Sheer Gluttony: London - The Beginning of the Journey

Thanks to the kindness of friends and cousins who put me up for a few days before I headed for my Italian trip. I was in London for about 2-3 days, living in a Chinese restaurant and therefore I was able to save quite abit on food and lodging there.

Day 1:
Like playing a game of Monopoly, I started my day at Trafalgar Square. The monument within the square celebrates Nelson's victory over Napoleon in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Went to the biggest Chinatown in Europe

Walked from there to St James Park, and headed straight to the Buckingham Palace. I happened to see the changing of guard, but there were so many people there, I could not get a good shot of the palace itself. Honestly, the exterior of the palace is very boring looking. It is not grand, or intricate or extravagant. It is huge though. I was there in Summer and the State Rooms of the Palace was opened to the public, but the queue was much too long and not moving at all, so I took off to the next location.

The Big Ben. Maybe I have seen it too often in photos, in real life, Big Ben .. is just a clock.. But sadly, because I was covering everything alone, I hardly have any photos of myself with any of the sights.

Walked along the river..

HMS Belfast - Part of the Imperial War Museum

Tower Bridge. Unfortunately, it wasn't the real London Bridge as we sing in our nursery rhymes. The one that we sung about is actually in United States. "Why?" You might ask, the old bridge was under such disrepair, the British decided to get rid of it and the bridge was sold to a businessman in the US. Currently, the London Bridge is in Arizona, USA. *long silent pause*

While crossing the bridge on foot, there was this huge party of motorbikes going through. HUGE. In order for the whole convoy to pass through, it took them a good 10-15 minutes. I took some photos, but it was a fun experience.

After exploring the south side of the city, which I liked quite abit, the whole chill out atmosphere and little shops. I had limited time in London and made my way to the Tower of London.

The Tower of London was built in the 11th century by William I and used as a royal palace, armory, prison, place of execution and a jewel house. Jewel house ! I paid 12 pounds to check out the British Crown Jewels. I never knew that diamonds could come in the size of an egg. A very large egg. I could not take photos, but it was worth the trip. The rest of the sites were so-so, in fact, I found them to be pretty boring(i'm not a big fan of medieval weaponry) .

Next stop : - Soho! Where I came across a Gay Festival going on, my trip to London has been pretty lucky.

Day 2:-
Headed to the British Museum. The collection was so wide and detailed, covering a multitude of areas. I was so overwhelmed.

The Crystal skull !

Next stop was the National Gallery, where I spent the reminder of my day. I loved the National Gallery so much that I went back during the following day as well.