London: December 17th-20th

Three days in London was just not enough time to enjoy this wonderful and vibrant city to the fullest!

We arrived in London late evening on Monday, so for the rest of the evening, we relaxed and browsed the area near our hostel in South Kensington. The South Kensington neighborhood (near the tube station: Gloucester) was very nice and posh. The town homes in the area were very classy. Right from the start, we loved the architecture and building facades of London. Right across the street from our hostel were two of London's largest museums, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science & Natural History Museums, with the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Gardens just a couple blocks away.

We woke up early Tuesday morning, enjoyed the all-you-can-eat breakfast at our hostel, and prepared for our first full day in the City...

-We started at Leicester Square near the Convent Garden to find us a couple of tickets to the musical, Wicked.
-After purchasing our tickets to the show, we walked a couple streets north up to Soho where Chinatown was located. We had lunch at a soup noodle house where rows of roasted duck and BBQ pork were hanging in the windows. Ben had soup noodles with BBQ pork and Liya had soup noodles with roasted duck - delicious and cheap, HURRAY!
-After lunch, we took the tube (underground) to Temple where the Somerset House was located. In the courtyard of Somerset, there was a large Christmas tree and an ice rink. It was a warming sight to see - there were high spirits and it certainly felt like Christmas! We returned later in the evening to see the courtyard at night which was lit up beautifully.
-We walked across Waterloo Bridge to the Waterloo Train Station (massive!). From the bridge, we had great views of the London Eye (huge Ferris wheel) and Big Ben. We then took the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral (2nd largest basilica in the world behind St. Peter's in the Vatican). We didn't go inside but Liya managed to take a picture of Ben jumping in front of it :)
-We walked across Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern Museum. The works inside the museum was very similar to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. We loved the fact that most of the museums in London were free to the public - that's how it should be everywhere!
-From the Tate, we walked alongside the Thames River on the Southbank. We passed by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral, and the London Bridge. It was dark by the time we got to the London Bridge so we had a nice clear night view of the Tower Bridge.
-We took the tube back to Trafalgar Square to have see Big Ben and the London Eye at night.
-We went to Lyceum Theater and saw The Lion King, a last-minute decision. The set and costumes were amazing. The acting and some of the singers were under-par in our opinion. Nevertheless, it was a great experience to see a West End musical during the holiday season.

Wednesday, our last full day in London...

We went on a walking tour of London at 11am.
-We started at Wellington Arch where we saw the #1 House in London in the Mayfair District, owned by the Duke of Wellington. We walked through the Arch and through Green Park towards Buckingham Palace where we saw the Changing of the Guards. Since the Royal flag was up and there were 4 Royal Guards instead of two in front of the palace, that meant the Queen was home. Following the ceremony, we walked to St. Jame's Palace, the official residence of the Prince of Wales (Charles) and his sons, Prince William and Harry, and took pictures with one of the Guards.
-Following St. James, we walked up to Piccadilly Street (really expensive street) and walked towards Piccadilly Circus. Along the way, we saw where the Queen shops (hat and leather shoe shops) and where she occasionally has her afternoon tea. Piccadilly Circus is London's version of Time's Square. From the Circus, we walked through Leicester Square and a couple of alleys which were filmed in the Harry Potter movies (Diagon Alley) to Convent Garden, a huge market.
-We visited Trafalgar Square where the National Gallery was located.
-Our last stop of the walking tour was the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

Following the walking tour, we had traditional British meals at the Lyceum Tavern for a late lunch. Ben had steak & ale pie as well as a pint of home-made ale and Liya had the traditional fish & chips - both were very good. Happy and full, we made our way back to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. It was dusk by the time we arrived - the view of Big Ben in the distance from the steps of the Gallery was nice. We walked through the Gallery and enjoyed works from Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Raphael. It was great to walk through the many galleries and for FREE! Another reason why we love London!

To end our perfect day, we saw Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater. The show was AMAZING! Everything was spectacular - the set, the costumes, the band, the actors, the music. It lived up to our expectations and we were 100% satisfied! We will have to visit Nick in NYC and see how Wicked compares there!

We were all smiles for the rest of the evening! Although we wish we could spend a few more days in London because there are still so many places to see (i.e. Greenwich; Notting Hill; Kensington Palace, Harrods, Portobello Road, Camden, and Borough Markets; Brick Lane and its curry houses; and the many more FREE museums!), we are excited to fly back home today and spend the holidays with our loved ones and friends.

London makes our list as one of our favorite cities in Europe - We will return for sure! Cheers!

Please use the link below to see our pictures from London and Corfu, Greece:
http://washington.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2218928&l=d4a12&id=10708181