Beyond Heathrow Airport
Despite having flown in and out of Heathrow on several occasions, I had never gone outside the terminals until this past spring. On my way home from Northern Ireland, London called so I decided it was time to check out a few of the iconic sights. A big motivation for doing so on this trip was having a friend living there whom I had gotten to know when at Corrymeela in 2011 and could hang out with for a bit of time.
After a short flight from Belfast city airport to Heathrow on March 31, I took the express train to Paddington station, where I had booked a hotel for two nights. The train was fast and comfortable.
The hotel was in a great location for the Underground, restaurants and other services. The room was comfortable, but very small. Their breakfast was outrageously expensive, but there were many good options in the area that were about one-third the price.
With a time set to meet with my friend to start exploring, I headed out for breakfast and then to the Underground. I quickly learned that it was going to be complicated to get to the specific destination because parts of the Underground were closed for maintenance. It was Easter Monday! At this point, I had not sorted out all the lines and transfer points, but boarded a train that would take me a few stops away. Then, it was a reasonably short cab ride.
Over about a day and a half we set out to see many of the sights one things of when London comes to mind - Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, houses of parliament, London Bridge, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tate Modern Gallery and, of course, the River Thames. We paid admission to see Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, but it was simply walking past and looking at the other times.
While the weather was quite cool, it was sunny and we spent lots of time sitting outdoors engaged in great conversation.
The rest of this post is comprised of photos, which I am sure speak for themselves.
Despite having flown in and out of Heathrow on several occasions, I had never gone outside the terminals until this past spring. On my way home from Northern Ireland, London called so I decided it was time to check out a few of the iconic sights. A big motivation for doing so on this trip was having a friend living there whom I had gotten to know when at Corrymeela in 2011 and could hang out with for a bit of time.
After a short flight from Belfast city airport to Heathrow on March 31, I took the express train to Paddington station, where I had booked a hotel for two nights. The train was fast and comfortable.
The hotel was in a great location for the Underground, restaurants and other services. The room was comfortable, but very small. Their breakfast was outrageously expensive, but there were many good options in the area that were about one-third the price.
With a time set to meet with my friend to start exploring, I headed out for breakfast and then to the Underground. I quickly learned that it was going to be complicated to get to the specific destination because parts of the Underground were closed for maintenance. It was Easter Monday! At this point, I had not sorted out all the lines and transfer points, but boarded a train that would take me a few stops away. Then, it was a reasonably short cab ride.
Over about a day and a half we set out to see many of the sights one things of when London comes to mind - Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, houses of parliament, London Bridge, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tate Modern Gallery and, of course, the River Thames. We paid admission to see Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, but it was simply walking past and looking at the other times.
While the weather was quite cool, it was sunny and we spent lots of time sitting outdoors engaged in great conversation.
The rest of this post is comprised of photos, which I am sure speak for themselves.
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben
The London Eye
Parliament
Underground
London Bridge
London City Hall
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Canada House
St. Paul's Cathedral
In front of St. Paul's
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