Visiting London Through My Eyes

Hello Steemians,

Upon first arriving in London, England, my finance and I were exhausted and we found that navigating through the transit system was not as easy as we had hoped. Coming from a smaller, Canadian city, we hadn’t thought of the possibility that we might get lost a few times... Nevertheless, we found our way to our campsite!! So, to answer your questions, we were backpacking, and camping our way through Europe. We found this to be the cheapest route in most parts of Europe. However, we would soon discover that just because we were sleeping outside the city, doesn’t mean we will save a ton of money... Here’s why:

We stayed at a beautiful campsite on the outskirts of London. It was very clean, and basic. There was a large grassy area where we pitched our tent. We slept on the ground, we ate on the ground. The ground was... well, it was our home for the whole time we spent in London. But we were comfortable (we had great mats)!

Every morning we awoke, we hopped on a few trains to get into London, and THIS is where we ended up not saving that much money at all!! All of the money we “saved” by pitching our tent outside of the city, was then spent travelling INTO the city. So, if we could do it again, we might do it differently. And jeez, did it take us a while to get to and from. So much travel time every day.

But alright, let’s jump into it!!

London, everybody!!!

Welcome to beautiful London; the destination in which millions of people come as tourists or for business purposes. The city consists of different sub areas and they have their own postal code for each. Many events take place in London annually, and we found that the city was great at providing an excellent transit system.

As you probably might already know, London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is a 21st-century city with history stretching back to Roman times. At its centre stand the imposing Houses of Parliament, the ‘Big Ben’ clock tower and Westminster Abbey, site of British monarch coronations. Across the Thames River, the London Eye observation wheel provides panoramic views of the the entire city. Definitely a MUST for first-time visitors. Although, be prepared for a lengthy lineup.

(Interior of the Westminister Abbey)

Buckingham Palace... Everyone has heard the name. We were fortunate to arrive on the Queen’s birthday, where there were celebrations: fireworks, horses running through Hyde Park hauling giant canons.

Below are two pictures of the Tower Bridge, used as a bascule and suspension bridge built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge crosses the Thames River close to the Tower of London. I believe there are tours you can take to have access to the bridge, but we did not pay to walk across it. Instead we took pictures from a distance.

And, of course, London can NOT be seen without sitting down for a taste of Afternoon Tea. The ritual of Afternoon Tea owes its origins to Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford. As a young women in the early 1800s, she lived during a time when it was common to eat only two main meals a day, with breakfast scheduled early in the morning and dinner often late at night. I can’t imagine going this long without food! Anna was routinely weakened and irritated by stomach pains, so she decided to schedule time to take tea and snack each afternoon. This private ceremony was firstly done furtively in her bedroom, but over time well-heeled acquaintances joined her and the practice was continued. Nowadays tea rooms and hotels in London, and throughout the country, offer Afternoon Tea.

If you made it all the way to the bottom of my post, let me know, and I especially would love to hear your thoughts!! Have you been to London? What would be something that you would recommend to a visitor? If any of my facts are wrong, I did my very best, and I appologize! I am going off of memory here!

Best wishes to all of you, and Happy Holidays!!!

Stephanie
Xoxo