From December 4th through December 13th 2009 I was traveling Europe with my two friends; Dave and Mike. Mike and I had some paid time off to cash in and Dave is on sabbatical from work until January, so the three of us decided to take a whirlwind trip through Europe. Our first stop was London, England.London was the easiest and probably the most boring city to travel in. Everyone there speaks English, which is helpful, especially with it being our first stop in Europe. Our first day saw us hopping out of the metro at Piccadilly Circus. We hiked south to check out Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. These attractions are all near each other, making it a convenient first attraction for us to check out. Afterwards we hit up what ended up being a tourist trap Italian restaurant. While my pesto spinach lasagna was rather tasty, Dave's sheppard's pie and Mike's fish and chips were less than satisfactory. Also, it cost us an arm and a leg, not to mention that the only beer they had was lame.
After lunch we headed north and checked out the National Gallery and British Museum. In London most of the museums were free of charge and they allow photography, which was amazing! These two museums were what you would expect from a traditional museum. The National Gallery was full to the brim with paintings from throughout all of artistic history. The British Museum was similar to what you would find in a Hollywood history museum; Egypt sculptures, Greek statues, and old stuff from cultures around the world. Both museums were a bit generic, but still really cool.
After scouring London all day we checked into our hostel; Palmer's Lodge. We were in a 30-bed room, but the place had free wifi and a bar in the basement! We settled in then checked a nearby pizza chain called Pizza Express. It was actually one of our best and cheapest meals of the trip, I highly recommend it.
Day two saw us at St. Paul's Cathedral. This is one of the most massive and beautiful buildings in London, I was completely blown away. We walked around it and then checked out the inside, which was equally stunning. Though the do not allow photography inside, I was able to sneak a quick video. Shhhh its a secret!
We then took the Millennium Bridge across the River Thames to the Tate Museum. Above is a photo I took of the bridge as I passed under it. The Tate was full of a lot of modern art, which is not my favorite, but was fun nonetheless. Did I mention it was also free? I like free things! After the Tate we wandered east a bit and grabbed some food from a street vendor. To finish the night we crossed London Bridge and got a stunning view of Tower Bridge as the sun fled the sky.
By this time it was late afternoon on a Sunday in London, which apparently means that most every shop in town closes up. Fortunately for us our hostel had a bar! We spend the rest of the night drinking hard cider and enjoying free wifi internet.
The next morning we hit up a local joint for some English Breakfast and ciders before boarding the bus to the airport; for Paris awaited us!
I am processing photos from the trip as I type this, they will show up on my flickr photostream.
