{"id":7478,"date":"2017-07-17T02:22:29","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T02:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thedowntownproject.com\/?p=7478"},"modified":"2021-10-10T23:45:18","modified_gmt":"2021-10-10T23:45:18","slug":"london-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/london-day","title":{"rendered":"London for the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

London, England – When I lived in Paris in the \u201890s, my mother lived in London, and while it was precipitously easier to \u201cgo home\u201d to England than to the United States, it still took a minimum of 9 hours \u2013 a trip that consisted of two separate trains, plus a ferry boat to cross the Channel.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

So, when I was in Paris last month after a long absence, I got a \u201cwild hair\u201d and decided to go to London\u2026 for the day!\u00a0 Mainly, because I could.\u00a0 Thanks to the high-speed Eurostar train through the chunnel, the trip now takes just a brief 2 hours and 30 minutes. \u00a0Factor in the time change (you wind your watch back an hour going from Paris to London), and it only takes 90 minutes on the clock! <\/span>The trip is super easy to book on Eurostar<\/a> <\/span>(create an account, and get e-tickets on your phone).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Eurostar travels up to 185 mph and has free wifi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ninety minutes later \u2013 eh voila!<\/i>, I arrived at St. Pancras Station, which has an underground stop on the convenient Circle Line<\/a> that loops around central London.\u00a0 <\/span>I quickly and effortlessly bought a 1-day Travelcard (approx. <\/span>\u00a3<\/span>12) from the local Tourist information center,<\/span> stopped at one of the handy automatic currency machine changers found throughout St. Pancras station (you put in euros, and it spits out pounds \u2013 with no commission) and I was off to my first stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Tower of London – the permanent home of the Crown Jewels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1) Tower of London<\/a> – <\/span>This amazing 11th<\/sup> century castle is possibly most famous for its use as a prison.\u00a0 Among its notable \u201cguests\u201d have been Ann Boleyn, Guy Fawkes, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Queen Elizabeth I (before she was crowned). Today, the Tower is the permanent home of the Crown Jewels.\u00a0 Note: You can buy \u201cjump the line\u201d tickets online, but you still have to wait in line to get the \u201cjump the line\u201d tickets. I recommend making a bee-line to <\/span>the bling before the crowds converge and then strolling the grounds (by mid-day, it\u2019s common to wait two hours to view the jewels!).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

2) <\/span>A few steps from the Tower of London, the river bus makes frequent stops along the Thames.\u00a0 And while the river bus isn\u2019t covered with the 1-day Travelcard, the \u00a35 it cost was well worth the price.\u00a0 <\/span>The ride from the Tower to Westminster took about 20 minutes.\u00a0 It\u2019s a relaxing, unique, and a cheap way to see some spectacular views of London. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Buckingham Palace – when the flag is flying, the queen is in residence!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hopping off the river bus, I walked past the iconic Big Ben and Westminster Abbey<\/a>, wending my way through St. James Park<\/a> and Buckingham Palace<\/a>. <\/span>Sadly, the Palace wasn\u2019t open for tours (in 2017, summer dates are 22 July \u2013 1 October), so I kept up my sojourn, crossing Hyde Park<\/a> to the Hyde Park Corner tube station, and on to my next stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Covent Garden Apple Market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3) Covent Garden<\/a> – <\/span>Formerly an outdoor fruit and vegetable market, Covent Garden is now a bustling shopping area, just east of the Theatre District.\u00a0 Two covered halls make up the heart of the Garden, each housing adorable boutiques and market stalls. Nearby, and all around Covent Garden, numerous quaint pubs also line the cobblestone streets – a perfect place to pop in to get a nice bite of lunch.\u00a0 <\/span>I love Covent Garden.\u00a0 For me, it\u2019s a must-visit every time I go to London.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s out of nostalgia because it reminds me so much of My Fair Lady.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Iconic red telephone box, colour known as \u201ccurrent red\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After all that, it was only three o\u2019clock.\u00a0 My train back to Paris wasn\u2019t until 6:30, but I realized there wasn\u2019t enough time to squeeze in a museum visit (take your pick \u2013 London abounds with amazing museums), so I hopped back on the tube and headed over to Harrod<\/a>\u2019s for a quick peek at how the rich shop.\u00a0 <\/span>On the way, I opted for a lovely stroll through Knightsbridge and past the <\/span>Albert & Victoria Museum<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Before I knew it, it was time to start heading back to St. Pancras\u2026 but not before stopping by one of a plethora of \u201csweet stalls\u201d to load up on some British treats for the train ride back to Paris, exhausted but ecstatic with my London trip<\/a>!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo credit: Barbara Nance
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Barbara Nance, Writer\/Professor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For more on Barbara, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[codepeople-post-map]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Test<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,28,26,40],"tags":[39,17],"class_list":["post-7478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destination","category-featured","category-front-page","category-international","tag-england","tag-historic-places"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8293,"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7478\/revisions\/8293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanasanko.com\/downtown-project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}