In this post, I will be detailing my trip to London, England.
When I turned 16 years old, my dad took me on a 2-week trip to Europe. My dad was already in Amsterdam on a business trip, so I flew to London, by myself, and my dad met me at the airport there. I had never flown by myself before. And, not only was this my first time flying by myself, I was going out of the country... by myself! And I was only 16. I was definitely a little intimidated, but extremely excited at the same time. I really loved the independence. So, I flew from Kansas City International to Chicago's O'Hare Airport, where I had about a 2-hour layover, and from Chicago I flew to Heathrow Airport in London, England.
My first night in London was a little rough. My internal body clock was thrown WAY off, I was in a strange place I had never been before, and my dad and I were staying in one of the smallest hotel rooms I have ever seen. I could literally touch the farthest wall of the bathroom with one hand, and touch the headrest of my bed with my foot at the same time. And I'm not a very tall person! So, that says a lot. That night, I knew Europe was going to be like nothing I had ever experienced before.
However, as the days went by, I found myself adjusting quite well. I loved the cloudy, cool weather of London, and all the history I was constantly surrounded by. Along with the history, London also has a very vibrant urban life, comparable to Times Square in NYC. My dad and I only had a few days to spend in London, so we hit all the major tourist spots. We visited Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Parliament Buildings, and Hyde Park. Unfortunately, a majority of the attractions would not allow pictures because they are so historical. :(
My favorite attraction my dad and I visited was Westminster Abbey. Walking in to the Abbey was like getting smacked in the face by a history textbook. So many famous composers, philosophers, poets, politicians, etc. are buried in the Abbey. I remember seeing the graves of Charles Darwin, Handel, Charles Dickens, Sir Isaac Newton... the list goes on and on. The history is almost unfathomable. Sometimes those names, to me, just sound like names out of a history book. I forget that those people actually existed. But, when I visited the Abbey, it was all very, VERY real. It was such an amazing experience.
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| The gates of Buckingham Palace. |
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| One of the famous Buckingham Palace guards! |
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| Big Ben, of course. |
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| Commonly mistaken for the London Bridge, this is acutally the Tower Bridge. |
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| Me in front of the Parliament Buildings. |
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| The gorgeous entrance to Westminster Abbey. |
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| The back side of the Abbey. Complete with a famous double decker bus! :) |
So, there is a brief overview of my visit in London, England. The next stop on my trip to Europe? Rome, Italy :) stay tuned!
