Staying in a shared dormitory with a stranger from another country is a first. If we could go back in time, perhaps I might have a little chat with him, check out about his culture and share ours, it's all about get to know more people and exploring at the same time. Too bad we and him were shy... Nevertheless, the hostel was filled with tourists of different nationalities. Two Hong Kong girls had actually chatted me up in Cantonese, and the fact that I know 4 languages blew them away!
Let's move on to our trip in London! On the second day, we headed to the area around the ever busy River Thames. Rode in the Tube to Westminster Station and I was dumbfounded by the beauty of such iconic building, the first building that I saw after emerging from the underground of the Tube. A little disbelieved that I am actually looking at the Big Ben and The Palace of Westminster with my own eyes! Listening to the chime of the Big Ben is even more mystical...
Of course, we took photos of Big Ben and also ourselves with the prominent structure to our hearts' desire along the bridge which links both sides of the Thames. From here, there were a lot and lot of walking! Once we reached the other side, The London Eye is not far away.
Check out how it was erected! Engineering marvel indeed!
As mentioned in the previous post, our Madame Tussauds' ticket is also inclusive of a ride on The London Eye! The queue was looooong but the waiting time was lesser than one hour, perhaps one complete round of The London Eye has huge carrying capacity. The scenes on The London Eye was an eye-opening experience (pun intended). You can basically see all the attractions around the River Thames at the top. But the cabin was a little shaky when it reaches the top point of the ferris wheel! *Heart skips a beat*
The best group photo in London!
After getting down from The London Eye, we crossed the River Thames again by using the London Bridge to the St. Paul Cathedral. Yes, the ordinary looking bridge below is the real London Bridge that children normally sing in nursery rhymes! I'm sure half of Earth's population thought that the Tower Bridge (will be covered later in the blog entry) is known as the London Bridge!
Further down is the Tower of London. Not exactly what we would call a tower, huh? It's more like a castle to me, designed to be surrounded by a shallow river to prevent enemies from invading the tower. It's a huge structure but too bad there is no tall building or land that we can get a better glimpse at the Tower of London.
Walk along the River Thames with the Tower of London on the left led us to the grand Tower Bridge! The middle span of the bridge can be folded up to allow large vessels to pass through.
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| The handsome yours truly with a UK flag T-shirt bought purposely for this trip! |
The story behind Tower Bridge is actually quite haunting.
We were told that the scenes of London will be different when night falls. So we chilled around Tower Bridge, mimicked 冲上云霄2, bought some souvenirs, ate KFC as dinner and very soon, the sky became dark.
Behind this lengzai is The Shard, a glass-clad 87 stories skyscraper which is quite a stand-out in London's skyline.
A wedding photography on the Tower Bridge, so sweet, so expensive =_=
This is not something you'll get to see everyday! A car/transporter/whatever propelled by 8 persons is road legal, but hogging the road with its slow speed!
Yes, you must stay until night time to see the spectacular night view of the London city! With all the lights shining on the iconic buildings, you must see them with your own eyes instead of your camera to appreciate their beauty...
This blog entry has made this River Thames exploration seems like a short travel distance between all the attractions but it's not! Crossed the River Thames for numerous times and we even resorted to travel from one place to another, all around the River Thames with the Tube. We were so exhausted but the excitement of exploration kept us holding on!
NEXT - London: Day 3!
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