Lovely London

Overall, I would have to say that I loved London more than I loved Paris. Besides the awesome accents, the streets were filled with ambitious entertainment, fresh styles and endless opportunities. Paris was breathtaking, but London seemed like the place to be for a person in their 20’s. In this post, I will talk about my top three favorite sites in London. Although I truly loved everything we saw in London, these three sights were my personal favorite.

#3. The London Eye was one of the first tourist attractions we hit when we arrived in London. I would have to say it was in my top 3 because I was able to look around and absorb all of London’s beauty from one single spot. The excitement started while we were standing in line. Two funny street performers on stilts tossed around a giant bouncy ball and made us all laugh. Finally we were hopping into our pod and flying in the air above London. I learned that the London Eye is 135 meters tall and it takes 30 minutes for one revolution. When we were all the way at the top, the 360-degree view of London and all of it’s famous sights made the long line worth it.

#2. Another London sight I loved was Buckingham Palace. We were fortunate enough to travel to London within a week of the Royal baby being born. The hype around the palace and all through the city was at an ultimate high. We were told that depending on the flag at the top of the palace, you could tell if the Queen was home or out. If the Union flag is flying, the Queen is not home. However, if the Royal Standard flag is flying, that means that the Queen is home.  Unfortunately, when we were there the Union flag was flying and our tour guide said that the Queen was on vacation. The palace was still just as beautiful and we were fortunate enough to see the changing of the guards!

#1. My number one favorite sight in London was the Tower of London. Our tour with the Beefeater was extremely engaging and interesting. He kept us captivated with the intense stories about the history of the towers. We learned that in total there are 20 towers that make up the Tower of London. We started our tour learning about the executions and beheadings that went on at the tower. Being beheaded was considered to be a privilege and the least brutal method of execution. It was typically only a privilege of an important prisoner or a noble person. It sometimes took more than one blow before severing the head from the body. Once beheaded, the heads were displayed on spikes on top of London Bridge. After our tour with the beefeater, we were able to explore the tower on our own. This was my favorite part because my friends and I walked around the tower pretending it was our house. We were also able to see the crown jewels, which were breathtaking. Overall, I was impressed by the Tower of London and I find it spectacular that this powerful piece of history is still standing so tall.