while Kensington Palace is the residence for the royal family.
While we were at the palace, we were lucky enough to see some sort of parade of the palace guards. We weren't sure exactly what it was because it seemed to take everyone around by surprise as well.
The last stop on our tour, they took us to Trafalgar Square to see Nelson's column. From here, there is a great view down the road, Whitehall, to see the Big Ben clock tower in the distance. At the time we were in Londong was about 8 and a half weeks before the summer Olympics, so there was a giant timer to count down set up in the square as well.
After a long walk, we reached the Palace of Westminster (parliament) and got to take some pictures in front of Big Ben.
Following a viewing of the famous clock tower, we went across the street to take a tour inside Westminster Abbey. There was a bit of a line to get in, but it was worth it to see the inside! In addition to the beautiful, ornate decorations and architecture to see, there are many monarchs and famous people buried inside, such as Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens.
I got to see 2 bridges over the River Thames. The first (from a distance) was Tower Bridge. For the Olympic festivities coming later in the summer, they had hung giant Olympic rings from it.
The second was Millennium Bridge. This is the walking bridge that gets destroyed by the death eaters in the seventh Harry Potter movie.
On one end of the Millennium Bridge is the Globe Theater. You have to pay to get inside, but it was neat to see from the outside and they had this really neat sign that pointed in all directions to a bunch of major cities in world and were labeled with the distance to them.
Our last night in London was June 28th, the day of the quarter finals for the 2012 Euro Cup: Germany vs Italy. That night, the game was on in every bar or pub we went to. When the game was over and Italy had won, people swarmed the streets cheering and singing. Cars were even honking their horns to the tune of the song and people were climbing this fountain in a nearby plaza.
We got to spend a few days in London as part of an introduction to our study abroad semester in Europe. After a short nap at the hotel, everyone in the program was quickly making friends and setting out to explore the city.
The first place we found in our adventures around the city was Kensington Palace. Behind me in the picture below is a statue of Queen Victoria located in the large expanse of gardens next to the palace.
After a walk around the palace and its gardens, we looked for some lunch. On our way, we passed by an old building with this written on its side...
For our first meal in London I had the signature meal of fish and chips! We asked a lady in a shop where the best restaurant to get them nearby was and her information didn't fail us! It was delicious!
In order to get to some scenic places further from our hotel, we had to take the tube. Mind the gap!
On our way through the city, we walked through Hyde park and saw Albert Memorial.
The first stop on our guided tour one afternoon was Buckingham Palace. There were so many tourists taking pictures. From what I understood from the tour guide, Buckingham Palace is the residence and workplace of the reigning monarch, while Kensington Palace is the residence for the royal family.
While we were at the palace, we were lucky enough to see some sort of parade of the palace guards. We weren't sure exactly what it was because it seemed to take everyone around by surprise as well.
The last stop on our tour, they took us to Trafalgar Square to see Nelson's column. From here, there is a great view down the road, Whitehall, to see the Big Ben clock tower in the distance. At the time we were in Londong was about 8 and a half weeks before the summer Olympics, so there was a giant timer to count down set up in the square as well.
After a long walk, we reached the Palace of Westminster (parliament) and got to take some pictures in front of Big Ben.
Following a viewing of the famous clock tower, we went across the street to take a tour inside Westminster Abbey. There was a bit of a line to get in, but it was worth it to see the inside! In addition to the beautiful, ornate decorations and architecture to see, there are many monarchs and famous people buried inside, such as Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens.
I got to see 2 bridges over the River Thames. The first (from a distance) was Tower Bridge. For the Olympic festivities coming later in the summer, they had hung giant Olympic rings from it.
The second was Millennium Bridge. This is the walking bridge that gets destroyed by the death eaters in the seventh Harry Potter movie.
On one end of the Millennium Bridge is the Globe Theater. You have to pay to get inside, but it was neat to see from the outside and they had this really neat sign that pointed in all directions to a bunch of major cities in world and were labeled with the distance to them.
Our last night in London was June 28th, the day of the quarter finals for the 2012 Euro Cup: Germany vs Italy. That night, the game was on in every bar or pub we went to. When the game was over and Italy had won, people swarmed the streets cheering and singing. Cars were even honking their horns to the tune of the song and people were climbing this fountain in a nearby plaza.
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