Last
November we went on a short journey in London, we have already visited it many
times, but this was the first time together…
We were
super organized and managed to find out some new interesting places!
Want you to
know some more about it?
Then check
it up!
We stayed
in London from Monday 24th November to Friday 28th
November 2014: five entire days since we left from Orio al serio with the
airplane to Stansted at 6.30 am and we came back with the plane of 8 pm (we travelled
with Ryanair).
We had
organized every single detail before leaving selecting the places to visit: we
had created an Excel sheet (it was an idea by Ale) where we had indicated every
place with its tube station (with the right colour for every line of course!)
and bus station.
The first
day, once arrived in Stansted, we took a Terravision bus arriving at Stratford,
then we took the bus for getting to our hotel: the Holiday Inn Express, on the
North Circular, Zone 3 (Walthamstow Stadium). The hotel can be reached with a
bus, but the tube station at Walthamstow Central is not too far (a 10-minutes-trip
with a bus); the bedrooms are cosy and clean, the continental breakfast is
quite reach. We booked it with Booking.com and it was worthwhile.
 |
| St. Pancras |
Once left
our baggage in the reception we went to the city centre. First stop: King’sCross St. Pancras station where you can take a photo of the famous platform 9 ¾
(only for potterheads). But remember, the platform is not between platform 9
and platform 10, but it is set before the turnstiles that lead inside the
station. Furthermore if you want to have a photo in front of the platform
number you will have to queue because a queue management system has been installed. At the end of the queue you’ll find a photographer
with an Hogwarts’ scarf to take a photo of you.
Our second
stop, in the neighbourhood, was the British Library: a picturesque building,
particularly for books lovers, equipped with a cafè and free wifi.
We took the
tube to arrive in Primrose Hill, the stars’ hill, and have a walk in the
enormous park from where you can see London’s skyline.
 |
| London's view from Primerose Hill |
From there we arrived in
Regent’s Park on foot and then visited Abbey Road which is portrayed on the
cover of the homonymous Bealtles’ album. A number of people, regardless of
traffic, pose on its famous zebra crossing.
In the
evening we took a walk in Camden Town, the city’s oddest place, full of stalls
selling gothic cloths and accessories, but also food. We bought a maxi Chinese dumpling,
but since we were still hungry we decided to go to KFC in Oxford Street where
most of the fashion brands can be found.
Let’s skip
to the second day.
We started by
visiting Buckingam Palace, the Queen’s residence, where we saw, despite
ourselves, a parade…And we fed a chubby squirrell!
Afterwards
we visited the Hard Rock Cafè; ask to be led to “The Vault” in order to see its
musical memorabilia: you’ll find the Beatles’ birth certificate and Adam
Clayton’s bass (Ale really appreciated it since he has always been a U2’s fan)
and even Madonna’s famous bodice.
 |
| A crypt at the Cafè in the Crypt |
We had
planned to eat something at the Cafè in the Crypt, a self-service under St.
Martin in the Fields’ church, i.e. on the crypts! Very evocative, but crowded…
So we took a sandwich at Pret a manger and then headed to the London Dungeon. We had booked the visit before
leaving; the official website had promoted an offer for visiting the main
London attractions and we chose 3 of them out of four : the London Dungeon, the
London Eye and finally Madame Tussauds.
The London Dungeon is halfway between an
amusement park and a theatre: you will discover London’s scaring history and
participate directly to the actors’ show, they’re pretty good. You will see the
Gunpoweder Plot, Jack the Ripper and Sweeny Todd, you’ll also try Drop Dead
Ride, a vertical free fall drop ride that should recall a hanging. Listen: they
will take a photo of you while you’re falling!
 |
| Smile?! |
We decided to get on the London Eye (London’s Ferris
wheel) immediately to take advantage of the sunset’s light. The ride lasts
almost half an hour and will let you see the entire city if the wheatear is
clement.
 |
| What a wonderful view from the London Eye! |
 |
| Inside Liberty |
A stone’s throw from it there’s the House of
Parliament with the iconic Big Ben, one of the most famous symbol of London.
If you can, do a tour in the shopping centre
Liberty, an ancient building set in the West End selling cloths and luxury
goods.
In the evening, we ended up in a typical
English Pub to drink a beer with an old friend of Ale who has lived in London
for many years. Jessy finally discovered that the following day we would see
Bryan Adams live at the SSE Arena in Wembley.
The third day was dedicated to Soth
Kensignton’s museums: the Natural History Museum where we visited the
dinosaurs’ section (the most interesting) and the Victoria & Albert Museum,
which concentrates on art and design (we saw fashion, photography and jewels’
rooms), we decided not to visit the Science Museum because we were short of
time!
We took a walk in Soho, which was once famous
for being an entertainment quarter and a base for the sex industry; nowadays is
quite different but is still full of sexy shops.
After eating some noodles at Wok to Walk we
came back to our hotel to get ready for the concert.
 |
| Amazing concert! |
The show at the SSE Arena was one of London’s
concerts for the Reckless 30th Anniversary tour. It started at 8 pm
and finished at about 10.20 pm: people danced so much listening to "18 til
I die", "The kids wanna rock", "Run to you", ma anche
"Can't stop this thing we started", this last one is our favourite.
On the 4th day we planned to visit
Madame Tussauds, the wax museum placed near Baker Street (the street made
famous by Sherlock Holmes).
The museum has different figures ranging from
Holliwwod to sport, music, politics and horror. Take the little train that
follows London’s history and end tour visit with the 4d show dealing with
Marvel’s heroes.
 |
| The Royal family |
You can’t miss Oxford Street: go shopping at
Primark if you’re looking for cheap presents.
Last, but not least we visited WinterWonderland in Hyde Park: a Christmas park that is set up every year for the winter
holidays.
And here we are, this is our last days. After a
brief look at the Tower Bridge (don’t confuse it with London Bridge) and after
taking some photos of the Shard, the brand-new highest skyscraper in Europe, we
decided to have a walk in Greenwich’s park where you can also find the
observatory, the prime meridian is based there. A wonderful sight is offered by
Cutty Sark, the sailing ship placed near the park.
Our journey end with a 35-minutes-late bus (pay
attention to the afternoon’s traffic) and the airplane, fortunately it was late
too.
 |
| The Observatory |
 |
| Cutty Sark |
As usual we end with our personal rank (we
couldn’t decide our top three, so yo’ll find joint winners):
What’s you opinion? Have you ever
been in London? And what are
your top three? We’re looking forward to receiving your comments...
Ale and Jessy
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento