London Sightseeing with Mandy

Mandy has arrived safely in London after a great holiday in Shanghai and Frankfurt, and so we spent one of her first days living in London visiting as many tourist sights as we could! It was perfect weather - so perfect that I forgot how cold it was and decided I could brave the cold in a skirt and tights today. Well, let me just say that blue skies does not equal warmer weather - in fact even with wonderfully blue skies and the sun shining it was the coldest day since I've been here! We started our morning off with a coffee and a catch up at one of the hundreds of Starbucks that exist in this city and then began our journey at Marble Arch.

Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument near Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. It was originally erected on The Mall as a gateway to the new Buckingham Palace and only members of the royal family and the king's troop and royal horse artillery were allowed to pass through it. The arch was moved to its present location in Hyde Park in 1851.

Then is was a quick journey through a section of Hyde Park, which is the largest park in central London. The park is divided into two by the Serpentine Lake, and is located adjoining Kensington Gardens. Today in the park, unfortunately there were no squirrels to be seen but plenty of seagulls (go figure?!) At Mount Gate on the east side of the park, we stopped at the Joy of Life fountain for some snaps.

We then walked down to Hyde Park Corner, which is the official entrance to Hyde Park. Located at the south-east corner of Hyde Park, it is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Picadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge. At the centre of the roundabout is Wellington Arch - a memorial to the Duke of Wellington. In addition to the arch, other features of the entrance include a bronzed statue of Byron, Momument to the Cavalry of the Empire and the Hyde Park Corner Screen carriage entrance archway.



Needing very little introduction is our next stop: Buckingham Palace. It is the official residence of the British monarch in London. As always, the famous armed sentries were on guard surrouding the palace. The flag was flying high atop the palace today, which means the Queen is home. Standing directly in front of the palace is Victoria memorial, and as the name suggests it is a memorial to Queen Victoria.

Next it was off to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The Clock Tower (Big Ben actually refers not to the clock tower itself, but to the 13 tonne bell hung within) is at the north-east end of the Houses of Parliament. It was originally raised as part of a design for a new royal palace, but later became the Houses of Parliament. A light shines above the clock face when parliament is in session.

Right around the corner is Westminster Abbey. This is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English monarchs.

From here we decided to take a break from the cold and took the tube up to Charring Cross - which is considered to be the heart of London. Lisa had finished work early, so she met us at right near here at Trafalgar Square. This square commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Nelson's column is in the centre of the square surrounded by fountains on both sides. There are four huge bronze lions lining the square, the metal used is said to have been recycled from the cannon of the French fleet.

To finish off, we walked from Trafalgar Square up to Covent Garden. This Italian style piazza is famous for its shops, street performers, bars, restaurants, theatres and the Royal Opera House. It is also surrounded by Theatreland, in the heart of London's West End. It was then time to say good-bye to Mandy. Hope you all enjoyed the history lesson!

Lisa and I enjoyed a hot coffee and then had snaps at Picadilly Circus to round off the day.