If it is even possible for one to see all there is to see in London in one day, I think we came pretty close. Before we left for Europe, I wrote out an itinerary for London to ensure we would get to see all the highlights in the short period of time we had there. So, after grabbing a quick breakfast (I chose Starbucks, while Zach chose a fish and chips vendor across the street), we bought tube passes and headed to the Houses of Parliament. Unfortunately, with the building being so big, it was hard to get a good picture close by. We did our best, and moved on to Westminster Abbey.
Since I had lived in London for a few months in college, I had already toured the abbey. Also, the tickets were rather expensive, so I left the decision of touring it again up to Zach. He was content with viewing the outside, so we took a picture and moved on to Buckingham Palace.
It would seem that seeing the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace should be at the top of one's list while visiting London. However, during my whole semester there, I never went. So, I felt it was important that we make that happen during this trip. The whole experience was pretty entertaining and very touristy. However, my favorite part was the bugle player on the following video. I have serious doubts that he still had that job at the end of the day.
From there, we walked to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square and admired painting by Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Turner, Van Gogh, and many other legendary artists. We then walked to Picadilly Circus for a quick pic before heading to Fortnum and Mason, the coolest and oldest department store I've ever seen.
Next, we went to a more scenic and quiet place, Regents Park, where we strolled through the many gardens. The park is a very romantic place, and there are many flowers and fountains to enjoy there. However, by this time we were getting pretty hungry and in need of a little rest, so we rode the tube over to Russell Square and ate at the Swan Pub.
The hotel where I lived in London was just off of Russell Square, so we walked down to see it. Unfortunately, it was no longer there. This was pretty disappointing to me because I was really hoping to see the cute Italian family who owned it. I later checked their website and found out that they were in the process of moving to another location in London.
We saved the British Museum for last as they were open late on that Thursday. One could spend at least a day in the museum, and it is filled with so many interesting artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone. I walked around with Zach for awhile, then left him there while I walked across the street to a souvenir shop ( I can only tour a museum for so long).
By the time Zach finished at the museum, it was getting dark. Seeing as how we had a very early morning the next day, we went back to our hotel to clean off the city grit and rest up for our train ride to Paris.
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