Recount of visit to London

After a ride alone (my first on a flight) on Ryanair which proved to be without a hitch, I arrived at London Stansted Airport. I was interrogated at the airport by the customs officer for about 15 minutes, answering miscellaneous questions about why I was in Europe and London in particular. Then a bus ride to Liverpool Station by Terravision (the cheapest bus service, which also proved to be the fastest) and a metro ride to Piccadilly Circus Station to meet CJ, JX and Vikas (JX and CJ’s friend studying in London).

We then walked to Piccadilly Backpackers’ Hostel to check in. We then went to Arsenal to visit the famed Highbury Stadium, which was closed to public already, in preparation for Arsenal Football Club’s move to the new Emirates Stadium. (We had a hilarious mix-up when we were going to view the new stadium. Ask me about it!)

Then, using the Time Magazine’s recommendation, we took bus 11 to visit the tourist attractions along the way. (The article was useful indeed – it also listed places to visit for Paris and Rome. And it was an uncanny coincidence that Ivan passed the magazine to me whilst I was staying at his place before going on the Poland trip.) However we did the trip in a rather haphazard manner as it was quite late and some attractions were already closed.

First stop was St Paul’s Cathedral. Took some pics and reboarded bus 11 to take it to Trafalgar Square. There we saw the National Gallery, Nelson’s Column (under reconstruction), Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey, St Margaret’s Church, albeit all from the outside.

Next day Buckingham Palace for change-of-guards, Hyde Park, Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, British Museum, Harrods, Notting Hill. Bayswater Duck Rice for lunch and a musical “We Will Rock You” at Dominion. Night shots of London Eye and Big Ben.

Wednesday: Tower Bridge, Tower of London (visited inside), London Bridge, and walk along River Thames, and walked over Millenium Bridge, moved into Vikas’ flat.

Thursday: Westminster Abbey, Leicester (pronounced Lester) Square, Covent Gardens. Dim sum lunch at Chinatown, crepes at South Kensington with Junlei.

Friday: Camden Town, Greenwich (pronounced Greenedge).