A Rome Through London and Paris: Hopping the Pond

In June of 2008 I finally made it across the Pond. I set aside 10 days away from my ridiculous project work in Calgary and hopped on a jet bound for London. The flight took a fun little arc through Newfoundland and Greenland before reaching Scottish shores on its way SW toward London. This was my first trip to Europe. I took a lot of photos. I'll post only the best of the photos, but there will be nothing new under to sun for those who have been to London, Paris or Rome--these photos will only satisfy a "Europe 101" level of experience. Photo at top was taken early morning at the Portobello Market in Notting Hill near my hotel, The Umi.

My first day in London was spent mostly on recuperation. I had an all night flight that dispatched me into a Heathrow terminal around noon the first day. It took me a while to figure out the trains at first. I bought an "Oyster Pass" which helped economize coin and time with regard to ticket purchases for London's Underground train system.

I was absolutely thrilled to ride the Underground. The prerecorded and calming voice of a British woman narrates the entire train journey. She sounds just like the voice in "Austin Powers" during the part where Powers is thawed out from his cryogenically frozen slumber: "...warm liquid goo phase completed...", but instead she says stuff like: "you are aboard a Blue Line train enroute to Cockfosters" and the staple "please mind the gap".

I tried to make my way to my pre-booked hotel without the aid of a map, but I was really tired and it was considerably hot and humid outside as I walked around with my 30-lb backpack, so I hired a cab. It turns out I was only two blocks from my hotel anyway. I checked in and promptly fell asleep in my tiny room. I awoke after dark--it was around 8pm. I went out for a night walk (again without a map) and happened upon the very cool Queensway Street which was full of people, restaurants and brightly lit signs. I had a craving for Chinese food, so I quickly found a Chinese restaurant along Queensway and indulged. After dinner I continued to walk around Notting Hill and along the north border of Hyde Park. The night scene appeared safe to me so I wandered even into the dimly lit alleyways to do some exploring.

I was in bed by around midnight that first night. The next day was a Friday--my first full day in Europe. I was up around 7:30am and had breakfast at the Hotel Umi's little restaurant: Frosted Flakes (aka: "Frosties"), fruit and a croissant. I saw a lot of the London tourist staples on this day, beginning with the London Tower Museum. On my way to the Underground station I wandered over through the Portobello Market neighborhood (see photo at beginning of entry) and enjoyed the well-manicured British townhomes along the way. A lot of Notting Hillians appear to prefer driving Cooper Minis. Either that, or they use them in lieu of garden gnomes.

The London Tower was a lot of fun. I took the Underground most of the way there from Notting Hill, but I made a point of walking the final mile along the Thames. It was exciting to wander with no map and ford through blocks of buildings from the Underground to find my way to the north bank of the Thames. When I spotted the iconic Tower Bridge I couldn't stop from grinning.

The London Tower Museum opened at 9am and I was one of the first visitors through the gates that morning. Crowds were very light and weather was ideal, so I had a great little visit:
The White Tower:

Guard at post outside the Jewel House:

Tower campus with Tower Bridge in background:

Guard patrols Queens House:

Aerial view of London Tower Museum campus with Tower Bridge in behind:

I spent about 3 hours at the Tower Museum and then I went off on my great London walkabout. I began with a tour of the Tower Bridge--you can buy a ticket to access the top of the bridge and walk across from one pier to the next. You get a great riverview of London from up there:
Driving along the main deck: