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Monday, September 14, 2009

London Recap: Part I

We're back from London and while we're happy to be home, we miss the city terribly. We both fell completely in love with it. The funny thing is, London was never one of "my destinations". Not like Italy, France, or Spain, countries whose languages, culture, art, and history I've spent my life studying. London was Fabian's pick and it took me completely by surprise. I expected it to be a lovely city, but I never thought it would woo me the way that it did. By the end of day one, I was hooked. London is an architecturally stunning city deeply steeped in history and culture. It is alive with a strong energy current that runs through every part of the expansive metropolis. I thought New York was a fast-paced city, but London leaves it in the dust. People never slow down there, but I'd like to think it's because they are so in love with their city that they don't want to miss a beat. It's more likely that they are just in a hurry to get from Point A to Point B, but I digress.

My only pet peeve in London was that the sights closed a little too early, usually around 5:00. We were there for an entire week and I feel as though we barely scratched the surface. We didn't have a chance to take a day trip because we wanted to soak in as much as London as we could and we didn't have a chance to just linger in the park and people watch. Our holiday was fast-paced, exciting, romantic, and it left us hungry for more. We are eager to go back as soon as possible. We took over one thousand photos and I had originally planned to include close to 70 pictures in this post, but I figured it would be best to break up the recap into a few different parts. Highlights from the overall trip include: The Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The British Museum, Ghosts of London Pub Crawl, Spitalfields Market, and dinner at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. I hope that you'll enjoy the first round of photos. Be sure to check back soon for Part II.

I am so in love with the architecture in London from grand, palatial buildings to quaint little houses such as this one, they are all gorgeous. There is an abundance of beautiful doorways and flowers, there too, but I'll post more on that later.
Food Halls at Harrod's

Fabian and Me at Westminster Abbey

We loved staying in Kensington. It is such a great area!

Isn't this the coolest fence? It is outside of a building that is being remodeled near Hyde Park.


Piccadilly Circus

Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery

I am so glad that I stopped by a bientot here in Houston before leaving for our trip. I was so anxious about what to pack and I found two of these great cotton sweaters, some fabulous jewelry, a cute new "brollie", and the MZ Wallace handbag I am carrying here. It was the perfect bag for traveling! There is a compartment for everything you could imagine and it is light as a feather. The weather ended up being gorgeous with highs in the mid 70s, so if anything the clothes we packed were a little warmer than necessary, but the days were perfect for sightseeing.
Fabian in Trafalgar Square
I got a kick out of this!

An Old Mini Cooper

Gorgeous Flowers Abound in London

Fabian and I Cruising Down the Thames River

The London Eye, or as some locals call it, "The Wheel of Fortune"

Parliament and Big Ben

Sir Christopher Wren's Architectural Masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral (we climbed all the way to the top of the dome, but more on that tomorrow), The Millennium Bridge, and the London School for Boys
The Tower Bridge
Tower of London

They have this book at the Historic Royal Palaces gift shops. I thought it was hilarious! I guess everyone is blogging now.


Be sure to visit La Dolce Vita again tomorrow for Part 2 of my London recap!

10 comments:

Yansy said...

I'm so glad to see you guys had a fabulous time. I love, love, love London and I can't wait to go back. I twisted my ankle last time I was there and left me wanting to see much more. You look as fabulous as always and didn't you love Harrods, I didn't want to leave.

Valerie Wills Interiors said...

I am so pleased you fell in love with London. I feel so proud. I used to work in the building above the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus (the entrance was on Jermyn Street).... your photos brought back all the lovely memories of living there. I moved to London when I was 21 and lived there for 13 years before moving to San Francisco. I lived in Fulham and would take the Number 14 bus to Piccadilly every day - passing Harrods morning and night! Can't wait to see the rest of you photos.

Chic Coles said...

Looks like you had a great time! I have never been to London, but when I graduate, I hope to do some traveling around Europe. It would definitely be on my list of "cool places to live!" Thanks for the pictures!

Amanda said...

I love your blog. My husband and I had a flight delay last month going to Scotland and ended up sightseeing in London for 4 hours before driving to Edinburgh! I loved London and wished I could have spent more time there. I'm looking forward to your recaps and photos so I can learn more about what I snapped pictures of!

sarah said...

London is on my list of places to go!

la la Lovely said...

So fun to see your pics.. glad you had a great time. Once that London bug bites....it never seems to leave!!!!
x Trina

Anonymous said...

I love London!!

My Decor Style said...

Love your London pics. I went this summer with my family. I had been before, but my husband had not and was not excited about going. Once he got there, he was impressed and could see why I wanted to go back so badly. To me, it is a livable city. I could and would definitely live there, raise a family there, etc. It is so CLEAN and the people are super friendly. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Nancy

Jaime @ laviejaime said...

Lovely pics- love it there! I esp like Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London...British history is fascinating to me.

Unknown said...

Was soo excited to see your post! I am going to London for the first time next month and just know I am going to fall in love with it there! Thanks for all the tips on places to see!!