London in a day

Okay, yea yea, I know I'm crap at keeping this up to date..Sorry...Have tried over the years to get better at this sort of thing, but, well it's not going to happen haha. Anyway I've now been in England for over 4 months! Time has gone super fast, especially in the last couple of months. I think it's because I'm settled in, have new routines and a great bunch of friends. One part of why I love to travel is that when you first move somewhere completely new, every day feels extra long and jam packed with exciting stuff. After awhile time gets back to it's normal crazy pace, and while there is still plenty of exciting stuff going on you've got to make sure you take notice of it, get in amongst things and make the most of everything before you wake up and realise life has gone on without you.

I now feel that if someone had only one day to experience London I would be able to show them around some simply awesome places and experiences that would show London off. My ideal day of really seeing London would probably start with a morning walk along the Thames by southbank, under the London Eye observation wheel and across Westminster Bridge to have a look at the parliment buildings and the area around Westminster Abbey. Yes this probably the most tourist hyped part of the city but it is definitely worth a look on a sunny day. This area is also gorgeous in twilight when it's all lit up. I haven't been on the London Eye yet, I don't know if I can be bothered to get around to it. Like most of the tourist destinations here it's very overpriced, and weirdly I think it's a nicer view to stand underneath the wheel and look across the river. Maybe some day I'll go on it if I find a good discount voucher haha.

Big Ben tower

London Eye

Night view

We would then walk down the river to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. If you are going to spend some money on a tourist attraction the Tower is the best one I've been to yet - super interesting, especially if you join up with the free tours given by the Yeoman Warders (actual guards). There is also the beautiful St. Paul's cathedral. Definitely one of these two attractions anyway.

Queen's Guards in the Tower of London

Tower Bridge from inside Tower of London

St. Paul's

After a few hours checking these out it'd be time for a late lunch over the river in Borough Markets, a massive gourmet food market ...

...Then tube to any of the big parks like Hyde Park or Regent's park for a wander...

I love Camden town and markets so the day would be finished off walking through the massive, famous market area before going around the many pubs in the area for drinks. Camden is one of the main spots for partying and is great any night of the week

If it's a nice night the view from Primrose Hill is stunning - right across London, and only a short walk from Camden so this would be the last stop.

Borrowed from the net as my pics didn't turn out haha

So there you have my take on the real London, condensed down to what would be one long but awesome day. It's a bit different to what a tour guide would say but for me these are places and areas that I have mostly been back to many times now as they've been so amazing. They really mean 'London' to me. The city is so massive and so full of great things it is hard to narrow things down. It is also made up of loads of little communities, like Camden, from when it used to just be a bunch of villages back in the day, so I think it is best seen by just picking an area an wandering around with not much purpose but to simply see it all.