Welcome

London, England

—

by

Diana
in

After York, I headed to London on September 30th. My hotel is near Russell Square which is a comfortable area…seems very safe, Tube station just one block away. First order of business was a find a laundromat. Gotta have some clean clothes. Luckily there was a nice one just a couple of blocks away from the hotel. Six pounds for a wash and about 2 pounds for the drier. The exchange rate from pounds to dollars isn’t great…1 pound = 1.30 USD. That adds up. Better rate between euros to dollars. But the Canadians and Australians have an even worse rate!

Gotta love the Tube. Gosh you can just go everywhere on here. No need to have a car.
First place to visit is the Tower of London. You could spend many hours here. I think I spent about 3 hours. This is one of the world’s oldest and most famous prisons. Originally a fortress to protect London and consists of several towers.
The White Tower. This was built by William the Conqueror during the early 1080s. It served as a former royal residence, the old Keep. This was the castle’s strongest point militarily, provided accommodation for the King and his representatives and a chapel. Now it houses the Royal Armouries collections.
Apparently I did not take a photo of the Wakefield Tower. It was simply the King’s apartments.
My favorite bridge – The Tower Bridge.
Chapel without the towers.
These are the quarters of some of the employees of the Tower. There are about 40 families that live within the walls.
Appropriate name for a tavern just outside of the Tower walls.
St. Pancras Hotel – would be fun to stay here.
Regents Street. Full of high end stores.
Hamley’s Toy Store. Very fun inside.
Cool Tavern
Westminster Cathedral
Fun sculpture…called the Wild Table of Love.
Fortnum & Mason – one of my favorite stores. Just so fun to be inside – great teas and treats, restaurant, fragrances, etc.
High end shops and Seville Row.
Sometimes I was out after dark!
Piccadilly Square
Busy streets. The crowds weren’t too bad.