London's Calling

“now get this london calling, yeah, i was there, too. and you know what they said? well, some of it was true. london calling at the top of the dial. after all this, won’t you give me a smile?” – the clash


Double-decker buses, fish and chips, Piccadilly Circus. Westminster Abbey, Harrods, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace.
To say there will be much to do and not nearly, enough time to do it in is a grave understatement. London is one of the cultural, social and financial centers of the modern world. There is too much to see in this one city in two weeks, let alone the two days I have allotted. Nonetheless, I will do my best to see all the important sites and pack as much as possible in the 48 hours that I can, probably foregoing sleep in order to do so.

Obviously, the big historic sites to check out will be Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London on the River Thames, and so on. It is easy to forget as Americans that the United States is a relatively young nation and our history does not stretch back as far as our neighbors in the world. Considering our nation splintered off from Great Britain, I am intrigued to see how their version of history and the revolution of the colonies and eventual fight for independence is communicated. As they say, there are two sides to every story and I think it will be interesting to go to the museums and see the British side.

Also on my list of stops will be Abbey Road as I mentioned in an earlier post to feed my Beatles mania. I will of course force my fellow travelers to cross the famed intersection with me although I don’t think I will need to persuade them greatly. And I don’t think we will be quite so obsessive as to hold up traffic and take a similar photo but none the less we will be walking in the same place that the fab four did many years ago.

I also plan on hitting up as many of the local drinking establishments as possible because what fun would London be without sharing a few pints with some Englishmen? I have been gathering recommendations from all my travel books and from various people that have been to London recently but even in my quick research online I have found a ton of sites outlining the best bars in various European cities. For instance on http://www.worldsbestbars.com/ you can search according to the city you are in and get a brief description of the best places to check out. I’m intrigued by a bar in London called Lost Society which is described as, “this historic, two-story 16th century barn was once a Manor House that hosted a banquet for Queen Elizabeth I. Now it’s a decadent, opulently designed restaurant-bar that’s easy to get lost in along with the rest of Clapham high society. The building contains a Conservatory, Library Bar…and most appealing in the summer – a Secret Garden – a shaded nook that you wouldn’t know existed from the street.” (http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/south-west/lost-society-clapham.htm) I read in another review that the outside garden becomes a beer garden on the weekends in the summer which sounds quite enjoyable. It sounds like a bit pricey for our general price range but I’m sure we will be splurging on the occasional night.

We’ll also hit up the more local watering holes like the local pubs but these are usually found through recommendations from the locals so we’ll play those more by ear. We also will be hitting up the rows of bars within Piccadilly because it seems like fun, trendy place to hang out.

I also really want to check out the Notting Hill and Hyde Park areas to see the lines of Victorian townhouses and shopping. Once again all I keep hearing is how expensive this area is but I’m pretty sure that’s just a general statement for all of London so I’ll just have to suck it up and make it work. I have been using this website a lot to research the local attractions within the city and it’s proved to very helpful. I guess that’s it for now so I’ll be back in a bit with a new country to tackle.