Trip Report

So I have been in London for four days already. I arrived on Monday and proceeded to where I was staying. On the way I happened past Buckingham Palace, where a lot of pomp and circumstance takes place. In general the parks and buildings in the vicinity are very beautiful.

I used "the Tube" to rendezvous with friends and travel to Canary Wharf, where we are staying. This mass transit is very similar to "the Metro" in Washington D.C.

On Tuesday I took a bike ride around London. This was a nice way to move around quickly and see many sights. You have to get used to riding in traffic, but there are certainly more people commuting on bikes then any other city I have ever seen.

I also visited the Tate Modern, an art museum across the Thames from the part of London that houses the British government.

The next day was the British Museum. It is larger then the Harvard Museum and more concentrated then the Smithsonian. Everything inside was unique and marvelous, including the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon.

Later we walked to the National Gallery, a spectacular art museum for work prior to 1900. Between this museum and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., I have seen five of the definitive thirty-five paintings by Vermeer in the last week. (But who's counting?)

This day was also the hottest day on record for London. Luckily, I brought a pair of shorts along for the trip. I thought I would not need them and they might be considered inappropriate by the locals..... but the current circumstances are extraordinary. The average temperature for London in July is 73 F, but yesterday it was 97F. In general the museums were cool and some of the rooms were actually air-conditioned.

On Thursday I walked to the Monument, which commemorates the Great Fire of 1666 that destroyed most of London. The center of the Monument is a 311-step spiral staircase. There is a viewing platform at the top that offers a panorama of London.

Afterwards, I walked further to the Tower of London. This is a quintessential tourist experience for visitors to London and is a very historical location. It contains many curious items, such as the Crown Jewels. Admission to the Tower of London costs £15, but it is worth every quid.