tiffanypete: LONDON

we were hoping london would be kinder to us regarding weather but it showed little sun. thankfully it didn't rain the whole time. i fell in love with london. i want to move there! i couldn't afford it for very long so i'd settle for a couple months. it just felt natural to be there similar to portland.

DAY 05

we arrived at hotel. the tube (london's underground train/subway system) was pretty humid and trying to carry luggage in a foreign place was very tiring. we rested got dinner and then went to bed early.

OUR HOTEL

it was located in a very nice area on notting hill but our actually room was tiny. we were literally tripping over each other constantly.

DAY 06

our first full day was full shopping (topshop, zara, primark, and a couple other places).

topshop was heaven! so much stuff, it was insanely over whelming but i wanted everything. too bad the stupid dollar couldn't be worth more.

oh yes and of course we had to make the extra stop to take a couple pictures at the platform 9 3/4. i love harry potter.

CAMDEN LOCK MARKET

camden market was insane. it was huge. i don't think we even cover more then half of it.

our shopping took a little longer then we anticipated so we weren't able to make it to the v&a museum but we were able to fit it in later in our trip.

DAY 07

THE TOWER OF LONDON

her majesty's royal palace and fortress or more commonly known as the tower of london is a historic castle in central london.

many poor exotic and wild animals were brought to and kept within the tower walls. very sad but i liked the banners.

these sculptural animals are made from chicken wire (or a very similar metal make up). they were gorgeous.

we had to go see the crown jewels. you weren't allowed to take any pictures inside and you were on a moving walkway the whole way through.

THE TOWER BRIDGE

the 2012 olympic rings!

THE LONDON BRIDGE

the whole time we on the tower bridge i kept singing in my head "london bridges falling down" and what do you know we walk right by the london bridge!

SHAKESPEARE THEATER

DAMIEN HURST EXHIBIT

STREET ART/INSTALLATIONS

DAY 08

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

the queen happened to be at home when we were in london so we weren't able to tour buckingham palace we just joined the bunch of tourist taking pictures outside.

KENSINGTON PALACE

i would say kensington palace was my favorite site in london. the property was gorgeous and we picked a day full of mostly sun. kensington palace was home to princess diana and soon to be home for prince william and kate.

we stopped and had high tea. i love tea and tiny sandwiches and desserts so i was in heaven.

this is inside kensington palace. they had put in modern art and displays along with the antique and historical decor.

this was an installation. the picture doesn't do it justice but it was a series of vellum prints with a picture projecting on them.

an actual puppet show. fun.

HARRODS

harrods is located in the knightsbridge area and is this gigantic fancy store that has everything you want including every type of food and candy. i was drooling over the pastries.

inside harrods (in the egyptian wing) there are two memorials for princess diana and dodi (her bf whose father owned harrods at the time). it took us awhile to find these because the store is just enormous. the first memorial consists of photos of the two behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass still smudged with lipstick from diana's last dinner as well as an 'engagement' ring dodi purchased the day before they died. the second, unveiled in 2005 and titled "innocent victims", is a bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross.

there are too many pastries i wanted. i ended up have the apricot danish/croissant at least 4 times on the trip.

DIANA MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN

now this was a little adventure. we walked around a good hour and a half maybe even more in hyde park trying to find this. the signs were not helpful and we kept walking in circles. i think my sis said at least 3 times that this was the last time and we were going to walk back to the tube. well obviously we ended up finding it. and even though the water was absolutely freezing it felt good to take off our shoes and soak our feet (the fountain had a sign that said you could dip your feet or wade through it).

THE LONDON EYE

we visited the london eye a couple times but never went up on it. the lines were ridiculous and the the whole trip around is about an hour. i wouldn't enjoy being stuck in a little box high above the ground for that long.