London Recap: Part I

We're back from London and while we're happy to be home, we miss the city terribly. We both fell completely in love with it. The funny thing is, London was never one of "my destinations". Not like Italy, France, or Spain, countries whose languages, culture, art, and history I've spent my life studying. London was Fabian's pick and it took me completely by surprise. I expected it to be a lovely city, but I never thought it would woo me the way that it did. By the end of day one, I was hooked. London is an architecturally stunning city deeply steeped in history and culture. It is alive with a strong energy current that runs through every part of the expansive metropolis. I thought New York was a fast-paced city, but London leaves it in the dust. People never slow down there, but I'd like to think it's because they are so in love with their city that they don't want to miss a beat. It's more likely that they are just in a hurry to get from Point A to Point B, but I digress.

My only pet peeve in London was that the sights closed a little too early, usually around 5:00. We were there for an entire week and I feel as though we barely scratched the surface. We didn't have a chance to take a day trip because we wanted to soak in as much as London as we could and we didn't have a chance to just linger in the park and people watch. Our holiday was fast-paced, exciting, romantic, and it left us hungry for more. We are eager to go back as soon as possible. We took over one thousand photos and I had originally planned to include close to 70 pictures in this post, but I figured it would be best to break up the recap into a few different parts. Highlights from the overall trip include: The Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The British Museum, Ghosts of London Pub Crawl, Spitalfields Market, and dinner at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. I hope that you'll enjoy the first round of photos. Be sure to check back soon for Part II.

I am so in love with the architecture in London from grand, palatial buildings to quaint little houses such as this one, they are all gorgeous. There is an abundance of beautiful doorways and flowers, there too, but I'll post more on that later.

Food Halls at Harrod's

Fabian and Me at Westminster Abbey

We loved staying in Kensington. It is such a great area!

Isn't this the coolest fence? It is outside of a building that is being remodeled near Hyde Park.

Piccadilly Circus

Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery

I am so glad that I stopped by a bientot here in Houston before leaving for our trip. I was so anxious about what to pack and I found two of these great cotton sweaters, some fabulous jewelry, a cute new "brollie", and the MZ Wallace handbag I am carrying here. It was the perfect bag for traveling! There is a compartment for everything you could imagine and it is light as a feather. The weather ended up being gorgeous with highs in the mid 70s, so if anything the clothes we packed were a little warmer than necessary, but the days were perfect for sightseeing.

Fabian in Trafalgar Square

I got a kick out of this!

An Old Mini Cooper

Gorgeous Flowers Abound in London

Fabian and I Cruising Down the Thames River

The London Eye, or as some locals call it, "The Wheel of Fortune"

Parliament and Big Ben

Sir Christopher Wren's Architectural Masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral (we climbed all the way to the top of the dome, but more on that tomorrow), The Millennium Bridge, and the London School for Boys