It’s a small country with a rich and wondrous history. You can see so much and immerse yourself in a country where you’ll usually be able to understand the language and always have a unique and/or memorable experience. So, where should we begin? London is the logical answer…you’re flight will land at Gatwick or Heathrow, either of which is a short train ride (or bus ride or cab ride) to London Town.
Check into your hotel and hit the ground running! There’s a lifetime of things to see and do, but you don’t have all your life to do it. Plan ahead. Know what you want to see and what you must do, but leave time for shopping and dreaming and serendipitous wonderment!
Here are some of my “musts”places I’ve visited or wish I’d visited. (not in any logical order)
Buckingham Palace: There is now a tour for the public, but it’s not always available. It’s the queen’s official residence and if she’s home, the Union Jack will be flying from the rooftop flagstaff. The Changing of the Guard is better seen on the TV or in the news…you’ll be in a vast crowd and far away from the action, but if you’re a true Anglophile you’ll wait and gape with the hoards.
Westminster Abbey and Parliament: Look up at ol’ Big Ben and stick around for the chimes. Tip your hat to Parliament (tours Aug and Sept only) where two Houses (Lords and Commons) write and uphold the laws of a civilized society. Theirs is a Constitutional Monarchy, ”the Queen reigns, but does not rule”. Perhaps you’ll have time for the Westminster Abbey Supertour; otherwise, follow your guidebook and find the Throne of England (all monarchs since William the Conqueror were crowned here); Poet’s Corner where Chaucer and Tennyson, Dickens and Browning, T.S. Eliot and Kipling, among other notables are entombed. Also, in the Notable’s section: Charles Darwin, the Unknown Warrior, Isaac Newton…names that you’ve known since childhood are here. Westminster Abbey had its origins in the year 960, having been built and rebuilt until this stunning Gothic edifice stands as a symbol of England. If you have time, stay for the music, every evening for a thousand years…that’s tradition!!!
St. Paul’s is nearby…visit the Great Dome and the burial places of John Dunne, Christopher Wren, Duke of Wellington and other notables.
The Tower of London: The fantastic uniforms of the Beefeaters; the ravens with their clipped winds (if the ravens ever leave, the Kingdom will fall, so they say); stand in line and view the Crown Jewels…a vast fortune of baubles and bangles and lore.
Trafalgar Square: The heart of the city is still a busy traffic interchange but less so now since much of the northern side has become pedestrian-oriented. It is surrounded by such grand historic buildings as St. Martin-in-the-Fields church and the National Gallery. The square is dominated by Nelson’s Column with four bronze lions and fountains.
London Eye: Built to celebrate the millennium, the London Eye is a 440-ft-/135-m-high Ferris wheel that offers a superb, one-rotation, 30-minute bird’s-eye view of London. The 32 capsules you ride in (one for each borough of London) are enclosed for comfortable year-round operation. Located on the South Bank, almost opposite the Houses of Parliament, it’s the highest observation wheel in Europe and the tallest cantilevered observation wheel in the world. Advance booking is highly recommended if you’re planning to ride during peak times: weekends, holidays and summer.
Other stops if you have the time, the breathtaking gardens at Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace, then venture on to prehistoric Stonehenge, the Roman excavations of Bath, the Cotswolds village of Stow and Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon.
