A Few Days in London

What comes to mind when you think of the great cities of the world? The classic European capitals of Paris, Madrid, and Amsterdam? Asian powerhouses like Tokyo and Hong Kong? The new world metropolises of New York and Rio de Janeiro? Maybe emerging mega-cities like Dubai, or historic cities like Cairo and Istanbul? In my travels I've been fortunate enough to visit many of these great cities. I love exploring historic neighborhoods, skyscraper districts, museums, and vibrant cultures. But for a while there's been a gaping hole in my city resume - the capital of the largest empire that ever existed. Home of famous landmarks, a popular royal family, and diverse world culture: London.

I'd been hoping to take my first visit to the UK for quite some time now, and this summer an opportunity presented itself - a week long roller coaster trip with the American Coaster Enthusiasts. I flew in a few days early to explore London with my friends Janice and Peter, the Canadian and Swede who are currently living there. See, I told you it was diverse!

I had a fantastic time in London. It's a lively city with a wide variety of attractions. We covered a huge amount of ground. According to my Fitbit I walked 46.6 miles in less than 4 days. I'll let the pictures tell the story of my journey around London:

Almost there!

I rented an electric car for the day so we could visit Thorpe Park. More about that in an upcoming UK coaster post.

Janice is younger than me, so she likes selfies. And snapchat. Youths these days.

I'm driving on the left side of the road! I was a bit nervous, if you can't tell by my face.

We rode a lot of big red doubledecker buses. So London.

Having a few beers at Brewdog in Shepherd's Bush.

Peter got a bunch of beers to share as well. Drinking across the UK!

We didn't just drink beer. We also visited the Canada Gate in Green Park.

Looking across St.James Park.

At the horse guard's palace.

The central part of the city was full of neat architecture, buses, and tourists. Not necessarily in that order.

British Parliament.

Big Ben is the bell in the clocktower. Look how muddy the Thames is!

The London Eye is very photogenic.

Well I guess so.

Millennium Bridge to St.Me's cathedral. I mean, St.Paul's cathedral.

"The Shard" is one of the new skyscrapers in London. There are a ton under construction. This is from the Borough Market.

A neat alleyway/market filled with happy hour drinkers.

More modern skyscrapers, including "the gherkin." 

Shoreditch was my favorite neighborhood. Really neat street art.

Liverpool Steet Station. We visited several other amazing stations, including King's Cross and St. Pancras.

Inside the British Museum.

That's the Rosetta Stone behind the throngs of people.

A cool Mayan stone carving in the British Museum.

We had a fantastic lunch at the Lady Ottoline.

Inside King's Cross Station, the "Harry Potter" station.

Trafalgar Square.

Piccadilly Circus. This was my least favorite part of London.

The John Snow pub. Named after an early pioneer of epidemiology. Unfortunately the nearby Broad Street pump has been removed for a construction project. :/

Royal Albert Hall. We were there for the first day of BBC proms. Janice works across the street.

The Camden Locks neighborhood reminded me of Little Five Points in Atlanta.

But Camden Locks is way bigger and has a huge crowded market.

I didn't realize there were canals in London!

The view from Primrose Hill, where we had a lovely picnic lunch and got some free wine.

We took a very pleasant walk for a few miles along the canals.

Hyde Park.

A guy in a Lego costume right across from Janice and Peter's apartment. There was some kind of ComicCon thing.

Even with 4 days, I felt like I barely scratched the surface of London. I can't wait to return some day. Next up: the ACE UK coaster tour!