LONDON

I went to London few weeks ago, during "La Magdalena". I really liked it, because it is so different to all cities I’ve ever seen.

I went with two university friends; we arrived to London Stansted airport so we had to go by bus to the center of London. Once here we lunched and immediately went to Oxford Street and Picadilly Circus. We walked and saw shops; one of my favorites was a toys shop which is enormous, it has 5 floors and shop assistants are proving the toys and they let you prove too.

I went to Hostel Generator which is a modern hostel for young people. Here I and my two friends put our names for a free walking tour. A Spanish guide showed us all beautiful things we wanted to see in London. We met with the guide and all persons who come too in Wellington Arch. When everybody were ready we started the tour.

We first go to Buckingham Palace, where lives the queen. And the guide explained us that originally the palace was not a palace, it was a bourgeois house. The king went to visit him and felt in love with the house, so he bought it. First of all that house was only used for the queen; she came here to relax for that it acquired the name of the Queen’s House. But when the Queen Victoria was proclaimed queen she decided that the Queen’s House must have been the official residence of monarchy. So she ordered to do an extension on it and the Queen’s House was transformed in Buckingham Palace. Nowadays it continues being the official house of the Queen Elisabeth. Moreover, when we were here the queen was in her palace. We could know it because of the flag. There are two flags since Lady Di’s dead, when one the Queen is at palace and other when she is not here. Here we could see too the Changing of the Guard. It is amazing, horses walking in the street and cars passing next to them.

Then we passed through Hyde Park until arrive to Trafalgar Square. It is a square built to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. Here is a Nelson’s Colum on memory of the Captain Nelson, the captain who directed seaworthies to victory. The day of the battle the Captain was so sure of their victory that he put a red suit. His companions advised him but he ignored them so he was the first dead on the battle. Thanks to color, enemies could recognize him easily. On the way at home seaworthies put the body of the captain inside a whisky barrel for avoiding the decomposition of it. But, they spent three months on the ship and they were so happy for the victory; they drunk the whisky of Captain Barrel. Finally when tribulation arrived to London said that the Captain was so drunkard that even dead he had been drunk all the alcohol. That is the reason why the Captain Nelson known as a drunk is.

Finally, we arrived to the Houses of Parliament. Here is the Clock Tower usually known as “Big Ben”. But the Big Ben is not the tower it is the bell of the Clock Tower. The Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace and Big Ben are an iconic landmark of London. Moreover, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.

With the tour we see too St. Jame’s Park, where seagulls eat cock pigeons, Wellington Arch, Whitehall, 10 Downing Street, the place of social clubs for rich people, Churchill’s War Cabinet Bunker, St. Martin in the Fields and Westminster Abbey.

After had finished the tour we went to lunched. Then we went to Camden Town, an amazing and peculiar street market. It is amazing; shops which are of shoes have in their front an enormous shoe and gothic shops have a gothic doll in their front. Facades of the shops advertise you what you find inside are. Moreover here are all kind of cloth and people. Lots of girls were orange hairs and snakes in her necks. And no one see it strange.

The last day we went to see the Tower of London, but we did not enter because the ticket was so expensive, and the Tower Bridge. Then we went to the National Gallery which is free and saw the Van Gogh’s Sunflower amongst other famous pictures. After lunched we went to Hyde Park and gave food to squirrels. Finally we went to Harrods, the most luxurious and big shop center seen ever.