Visiting London England
The old Blighty
Beautiful London
From San Francisco
London is a 10 hour flight away. Not
much when you say it fast. On a long
flight like this make sure you get up
and walk and stretch as much as possible
and drink lots of water. This will help
you to avoid getting swollen ankles and
dehydrated. The long flight is worth the
trouble as London is one of the best
destinations to visit in the world.
Once at
Heathrow Airport there are many ways
to get into London. Your budget will
drive which one you choose. But if you
have a lot of luggage it is best to take
a taxi or other road transport option.
If you do not have much to carry then
you might consider the
London Oyster Card. It saves money
when using the Tube, Trains, and Buses
in London. It makes a £4 trip into a
less than £2 trip. The train runs from
the airport to many London locations.
However, the London underground is a
very old system with many stairs and no
escalators and few elevators; so be
prepared to climb stairs. The
London Tube is not handicap ready.
For example: To get to East London from
the airport via the Tube can take the
best part of two hours. Remember you
might be extremely jet lagged, which
will make carrying bags up and down
stairs even more difficult, but the Tube
with an Oyster Card will cost under £6;
relatively inexpensive.
Parliment Houses
While in London you must visit the
British Museum. The Egyptian
exhibition at the museum is excellent
and a must see if you are planning to
visit Egypt or not. Like all great world
museums there are often transitory
exhibitions. It was truly worthwhile to
see the First Emperor exhibition where
one could stand face to face with the
soldiers of the Terracotta Army. This is
not possible even in China.
A walk around
Leicester Square,
Regent Street, Covent Garden, and
Nelson's Column are well worth your time
too. It is in places like these you get
a feel for the people and ambiance of
London. The
London Tower is really interesting.
It is the home of the Crown Jewels,
which are spectacular, but also it is a
castle right in the heart of London,
which is worth visiting its self. These
days no visit to London would be
complete without flying high above the
city on the
London Eye. You get magnificent
views of the city from on high.
Regent Street
If you are interested in war museums
and memorials then a visit to the war
ship Belfast might be your cup of tea.
The Belfast had a distinguished career
during the Second World War and Korean
War. Moored on the Thames since 1971 she
is worthy of a visit.
The
Royal Observatory is where the zero
meridian is located and so you can put
one foot east of the zero meridian and
one foot west of it at the same time. I
am not sure what this really does for
you, but it seems cool. To get there you
can take the Thames ferry and get
fantastic views of London from the river
to boot.
These are but a few attractions
waiting for you when you make your way
to London. If you do not visit London
before you die you will miss a truly
amazing life experience.