Touristy Things, part 1

Most of these pictures won't be new to you worldly people, but I thought it was worth a post. The Sunday between Xmas and New Year's, I took a day to do one of the hop-on hop-off bus tours around London, to kind of get all the necessary sights out of the way. And also, so that when you emailed me and asked "have you seen Big Ben yet", I could say "yes, and I took about 50 pictures from every angle".

So here's my day of playing tourist. It started in Trafalgar square, with a very distant view of Big Ben. That's where the National Gallery is (the building with the red banner) as well as a lot of cool statues. Unfortunately because I was there the day before New Year's, they were putting boards up all around the statues so that nothing would get damaged (nor people get hurt...from climbing them and then falling off) so I didn't take any pictures of the plywood.

Then of course there's Buckingham Palace - otherwise known as my second choice flat. The queen wasn't in residence at the time and it's a good thing, because the guards that were posted outside looked to be about 16 years old. From the palace, you can see the London Eye off in the distance. And I included a picture of myself so you know that I didn't just buy these pics off some London website. I don't really look as awful as the picture might lead you to believe. It's impossible to take your own picture and a) not have a double chin b) get decent framing and c) smile in any way that's remotely natural-looking. But anyway, there you go.

Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament followed up. Because I went on a Sunday, Westminster wasn't open to the public, but I think I remember what the inside looks like from last trip to London. I'm guessing it hasn't changed too much in the last 9 years.

Then I went on the London Eye, which is like a giant ferris wheel except the little pods hold about 20 people. It's a half hour long ride and the wheel never stops, so you get on and off as it's still moving. I really enjoyed it but the lines - both to buy a ticket and then to get on - were RIDICULOUS. I highly recommend buying a ticket online beforehand and doing it first thing in the morning. I got there around 2pm and as I waited in line forever I was worried that I wouldn't make it on before sunset. The sun sets at about 4pm here right now. But I just barely made it during daylight. Of course, when when I passed by the London Eye later that night, I realized it's probably equally beautiful at night because the city is all lit up. Still, it's more picture friendly during daytime.


By the time I was done with the Eye and waiting for the next bus, nightfall was swinging in. So there's a picture of the Tower of London, but it was too late for me to go visit it. So when someone comes to visit and wants to see the sites, I will definitely be game for the Tower of London tour - and I've heard you can just borrow the crown jewels whenever you want, so we can get some of those when we go.

Okay, back to work for me. Talk to you soon!