Tourist Highlights in London

This trip has been paced a bit differently than many we have taken previously. We had a few days to visit London, spaced in both the front and back end of the trip. In the end, the kind of itinerary we might pack into a day or two was spread out over a few days.

This was my first visit to London, but other family on the trip had all visited years ago. This part of the trip is devoid of any big adventures to regale you with… we just hit some of the straightforward tourist highlights in London: Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and Tower of London. We ended up doing high tea twice, even in our short visit. We’ve had high tea in other countries like Sri Lanka and UAE (Dubai), so it was nice to experience it at the source. The service and atmosphere at “The Orangery” in Kensington Gardens was superb and I highly recommend it for couples or families.

I imagine we are in London in a bit of of a low season, as the crowds certainly seemed pretty small at the big attractions. With the devalued GBP, the UK also seems to be very attractively priced right now. I pictured the weather being lousy, but it was actually pretty mild, especially when compared with Iceland this time of year. With the comparisons drawn between the Brexit vote and the electoral calamity currently unfolding in the USA, I also wasn’t sure what to expect here culturally. Of course, I have to remember that we’re here just visiting London. It would be a bit like trying to get a handle on the underlying psychosis of our recent election by visiting NYC… you just wouldn’t get anything remotely like a realistic picture. London seems very comparable to NYC: a vibrant, well-educated, multicultural city with a lot going on. The people have been exceedingly friendly and approachable, and we’ve enjoyed our time here a lot. Further on that comparison, I think we actually like London a bit more than NYC.

This trip is over now though. We’ve got some leftover British pounds that I’ll just hold onto. Somehow it feels like we’ll be passing through London at least a time or two more. Maybe next time we’ll have some time to dig a little deeper and even visit further afield. Until next time…

Full London Gallery: