Today actually started very early at 4:40am in Las Vegas as I prepared for my departure from hotel. After packing up I went down and checked out and waited for my shuttle to arrive and take me to the airport.
Once at the airport I found that I needed to perform a ‘self-check-in’ this meant scanning my documents and confirming my details before being called by an agent to take my luggage.
After this I continues through security, which as in most U.S. airports means belt and shoes off as well as any jackets. I redressed on the other side of the check point and continue to my departure gate. I thought that being this early in the morning there wouldn’t be many people. Oh boy was I wrong.
After a brief wait I boarded the plane and headed to New York. The flight was full and it is no fun sitting in domestic economy for at least 4 hours I can tell you. However, we arrived without incident and I proceeded to the gate for my flight to London.
The flight to London was aboard a Boeing 777. It seemed to me to have far less seats than normal, however luckily there was plenty of room to spread out on this flight. I even had an aisle with nobody seated next to me.
After another 6 hours of flying we arrived in London to a chilly and wet morning. After clearing customs and immigration I headed straight for the Tube to catch a ride to my accommodation. Luckily, I had prepurchased an Oyster card, which is basically a smart card that can hold a balance of funds and deduct the cost of your trip from the balance.
You can easily add more funds to the Oyster card but luckily the version I had obtained already had a 20 pounds of credit, so I simply swiped in at the gate and was onto the platform.
I was staying with a friend who lives in the Tower of London region of the city so I needed to take the Tube from Heathrow and make a change to another line in the city. This would be made a little more challenging given that I also had to lug around 2 bags.
The main problems I believe, with the Tube is simply the humidity. I wouldn’t want to see it in the summer. In the end I managed the change and as now outside the right stations having swiped my Oyster card again to exit the station. That way it knows exactly how much the fare will be and automatically deducts automatically.
The next trip was to see whether my trusty HTC TyTyn II mobile device (which includes built in GPS) worked, having purchased the European maps. To my great delight, after changing the data region, everything worked as and I started to follow the location details to my friends place.
In a manner of minutes I was greeted at the door by their smiling face. I was soon all stowed away, had a spare key to gain access and was able to take a shower (after all that flying as my fiend headed out to work.
My first order of business would be to pick up my London Pass for the tourist information bureau in Regent Street. After exiting the Tube and getting my bearings right I headed down and picked up my pass. I then stopped to have bite to eat in a cafe and took the following shots:
From here I headed down toward the Palace Guards because they have a museum I had not yet seen. I have noticed that the red telephone boxes are making a come back on the street, obviously for the tourists. So I decided to act like one and take the following shot:
From there it was only a short walk to the Palace Guards
Luckily I was able to capture the changing of the guard. The museum is small but interesting. The best part is they have a glass wall between the museum and where they actually come when they have finished with the parade so you can see exactly what has to be done with the horses after the parade. I also liked the fact that they have some of the uniforms you can play with to see how heavy it is. The great things is that this museum is covered by the London Pass, so if you get the chance I recommend having a look.
I then decided to head off to see the Cabinet War Rooms a shortly walk away. Along the way I came across the Bali Memorial.
The Cabinet War Rooms are where the British government conducted planning during the height of World War II.
The Cabinet War Rooms also include a Churchill museum which provides information about the life and times of Winston Churchill.
Once again, this museum is covered by the London Pass so it is excellent value.
From there I headed to Westminster Cathedral but discovered that it isn’t covered by the London Pass so I went to the nearby Jewel Tower which is.
I then proceed back toward the Houses of Parliament, across Westminster Bridge and on towards the London eye.
From there I headed across Blackfriar’s Bridge and into Trafalga Square
Next stop was Buckingham Palace
By now the rain was getting quite heavy so I decided simply to wander through the city.
I actually came across Saville Row which I had never been to before.
As the rain continued I decided to head to St Paul’s Cathedral.
Unfortunately they had a service on so you couldn’t do much. I’ll have to leave that until another day.
From there I decided to see the Temple Church before taking the tube home for a well earned sleep.
