The last part of the trip would be to England. Those who know me are aware that I love most things English. It started with a love of British TV, especially Doctor Who. So, it is time to go Back into the Decade in London.
Day 10: London (July 19, 2010)
It was time to say goodbye to Paris and hello London on Day 10 of this European Adventure.
This adventure would continue, by train and because of we said goodbye to our driver, Giovanni, who had been with us since Rome. Anyway, this is the Eurostar train that travels between the countries of France and the United Kingdom (UK) under the English Channel by way of the Chunnel. This is the tunnel opened in 1849 that connects Britain to Continental Europe. I have to add that between traveling by plane and bus I would easily say the train was my favorite (it is better than a car too).
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| Palais Omnisports de Paris-Berc |
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| We say 'addio' to our great driver Giovanni |
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| Gare du Nord |
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| Au revoir France... |
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| ...hello England |
We arrived at Waterloo Station where our European Globus bus took us on a short ride to our hotel,
Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. Since we had the evening to ourselves we headed to
Harrods, the famous London department store in Chelsea. Let me say it was a culture shock to some and I had never seen a woman in a catsuit wearing a jeweled hajib. We finished the evening dining at one of London's finest Asian restaurants...Ned's Noodles. I am kidding, this was one of the worst places I ever ate. The moral of the story, don't order the "shitty" shrimp or you might get Ned's Revenge!
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| Arrived in London |
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| Waterloo Station |
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| London |
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| Harrods |
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| 😝 |
Day 11: London (July 20, 2010)
The 11th Day of the trip was our first full day in England and it was a busy one. Our first stop was historic
St. Paul's Cathedral. It has stood for over 300 years including the Blitz by the Luftwaffe during World War II. On our day there was a service in progress which means I only got one poorly taken photo inside. One thing that stood out was the tomb of the man who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo,
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and is in the basement of St. Paul's. It is no way near as ostentatious as the French Emperor. Our next stop was home of the World's Richest "Welfare" Queen, Elisabeth II,
Buckingham Palace. We got to watch some of the Changing of the Guard, which was cool.
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Typical London Summer Morning
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| Protesters near Hyde Park |
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| Looking up at the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral |
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| The front facade |
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| My quick photo of the inside |
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| The Tomb of the Duke of Wellington |
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| Queen Victoria |
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| Trafalgar Square |
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| Gates of Buckingham Palace |
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| Buckingham Palace |
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| The Queen was in resident |
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| Mounted Royal Guards |
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| A little bit of home |
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| St. James's Palace |
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| Wellington's Arch |
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| Like the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals...Battersea Power Station |
Our....was a trip to
the Tower of London. Famous for the incarnation of numerous historical figures it is also the home of the Crown Jewels of the British Monarchy. These and many other things were on display. Another thing there was restoration work on the tower (it was completed the following year). Oh, I almost forgot we got our first look at
Tower Bridge.
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| Lunch of Fish & Chips |
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| Next stop |
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| The Ravens at the Tower |
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| Waterloo Block |
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| Traitor's Gate |
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| World War II Artillery Piece |
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| Cannons of all sizes |
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| My personal favorite part |
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| Royal Armor including Henry VIII (L) notice the codpiece |
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| Age of firearms |
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| St. John's Chapel |
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| Panorama of the Tower |
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| Trebuchet Catapult (L) & Ballista (R) |
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| Tower Bridge |
It was back to the hotel and then a stroll across Westminster Bridge and view if Big Ben and The Palace of Westminster. That evening we had dinner at the Prospect of Whitby, located at Wapping on the Thames. It is a famous location as it was once where pirates were hanged. Speaking of the Thames we finished the day with a sunset cruise down the famous river past plenty of historic landmarks. This ended our trip with the Globus Tour, but we still had one more full day...
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| Lion of the Bridge |
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| My biggest regret...not going up in the London Eye |
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| The Prospect of Whitby |
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| View of the Thames |
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| The Royal Reigns of the pub |
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| Where Dr. Who: The Resurrection of the Daleks was filmed |
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| Dusk on the Thames |
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| Tower Bridge |
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| HMS Belfast |
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| Westminster Abbey |
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| Ships |
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| St. Paul's |
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| Big Ben & The Palace of Westminster |
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| The London Eye |
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| The Palace of Westminster at Dusk |
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| Close up of Tower Bridge |
