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City of London

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    • Traveler5 girls do Europe
      2
      Day 33

      What a day and what a great night

      October 6, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

      Four sleeps to go, so best to make the most of it huh!
      Beth and Kelly went off to get the trench coat Beth has been looking for and which was spotted yesterday. Susie and I had a lovely coffee and croissant at the coffee shop in our driveway…wish I had one on mine….
      Then popped onto a bus no26 the City Mapper said, and off we went looking for the Tate Modern. Got off at the right bus stop, and google maps tried to trick me…but we sussed it out. A short walk and then over the Thames on the bridge, down some steps around the corner and there is was. Now there had also been talk of going to OXO for cocktails on the terrace but Mr google had said it was an hour from the Tate Modern so Susie thought her memory must be going cos she was sure it was just next door!!!! However….as we walked along the bridge I was looking all around and said to Susie…is that tower a clock or does it say OXO. Yes, yes thats it, you can see St Paul’s Cathedral from the terrace! YAY…might have to pop up there for lunch.
      We let Beth know where we were as she was joining us later, so we went into Tate Modern. Amazing space with lots to see. Decided to look at the ‘free’ exhibition first and it was quite interesting. The Otherworld photography exhibition we would wait for Beth before we went in, and she was on her way. She had got on the no 26 as instructed, got off at the correct stop, but due to her crook knee I suggested a Black Cab to bring her to the door. Duly got the thumbs up she was in the cab…and could you take a pic of me getting out please Di…sure thing. Up the ramp I walked out to the front and waited. Now I thought a video would be good…and yep I videoed 3 black cabs arriving and no Beth wasn’t in any of them! But at last she arrived and did a great photo shoot.
      We then all went and looked at the exhibition, you had to pay to view, but I said to the guy, i am an old person do I get a discount…he said oh yes you do..so we all got the pensioners rates!
      I’m not really an art buff, but it was interesting, some of it quite confronting, some of it just weird. But each to their own.
      That job done, we were off to the OXO bar… and it was just amazing. We all had a cocktail, Beth -Pornstar Martini, Susie - Regular Margarita, and I had the 8th Floor Smash. Trouble was Susie quite liked the Pornstar, and quite a few ‘tastes’ was had. Finally they just swapped. Beth and I had another cocktail each, I tried a new one I think called Bombay Rain, and Beth had a Margarita. We were all VERY happy, giggly and had fun. Small lunch was delicious.
      Decided catching a Black Cab home was the best option and a quick rest before makeup lights and action, to get back to the Theatre district for dinner and drinks before our Tina Turner Musical. Lulu has rejoined us for the show as well so good to catch up on her shenanigans all over the place. We saw Gino’s restaurant on our way to dinner so couldn’t resist a pic.
      Wow wow wow, could not recommend seeing this musical enough. It was just fantastic. A very real portrayal of her life, no holds barred. Instructions were to not sing and to remain in your seat…was very difficult to do. Such amazing voices. Very talented people.
      A really great way to end the day.      Read more

    • Tanya DalzielEurope and the 5 stans
      Day 23–29

      London (with covid)

      June 16, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      We arrived in London from Edinburgh. At this stage, I'd had a sore throat for a couple of days but was otherwise well.

      On the following day, we had high tea on an original routemaster bus. I was a little more unwell that day, but we still enjoyed our high tea (except for the frozen cream!!!)

      After going out for dinner and eating a bucket load of hot sauce and not being able to taste or smell it, I suspected I had covid. I had one test in my bag, and covid was confirmed.

      Thank god it was a place I'd been to before (so I didn't feel I missed anything). We also stayed in the same place for 5 days, and it was an apartment. Unfortunately, I slept on a couch the whole time.

      I still managed to do everything we had planned and showed Margaret around. And, I still averaged 25000-30,000 steps per day throughout this time.

      We attended the Ceremony of the Keys, ABBA Voyage, and the Sky Garden. Plus, we went to most of the main areas. But, I wasn't flash and wasn't able to do my usual sunrise jaunts. I have very few photos (thankfully, I got amazing ones last time I was there).

      So, this post doesn't include the usual London sites.

      Ceremony of the keys (Tower of London)

      Firstly, these are hard tickets to get, and involved getting tickets in the middle of the night at home on 1 May. They go the day they're released. So I was going to this event, even if I had to crawl there!

      The Ceremony of the Keys is the process of locking up the Tower of London every night - and has been going for about 700 years. The sentry cries out, 'Halt, who comes there?' The Yeoman Warder replies, 'The keys.' 'Whose keys?' 'King Charles' keys.' 'Pass then, all's well.'

      Aside from the monarch's name, this is the exact exchange that has been spoken for centuries and forms part of the traditional 'locking up' of the Tower of London. They also still wear the same outfits.

      Previously, the monarch lived there, but now they're just locking up the crown jewels. This has happened every day without fail (even through the wars) and was only late once when they were bombed in WWII.

      You can't photo or video the ceremony. But we were able to take a couple of photos in a courtyard afterwards. It's pretty cool being in the Tower of London at night! I thought it may have been a bit dry, but it was actually both interesting and enjoyable. We had a beefeater explaining it all the way through, and he was a hoot! I highly recommend this if you're going to London. It's a very minimal cost but you need to be organised with the tickets as they go really quickly.

      We also went up to the Sky Garden, which is a 3 storey glass dome on a skyscraper. If you've been to London before, it's in the building known as the walkie-talkie. It's basically a garden in the sky with 360-degree views of London.

      There is a restaurant and bar that you can book. You can also get free tickets in advance. They become available 3 weeks before, but they go very quickly. It's worth it for a quick look at the view. We saw people take picnics, which is pretty cool to do in the sky.

      The photos in this post are the few I could get from the Sky Garden and the Tower of London when doing the Ceremony of the Keys.      Read more

    • Ellen Mihaljevicchasing winter
      2
      Day 2–3

      London

      September 30, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

      Wandering around London:

      Morning walk along Southbank, Tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Looking at Art (and looking at people taking pictures of themselves 'looking' at art) at Tate Modern, People watching in Green Square and stumbling across the cutest church-converted-garden museum with great views from its tower.

      Fun Fact of the Day: It's a bad idea to launch a cannon for fun in a building made of wood and straw.      Read more

    • TravelerWorld trip 2024
      21
      Day 30

      Tower of London, UK

      May 27, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Today we went to the Tower of London. It is a palace, fortress and jail all in one. The building was started by William The Conqueror, the first king of England, who made the bit in the middle called the White Tower. Kings and queens kept adding to it until it was what it is today. Although it is called the Tower of London, it is not very tall. We found out that it was a menagerie, which is like a zoo. It is not any more, but there were lions, a polar bear and monkeys amongst many others. We then saw the crown jewels. They were very sparkly with all the diamonds, and other gems in it. In the Crown Jewels, there are lots of cool items, like crowns, swords and scepters. The weirdest thing I found was a spoon. It was used to apply Holy Oil to the monarch at their coronation. You might remember watching King Charles's coronation. If you remember that he went behind some curtains and got undressed. Then the priest would have sprinkled him with Holy oil before he got dressed.
      We then saw torture machines. There was the thing were you were tied and stretched, which was called the rack, and there were lots of other stuff.
      And we saw a lot of ravens. There is a legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the kingdom will fall. At the gift shop I bought a tea towel that had all the kings and queens on it in order from William the Conqueror to King Charles the 3rd. I bought it because I like a song called the Monarch Song from Horrible Histories. You can watch the video at the next URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSvKc-8frp8
      Did you like it?
      We then went to Pizza Express and I had a spaghetti bolognaise.
      We are now in our hotel room.
      Tomorrow we take a train to Leicester, see you then!

      Lucca      Read more

    • Our Trip Around The 🌎
      1
      11
      Day 18

      Biking & Walking - Day 2️⃣

      May 30, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

      Some of our favorite moments today included a biking tour all around unknown places in London, visited Tower of London and the Crown 👑 Jewels, Boroughs Market 🍲 and London bridge. Had lunch with our tour guide Edward, heard about his life, the pain he went through as a kid and shared some of our story. We have loved walking so much, at the end of the day we looked at our watch & realized we had walked 11 miles 😜.

      We may get rid of our cars 🚙 when we get back.      Read more

    • TravelerUK / Europe
      1
      1111
      Day 6

      On the Road Again… (foot)

      September 8, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      With knee sufficiently catered for, having had a half day prior, it’s back to the ground pound! I waited for London to get out of bed and open things up including Harrods. I haven’t put Harrods first in the photo line up mainly because the Graffiti Tunnel in a way was more interesting. I’ve obviously got my cultural hat on at the moment! I think I went in at least one circle but know I covered a lot of ground. A cheat/cheap way of visiting the inside of grand churches is by going to an Eversong Service and then you get the singing too! And sneak in some photos. 3/4 or an hour long. It was timely as I’d just been dumped on big time and I could sit and dry everything out. Honestly, whenever there was blue sky / it lasted about ten minutes. Sun girl could not do this. I wanted to the bar up the shard and get the view but I got so far up, it just wasn’t worth it - the weather turned to porridge. I went back down. Prior to this I’d been at Tate Museum. They had some interesting exhibitions. 26000 steps….Read more

    • TravelerMit dem Zug durch Europa
      2
      Day 27

      Day Out in London 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

      April 8, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      Am dritten Tag meiner London Tour habe ich mir die alte Ruine von St. Dunstan in the East angesehen. Früher war das eine Kirche, heute ist es ein Park in dem sich Pflanzen um die Überreste der Kirche schlängeln. Einzig der Turm des Gebäudes ist heutzutage noch intakt 🌱🌷
      Später war ich noch im Hamleys, einem der größten Spielwarengeschäfte Londons. Auf jeden Fall ist es das Bekannteste. Hier finden sich verteilt auf 7 Etagen verschiedenste Spielwaren, Candy Shops und Mitarbeiter, die die Spielzeuge vorführen. Natürlich kann man auch fast jedes Spielzeug ausprobieren, bevor man es kauft. So kann man sich hier Zaubertricks ansehen, aber auch die ein oder andere Drohe fliegt über dich während deinem Besuch hinweg 🎮🧸 Mein Highlight des Tages, kam dann aber am Tagesende: Um 21.33 Uhr habe ich Julian am Bahnhof St. Pancras abgeholt ❤️ Morgen geht es dann auf die Star Wars Celebration 🤩      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerPlus one solo in Europe
      Day 10

      Thames at night and the left confirmed.

      November 12, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

      A delightful evening with an English pub meal at The Traitor's Gate and a cruise on the river Thames. I really wanted a full english roast with yorkies, though the set menu did not offer such traditional fare. I settled for battered cod and mushy peas. It was okay. I've had better.

      The greatest let down was the offer of lotus biscoff cheesecake. Yes please I say! Only to have the delightful waitress explain they've run out and only have salted caramel. I stifle my tears and refuse the calorie hit if it's not lotus biscoff. I settle for a chocolate brownie. The convict jokes continue as I request it to go (I'm a slow eater and we'll all miss our cruise if we wait for me). They apologise as they hand me the takeaway box without a spoon, explaining they have no disposable spoons. I steal a stainless spoon quietly from the table, wink, and explain to my tour group. It's okay! I'm Australian! It's what the Brits expect. We were colonised for such crimes. Though also. How do I eat a brownie with ice cream to go without a spoon?

      I also learn from the lovely David, our tour guide, why driving on the left is the RIGHT way. It dates back to Roman times. When crossing a bridge or narrow passing. To ensure your right side is free to draw your sword.

      So there. Evidence. I'll peer review it later.

      Onwards to Brussels.      Read more

    • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
      1112121
      Day 26

      I 🤍 London

      September 22, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      We have made it to London! And it has been an incredibly busy and exciting last few days here. The pace in London is different from Rostrevor. There are a million things to do, places to eat, and not enough time to do it all! Thankfully we arrived here on a Friday, so we had the weekend to explore and adjust before classes resumed Monday. We’ve done lots of walking, ridden on buses and trains (which i love… the efficiency is incredible), and eaten at some wonderful restaurants. We don’t have kitchens here, so most of our meals we eat out. I’ve tried lots of new foods and drinks. I love how many options there are. We’ve gone thrifting, shopping, gotten our nails done. and went to a very interesting and bizarre shakespeare play at the globe. Big Ben was beautiful and I’m glad I was able to see it in all its glory since last time it was hidden by scaffolding. Today, we visited the Imperial War Museum which was heavy, but powerful. Love you all. It’s been hard to keep in touch with the time difference, so if you’ve texted or called me, I will respond as soon as I can. I appreciate your grace!Read more

    • TravelerUK 2023
      111
      Day 24

      Getting to London

      August 15, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      We were both apprehensive about today, but it worked out nicely. There was great potential for disaster which thankfully did not eventuate. I am feeling grateful 🙏
      * We navigated our way into London Heathrow under Murgatroyd's guidance - and we can't thank her enough.
      * We returned the car to Hertz with all windscreen wipers intact and no dings or scratches - phew!
      * We got ourselves and our luggage onto the correct train and to our hotel without Jeremy to guide us. (I convinced Ian not to spend £98 on a taxi, and that we were capable of taking the tube 🤞)
      * The hotel looks lovely! I was worried that we'd be stuck in some awful room for 5 days.

      To celebrate our relief, we had a fancy dinner in our hotel. I had salmon for £18 plus dessert. It was delicious. Our hotel has a mini fridge and kettle, but no cooking for me 🙂. We'll be back to M&S sandwiches tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll stretch our buffet breakfast to include a snack for later. (I'll have to remember my capacious handbag 🤫)

      Our hotel is Novotel Tower Bridge and we are directly opposite the Tower of London. It's in a very convenient spot. We had a stroll around the immediate vicinity and already saw lots of interesting things. I was intrigued by the ruins of a Roman wall which they've preserved and built around.

      London is teeming with people! Peaceful it is not, and I was worried that we might undo our de-stressing in beautiful countryside of the last few weeks. But I think it is going to be fun. I just have to remember that I need to take things at my own pace. There is no point rushing around like a crazy person and getting home knackered.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    City of London, LND, Londonas, London, Лондонский Сити

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