We have had much fun walking around the city and getting more excited when seeing a painted Shaun the sheep in the street (see our up and coming Shaun the sheep folder) but of course we enjoyed seeing all of the sights that London had to offer too, they just weren't as brightly coloured :)
some of our favourite sites included Buckingham palace and then wandering round all of the beautiful parks surrounding the palace (the Londoners surely do like their parks, they are packed every day the sun shows itself!). Kensington Palace was also gorgeous and again surrounded by so many beautiful gardens that we could just walk around all day. we spent a long time walking through Westminster Abby which was pretty amazing, especially the ceiling which was stunning. We spent a day at the London eye and Shakespeare's globe. I loved the London eye especially since it was from an enclosed capsule, you get some great sights of London and I think if you are only going to do one thing to get a birds eye view of London, this has to be it. Bec loved Shakespeare's globe, especially since she didn't get to go in it last time, we got to watch some actors rehearsing the upcoming show which was cool and it includes a very nice little museum in the ticket price.
I managed to even drag Bec into a contemporary art museum and enjoyed her facial expressions as she was trying to work out why it was called art. (interjection from Bec: how can you consider a WHITE canvas art??? its blank!! my other favourite was a mirror... a mirror i kid you not! with some arty farty explanation about looking at the world and stepping into the artists world of art... bullocks! the rest of the stuff just looked like it came from some very disturbed minds... and whilst better out than in works for some things, not for everything... not for everything. rant over)
Out of the whole two weeks we were in London it rained for only one morning which we planned to visit Harry potter world and we were inside except for one part of the tour which just so happened the sun came out for us then. To get there from London it took us 2hrs, but it was worth it. This is a must for any Harry Potter fan the amount of work that went into creating all the props and costumes is amazing and seeing it there makes you appreciate the time it took for them to make it all. You also get to drink some butterbeer at the halfway mark as well as pretending to walk through the 9 3/4 platform with a trolley (helpful if you dont want to spend ages lining up at the one in kings cross station as there are plenty here). The gift shop at the end is amazing and dangerous all at once, We walked away with Bertie Botts every flavoured beans, chocolate frogs, fudge flies and peppermint toads along with many other cool souvenirs.
Some more nerdy adventures we went for our walk to 221b Baker street to see the Sherlock musuem and also went a few streets over to see where they filmed the BBC's Sherlock 221b baker street where you can eat at the sandwich shop next door to it. (SOOOO COOL!!)
We also went to the national gallery and the national museum where you could spend a day and still not see everything there is that much stuff they have collected.
My favourite historical thing so far has been the Churchill museum and Cabinet war rooms. If you like wartime history at all this is a must see (even Bec had a great time) to do this you will need a few hours as they have put together a great museum on Churchill's life and WW2 as well as being able to see inside the underground bunkers where many critical decisions were made.
Our other nerdy adventures included day trips to Oxford and Cambridge. Both are beautiful University towns each with a different feel. walking around much of oxford you see places where they filmed Harry Potter and it definitely seems to have been the inspiration for a lot of the scenes in the movies. unfortunately the great hall was closed for refurb so we didn't get to go there, but did see the library which was amazing. Cambridge has a completely different feel to it, where as Oxford is showy and seems to really play to the tourist market, Cambridge is like the smart but laid back sibling where you know they are amazing, but they don't have to try as hard as their counterpart. of the two, oxford is nice for a visit, but Cambridge would be the place I would to spend more time or study/live given the choice. it has all the same attractions in beautiful architecture and rich history, just without the bells and whistles.
We have drunk many beers at many different pubs, the favourites so far is meantime ale, a London craft beer and the 1730 pale ale. We have also eaten a great deal of fish and chips, including a vegetarian version, the vegetarian bit being deep fried halloumi cheese. It is so damn good, deep fried and baked cheese is a thing here everywhere does it. We also managed to squeeze in some pub catch up time with Nicole and Megan who have been living in London for the past year.
We have spent a great deal of time walking around parks and seeing lots of squirrels and listening to Bec singing her squirrel song that she has made up which I'm sure it is too see how much she can annoy me with it (its sitting at a 4/10 on my annoyance scale so far :p) (Bec: if anyone would like a copy of this single, please let me know as it is an AMAZING song, Nic just doesn't get it ;) )
More pictures to come soon
Nic
Looks like your having a great time.
ReplyDeleteLove Mum