Albert Pernia's First Trip to Europe: June 14th to July 4th 2007
Countries Visited:
England |
France |
Belgium |
The Netherlands |
Germany
This is a place I had never heard about, but it had very positive reviews. Its a 4-star hotel in central London that's literally 1 block away from the British Museum. And just around the corner is a tube station for both the Central and Northern lines which made it very easy to get wherever I needed to, so it was perfect!
When I first started planning my England leg of the trip, I knew I wanted to visit this place. I had to. How many 5,000 year old structures do you find in the U.S.? I've always wanted to make it here, and I opted for the special access tour that lets you go inside the famous ring of stones and allows you to touch them.
This was the 2nd part of the tour after Stonehenge. Salisbury is a small town about an hour or so away from Stonehenge. The Salisbury Cathedral has the tallest spire in England. You can climb to the balcony about 2/3rds of the way up. This is where I got my first taste of the spiral stairs that are common in Europe.
When you get here, the exterior looks really old, but inside, its quite modern. The Great Court which was put in just a few years ago, is breathtaking and is the largest covered square in Europe. The collections here are vast and diversified, ranging from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to Medieval European collections, to the history of Japan. In particular, I really wanted to see the famous "Rosetta Stone" which allowed us to finally undersand Egyptian hieroglyphics. Cool stuff = ).
Not only is Europe rich in history, but tradition also. Not to mention, the grandeur of it all. Walking up towards the palace with the large British flags lining the street, horsemen trotting up in their fancy uniforms, and of course, the changing of the guard. Very British indeed.
When I think of London, I think of Big Ben and the Tower Bridge. Sure enough, when I first heard the bell ring and looked up to see the clock tower for the first time, it was a feeling of awe and truly realizing that, hey - I'm really far from home right now. FYI - Big Ben is the name of the bell that is housed within the tower, which is simply called "The Clock Tower". I guess Big Ben has a better ring to it, huh?
This used to be called the Millenium Wheel I believe, and I never really thought of it as much more than a really big ferris wheel. Oh, its impressive in size alright at 443ft high, but even with the great views you get, I walked away thinking pretty much the same thing. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait in the really long lines as my flight came with a free fast-pass ticket.
I always thought the Tower of London was literally just a white tower, but the structure is actually an early castle with a moat that is now filled in. The tower isn't so white these days, but if you plan on visiting, be aware that it might take some time to go through it all.
Another symbol of London and England for me. Not the biggest or tallest bridge in the world, but probably the most recognizable and memorable for me, other than the Golden Gate of course. I marvel at the engineering that was accomplished back in those days.
World War II has always been a favorite subject of mine. I especially loved reading about the Battle of the Atlantic and the times when big battleships and cruisers engaged in action. The HMS Belfast was involved in the Battle of the North Cape in 1943, where the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst was sunk. I found this self-guided tour to be fascinating as I've never been on a WWII-era warship before.
Ah, the famous Harrod's. Now this is a big store...over 1 million square feet and 300+ departments. Its like a big mall, but its all one store. I didn't have a big shopping budget, and this place ain't cheap (doubly so with the exchange rate - literally!), but I did pick up some small things here.
I always knew my name had a nice royal ring to it = ). This is a nice concert hall in western London. I knew about the Hall, but I didn't know about the Albert Memorial! Right in front of the Royal Albert Hall is this ornate monument dedicated to Prince Albert who died in 1861. Sadly, when this Albert dies, there ain't going to be any such monument. I'll be lucky if anyone shows up at my funeral = (.
Just some random shots of different places I went to. I didn't rent a car. It was easy enough for me to take the London Underground (The Tube) everywhere I went. From the famous red phone booths, to the double-decker buses, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey - I saw alot of London in the 5 days I was there.
Countries Visited:
England |
France |
Belgium |
The Netherlands |
Germany