Saturday, April 02, 2011

London Travelogue



My husband, daughter and I returned home on Wednesday from our spring break trip to London. First things first--the weather was awesome. I fully expected lots of rain and packed for it. We had lovely spring weather, didn't need the umbrella once (not going to open it for the tiny sprinkle we had on Monday), and had to sleep with the hotel windows open! So nice to see lush green grass and daffodils, tulips, apple blossoms and other spring flowers. Here in Colorado it is still dull winter brown, so the parks filled with color and plant life were especially pleasant.



Our trip was a balanced fare of sightseeing, shopping (my daughter was thrilled to find a TopShop as she loves the clothes she finds online but her mean mom won't spring for overseas shipping), eating, and exploring how the natives live. Here are some impressions and favorite bits. Signage is always fun, whether it be to confirm that Londoners do have a way with pub names...








...or to enjoy different ways of expressing commonplace stuff.



While we never rode the London Eye--a bit pricey and while I'm sure the view was breathtaking, we didn't want to invest our very short time in London on waiting in lines and moving achingly slow. My daughter is not blessed with a remarkable amount of patience, so maybe next trip. However, it dominates the southern skyline and I loved how it kept cropping up in our photos.




People watching is always a huge part of my enjoyment in traveling...this trendy girl shows up a lot in our pictures. Yep, that's my daughter, who now loves London almost as much as she loves New York. She wants to go back next year to see whether she just might love London a bit more!



Loved this image of SuperGirls chatting up the policemen.



London is a city of statues, most depicting statesmen and leaders, some authors, and other notables, but I also really enjoyed the funkier street art, like these:





On Saturday (a week ago now!), we decided to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, since it's a family tradition to eat at one in every city we visit that has one. Turns out HRC in London was ground zero for the march that brought 250,000 people to the streets to protest cuts in services, education, etc. I welcomed the opportunity to witness the march and welcomed even more being able to take a picture of Charles II the next day after the marchers were done with him.




Next London post, I promise I'll show pictures of some of the historical sights we visited, but I can't promise that I won't throw in more of my very own princess.

11 comments:

  1. Great pics, Jane. I love London and these shots are rather unusual. Congrats for your travelogue and photos but, especially for your lovely princess!
    Looking forward to your next London post.
    Have a nice Sunday
    MG

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  2. Jane, those are the most amazing pictures. I wish I could visit there sometime:(

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  3. Great travelogue! I just love London-- the whole UK actually. Can't wait to take my little boy there sometime.

    I don't remember seeing the hand/car statue-- that is a good one!

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  4. I SO want to visit there...lucky you! Looks like you had a lovely time.

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  5. Hi Jane. Sorry we did not get to meet up. Give me a bit more warning next time and I will do a bit of tour guiding if I am around.

    Glad you had a good time anyway, and didn't get kettled on the demonstration.

    Spencer

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  6. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time in London, Jane (you even got to see a big demo!)
    Yes, Spring is certainly here, now.

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  7. I would love to go back to London. Happy memories!
    Glad you had such lovely spring weather! Great pictures! The statue of the hand and the car reminds me of Monty Python's Terry Gilliam's cartoons. I bellieve those girls aren't wearing Supergirl but Wonder Woman costumes instead. (I'm a DC comic geek). :)
    I look forward to more travelogues!

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  8. I loved the pics and comments. I'd love to go myself at some point in life. Your daughter is adorable.
    I didn't recall that your story made the top ten (Carpe Diem)....maybe I just forgot. Congrats!
    Keep the inspiration coming.

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  9. Glad to hear you and your family had a great time, Jane. :) Looking forward to more pictures.

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  10. I am amazed at your great luck with the weather! They don't get a lot of good weather there but when they do, it's gorgeous! I am glad you had such a good time - thanks for sharing the lovely photos!

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  11. Great photos, I should get off my bahookie and go down there for a visit too! I'm looking forward to your next batch.

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