Tuesday, April 14, 2015

L is for London

R.a.n.t. of day 04/14/15
As most of my friends and family know, I absolutely 'LOVE' London. (There's the word everyone on Facebook thought I was going to use today). If I could, I'd visit London every year. If I could, I'd visit London every week. But unfortunately, I can't. And that's part of my r.a.n.t. for the day. Though I've been to London twice before, I had plans on going again this year. I was developing a plan to do a two day Thames walking tour among other things. Visiting some burbs and checking out a few more places tourists seldom travelled too. Honestly? I'd like to see more of England than just London, but since the word for the day is London, I'll just use that word to imply all of England.

The few times I did do things that you are 'required' to do as a tourist, (See changing of the guards). I didn't have a good time. Everyone back home insisted I see the changing of the guards and I did not want to. But one morning I found myself there walking around and the place was empty. So I thought, as long as I was there, I'd see it. Less than an hour later the place was packed. But having been there so early, I was right up to the gates and took some excellent photos. So that at least made me happy.

It's true, I do touristy stuff from time to time, but I like to get out with the actual people. Go where most visitors don't go. When I visited the BBC studio, the tour guide was delighted and kept me close, asking all sorts of questions about America. You'd think he never met an American before. Same thing when I toured Lords Cricket Ground. The chap there told me he didn't see many Americans and was glad to see someone else taking an interest. Of course he was more dignified than the guy from the beeb.

Sadly, my plans fell through this year, so I'm hoping next year to 'go back home', as I tell people. Find new sites to see, do less touristy things, catch a match at the pub. I may not be able to afford it now, but with a bit more planning this year, I'll make sure next year will be well worth it.

(Scroll through the 'London' tag below to see a selection of photos from my previous trips).

Some questions for discussion:
If you had a free pass right now, where would you travel to?
What's the most interesting place you've visited?
What are your suggestions for sites to see in London?

18 comments:

  1. Bloody jolly good cheerio and all that!

    Stephen Tremp
    A to Z Cohost
    L is for Lucid Dreaming

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  2. I lived there for a while and we got to see so much in the area. I think my favorite thing is to find those smaller, out of the way old buildings and churches.

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    1. Those are the best places to visit. When my friend and I visited Ireland, we drove and took odd roads and less travelled roads. We found many cool places that way.

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  3. I've never been to London but the most interesting places for me are sci fi museums, comic cons and star trek conventions. Great London photo shoots Jeffrey.

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    1. Thanks. And yes, I've been to a few cons myself. Gen Con and Chicago Tardis primarily.

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  4. Never been to London but would LOVE to go! Sorry your plans fell through for this year. Maybe next year! :D Happy Tuesday!

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    1. I encourage you to visit London at least once. As for my plans, there is always next year. Thanks for sopping by.

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  5. Can you pay my way because I want to drink tea and have biscuit cookies with the best of them!

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    1. We just call them biscuit. And you are welcome to hide out in my luggage if you want. ;)

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  6. I've never been to London, but I heard their tea is far better than ours. I hope you make it home next year.

    Scribbles From Jenn - Visiting from the A to Z Challenge

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    1. I've never been a big tea person. Probably the only thing 'British', I'm not a fan of. But yes, they have lots of good tea for sale. Harrod's alone has canisters lining walls in their store. Impressive to see.

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  7. I've never been to London - but yes, that is on my bucket list. But since you used that one, the next one, for some reason would be Greece. It just looks absolutely beautiful, definitely a place I want to visit. So I'd use my free pass for that.

    The most beautiful state I've ever been in was Louisiana, I mean come on, I saw alligators on the side of the road, how cool is THAT?!

    The coolest tropical place was St. Lucia. It was absolutely beautiful and probably the most tropical place I've ever been.

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    1. That's the great thing about travel, you never know what you may find.

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  8. Been to London many times and only once did I get tired of it, and that was when I stayed there for 2 months. Not a big city raised girl, so was super happy to get out. But short visits I can't get enough of and would, as you say, go every year if I could, Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting, Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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    1. I was in London for two weeks the first time I visited, it was just enough. The second visit was only two days. Not enough time. One day I'll find the perfect mixture.

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  9. Hello there.
    Lol at Stephen's comment!
    Being from the UK and having been to London more times than I can count, I can understand why people would want to go there...it's a melting pot of cultures. After a while though, it starts to resemble any other urban city like New York or Chicago. I would suggest branching out and try a trip to the Lake District. Many years ago, I spent a week in Keswick and it was fabulous. You might like the coast, say Portsmouth or even the Cotswolds or Bath.

    Entrepreneurial Goddess

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    1. Yes, I would love to see more of England than just London. Two years ago, my friend and I took a train from London to Liverpool on our way to the Isle of Man. Loved the country side.

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