Walk #7: Inns of Court

{Me, Kaylee, Alison, Alexa, and Hillary}

 

{The only surviving building after the London Fire}

This walk was really fun, but freezing cold. It was a little unfortunate because they would not let us walk through the Inns. Apparently this walk no longer really exists? But we found some interesting sights along the way! First we saw the Royal Courts of Justice and some lovely Tudor buildings. One was the only building to survive the great London Fire and another was one of the Old Curiosity Shop. I have no idea what this building is but it had Charles Dickens name on it so we figured it was somehow important. We ended up at the Knights Templar but unfortunately we could not see anything other than the main entrance. I guess we will have to come back someday!

 

 

 

{There were a lot of random animal sculptures on this walk that provided the perfect photo opportunity}

Walk #6: Central Parks

Taylor and I about to embark on our journey

 A group of us came up with the brilliant idea of biking the Central Parks walk. The walk ended up only taking about 45 minutes instead of a few hours and it was really fun to intimidate everyone with our bike mob. I feel as if I had done this walk before (it closely resembled the 'Wedding Route' we walked our second day here)? One of my favorite parts was seeing the guards march through the park on horses. If I had not have been on my bike, I would have definitely gotten a picture. I have decided that the park walks are my favorite because there is so much beauty to see and less people around. I loved seeing the palaces for the first time since the wedding hype.

The group outside of Kensington Palace

The group outside of Buckingham Palace

Walk #5: Bloomsbury

Outside the British Museum

 I love the walks like this that have stops along the way, such as the British Museum. It really makes the walk more enjoyable when you have a halfway destination to reach. Hannah, Sam and I made an afternoon out of this day- first with lunch along the way, then some walking, spent a few hours at the British Museum, and finished the rest of the walk with just enough time to spare to be back in time for dinner. I liked this walk because it was in a part of town I had never been before. I even did an okay job being the Leader and leading the group around to the destinations.

Inside the museum!

French-style Hotel Russell in Russell Square

Walk #4: Soho to Trafalgar Square

Amanda, Emily, Me, Corey, and Amy at Trafalgar Square

Just when we thought we were going to have to cancel our walk due to the rain, the sun came out and it stopped raining briefly just for us to have enough time to finish our walk. This was a walk that I felt I had seen and walked already but there were a few parts such as Chinatown and the red light district that I had not paid close attention to before. Chinatown in London was very similar to the one in San Francisco so that was interesting to observe. I was surprised too to find that Soho was not as 'adult' as it had been rumored. We did get to see a few eccentric gay couples dressed up, but I did not feel unsafe or uncomfortable at all. I really want to come back to a few of the shops we passed along the walk, so I hope I have time to come and see it all again!

Walk #2: Westminster and St. Jame's

The Group: Catherine, Me, Emily and our photographer- Corey! In front of Westminster Abbey

Once upon a time it was very cold outside. What we assumed would be a perfect evening stroll around Westminster and St. James turned out to be a torturous, dark, and chilling experience. Okay, it really was not that bad-- it just was not as fun as our earlier sunny park stroll through a park. I'm not going to lie and say that we took our time and paid attention to the details like we should have because we didn't. The wind was blowing hard, I was in a dress and flip flops, and so we power walked (literally... we were sore the next day) through this walk.

I had seen Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster up close before but what a sight to see. With the sun setting and few cars on the road, it was the perfect picture opportunity. So alas, we each took our own picture with Ben!

It was fun to visit these sites and see the aftermath of the Royal Wedding. It had been a bank holiday the past few days so I suspected that a lot of the trash had not been picked up because few had been back to work. A lot of the walk was closed as well due to the Wedding so we took many detours to try to get back on track. Buckingham Palace was as beautiful as ever, especially with so few people around. The fountain was lit up too and really showcased its beauty.

After the walk was finished, I came to the conclusion that Parliament is the most beautiful building I have ever seen. The first time I saw it I was almost moved to tears. You just don't find building built with such intricacy and beauty in the United States!

Walk #3: Fleet Street St. Paul's

 After our tour of St. Paul's Cathedral, it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to see the surrounding area. Sam and Corey did their best to lead us around town and showcase their tour guide skills, although we did get lost a few times...

While on our walk, we happened upon this cute little pub. Initially we took a picture here because 1) there was a mail box across the street that we could put the camera on to use self-timer and 2) its black exterior stood out in the neighborhood and we liked the fact that it was called 'Courage'. Turns out that this pub was the site of Shakespeare's home back in the day? Very coincidental considering we were going to see the play "All's Well That Ends Well" that evening.

The Group: Emily, Laura, McKenna, Sam, Corey, Sarah, Bri, and me!

 After seeing various sites such as Black Friar pub, the Ireland Yard,and the College of Arms we made our way back to St. Paul's and headed home!

Walk #1: Regent's Park

As we embarked on our first walk through London, I did my best to suit the role of team leader. I jumped into character as our group's tour guide and we were off!

The Group: Kara, McKenna, Corey, Me, Laura, Amanda, Amy, Emily, Jason, Sarah and Sarah. Not Pictured: Emily King- she fulfilled the role of photographer.

Our journey began at the Chalk Farm tube station. We had all just finished lunch at the lovely Camden Market and were ready to go! It was an absolutely beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. It seemed as if all Londoners felt the same way because as we walked through Primrose Hill to Regent's Park, the grass was teeming with people, dogs, frisbees, 'footballs', and blankets to lounge on. Once we arrived at the park, we were greeted with a fountain that closely resembled the sink that provides passage to the Chamber of Secrets (as seen in the 2nd Harry Potter movie).

Harry Potter...

... and us! Maybe they don't look the same, but compared to all the sinks I've seen before in America, it was a landslide!

The park was absolutely beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. I had never seen anything like it (other than Hyde Park of course). As an architecture enthusiast I could not stop gaping at the villas, mansions, and town homes surrounding the park. My poor group was forced to stop with me every few minutes to appreciate their beauty. My favorite part of the walk was once we finally reached the boating lake. After an exhausting day of walking around London, we took a well deserved 30 minute break. 

We chatted....

Consumed our chocolate treats....

And some even read to make all the rest of us look bad....

It was a perfect day- relaxed, quiet, scenic, and allowed each of us the opportunity to get to know each other better. Next time I come here, I want to go on the row boats out on Boating Lake.

I hope all the walks to come are this fun!!