I've been to London twice in my life:
- the first time is the one I'm going to tell you about today, in which I went, together with my brother, to visit my auntie that lives there.
- the other time, instead, I went for a job interview at Imperial College.
A short side story
This second story is not the one I should tell today but I would still like to make a small parenthesis since a lot of things happened to me on that occasion. After applying for a position at Imperial College, I received a positive response and I was called to interview physically in London in mid-August. Very happy, I booked the plane ticket that left from Venice at 8.00 pm and that day I was accompanied by my father to the airport to fly to the English capital. I remember very well even now, that I even got on the plane and was waiting for the aircraft to take off but after an hour of waiting still nothing. At a certain point, the pilot informed us that the reason for the delay was due to the bad weather conditions, especially on the French side, which prevented the passage through that area, and therefore all flights had been diverted and had to pass through Spain. However, since there were many other flights that had priority over ours, we were there waiting. So I put my heart at rest and waited for our departure. At a certain point, however, another communication from the pilot gave us the very bad news, our flight had just been canceled. The company offered the possibility to book another flight for the following day and to leave with that one, obviously, I couldn't afford it since my interview was the next morning in London. So I searched with my phone for alternative solutions and the only flight I found was a flight from Bergamo at 4.00 am. The problem now was to get to the city of Lombardy, so I had to call my father who made a two-hour drive to pick me up in Venice, then from there, he accompanied me to Bergamo, so another two / three hours and without even having slept I was finally able to take this flight and leave for London. Arrived, I drank a Red Bull and went to the interview in less than optimal conditions. The interview went quite well but in the end, they didn't take me for the position 🤷♂️.
London
London is an amazing city, very different from the one where I live, it is a metropolis with a very dense population. Moreover, the weather is really variable, I clearly remember that one day we left the house with the Sun which was shining and after some hours, we were under heavy rain which soaked us (since we didn't have with us an umbrella).
One of the things that I hate the most when I go and visit a new city (especially the bigger ones), is that it is really difficult to choose what to see and in my case, also to arrive at the destination itself. My sense of orientation is really bad, and this is also one of the reasons why I don't like to travel alone because most of the time I get lost. Luckily for me, this time we had a "personal tour guide" (my aunt), and this for me was a really great relief.
One of the first things that we went to visit (from the outside at least) was the National Gallery, which is in front of the equally famous Trafalgar Square.
This is most important square in London, with its lit fountains, lion statues that many climb, and of course the National Gallery that stands on one side. It is a must-see for tourists and Londoners who come to spend a few hours, and where you can frequently encounter street artists who present their shows.
In the center of the square, there is also the monument to the famous Royal Navy Admiral, Horatio Nelson, called the Nelson's Column.
The National Gallery
The National Gallery (National Gallery) in London, founded in 1824, is a museum that, in its home in Trafalgar Square, houses a rich collection consisting of more than 2,300 paintings of various periods and schools from the mid-12th century to the beginning of the last century.
Another attraction that we couldn't miss to see (also because it is really huge and so it is difficult to ignore even if you wanted to) was the London Eye.
As I said before the latter is really huge and you can see it from many points of the city, obviously my brother and I as good tourists were very curious to see it up close. Here we asked was sta aunt how much it cost to get on the wheel and if it was worth a riding point told her that it was worth it of course because there was a beautiful view of the city from above but that it was better to make the tour at night, so you can also see the lights of the city.
London Eye
The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is a Ferris wheel located on the south bank of the Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge, in London. The London Eye reaches a height of 135 meters, the circumference of the wheel measures 424 meters. At the time of its inauguration it was the highest Ferris wheel in the world (today the record is held by the Singapore Flyers, 165 meters high and inaugurated in 2006).
So that same evening we went back to the wheel and paid the ticket, about twenty pounds each, and we finally got on the wheel all lit up in red and green as well as the surrounding area.
As we slowly approach the highest point, we board the cabin - literally on the fly - and begin to savor the panorama. Inside the cabin, tablets allow you to identify the monuments from above, along with an intriguing narrative of each one's history.
The photos are not so good, since they were taken inside of the cabin and the combination of glass and lights isn't usually a good one.
The view of London is 360 degrees, from Big Ben to the Tower of London to the Shard, and despite the darkness of a December night, all of the landmarks appear to be beautifully lighted, overlooking the dark waters of the Thames.
A pricey trip, but well worth it to see beautiful views of London from an entirely different perspective and with the colors of the night.
Boat Trip
Another really touristic thing that we did, was a Boat Trip on the Thames (yeah I know, what a clichè). This was a picturesque, hour-long boat from Westminster to Greenwich, that took us through some of London's must-see landmarks. At Westminster Pier, we joined a cruise boat and listened to an entertaining live commentary as we passed by sights including Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. In the following, I am going to share some of the photos (and descriptions) of some of the places we saw.
The Tower Bridge is a movable bridge in London, located on the River Thames. Considered one of the symbols of the English capital, it connects the boroughs of Southwark and Tower Hamlets, near the Tower of London, from which it takes its name. Because of its Neo-Gothic style and elevating central parts, Tower Bridge is known as London's most spectacular bridge. It was the world's most advanced bascule bridge when it first opened.
The Shard, also known as the Shard of Glass or London Bridge Tower, is a skyscraper in London's Southwark neighborhood.
It was designed by RPBW Architects, which is led by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, and opened in 2012. It is London's highest skyscraper.
20 Fenchurch Street is a London commercial skyscraper named after its address along Fenchurch Street in the historic center of London's financial district. It has been nicknamed The Walkie Talkie because of its distinctive shape.
The trip was nice, although I don't usually like this kind of stuff since it doesn't allow you to move freely and take your time to look at things... but still it was a nice way to get an idea of all the amazing places that are present in London.
This was only the first part of my trip to London, in the next post I will also share with you my visit to Buckingham Palace, a huge Lego store, the Wembley stadium, the "house" of Sherlock Holmes, and even more...
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1516.
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Hi @LivingUKTaiwan, thanks a lot as always, for taking the time to read my post and upvoting it.
I really appreciate what you and the @pinmapple team do.
Have a good weekend
Pictures of London are really beautiful and big, if I went I would be lost.
hahaha yeah I have the same problem, this is why I never travel alone 😂
That was such a saga to get to that interview
Great shots on your second visit there
It’s such an amazing city isn’t it
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
Yeah it is really an amazing city, and really alive, with lots of people from different places and cultures
Probably a little too chaotic for me, but to visit once in a while as a tourist it is really great
thanks for the comment @tattoodjay, have a nice weekend
yes I wouldnt like to live there either to hectic and chaotic but fun to visit for a day or two then get out of there ;)
Great place and city. This is one of our dream destination.😊
I really hope that you will be able to visit it, and I am sure that you will like it as much as I did
Thanks for the comment and have a nice weekend
Beautiful photos of London @aurzeq
You did a pretty thorough tour and I can tell you had a great time. Thanks for sharing your trip with us 🙂
!discovery 30
Thanks to you for reading it and commenting 😊
London it's such a beautiful city that it is really easy to have a great time
Thank you for sharing your content with us 🙂
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Thanks 😊
London is amazing both day and night, glad I was able to visit through your post.
Thanks for your comment @triplug
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