The Home of Marky Homez: The Motherland

Monday 4/12 (local)

Britain, morning, immigration. That's where I stood after getting off the plane. Immigration was fairly quick and I got a preview of the infamous British accent. Love the British accent, haha. It's fantastic. I was actually sad enough to try and pull it off while talking to the immigration officer. Lots of laughs. The officer didn't give me a dirty look or anything like that, so i'll claim that as a victory - I pulled it off. Mwahah.

A car ride from Heathrow Airport was already pre-arranged. I would stay with Carmen's relatives in London - specifically a place near Northwick Park. After quickly dumping off the luggage at the house it was off to see the city of London, with a guide - Carmen's cousin. To get an initial bearing of where I started have a look at the Tube map. (Section B3, the Metropolitan Line - Purple).

So where was the first sightseeing destination for London? It was Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament - Westminster Station. Quite impressive actually. It doesn't have the awe inspiring view of block after block of skyscraper but it definitely had its charms. After milling about for a little while, and getting ripped off by some annoying 'charity' workers, it was off to Buckingham Palace. This time by foot.

Buckingham Palace is known well and I won't go into much detail here. One aspect of Buckingham Palace that does interest most tourists is the changing of the guard. The changing of the guard occurs everyday from Spring to Autumn and every other day during the period Autumn to Spring. 50/50 chance of seeing the guard. Lady Luck, as always, ensured that I didn't see the changing of the guard. Wrong day. Bah! Oh well, took some happy snaps and moved on.

More of London was seen as the day went on. St. James Park, Trafalgar Square, and Picadilly Circus all were visited. The highlight of the afternoon had to be viewing the Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge is absolutely beautiful, proof of which can be seen in the photo below. It is important to note that there is both a London Bridge and a Tower Bridge. Tourists beware! Do not go to the wrong one. I did. The London Bridge is a flat, boring, plain bridge whereas the Tower Bridge is the majestic, cool, tall bridge that everyone wants to see.

That ends the sightseeing of London today. The rest of the United Kingdom awaits.