London in 4 hours
The
plane was late. Naturally... Low-cost flight tend to do that... take
off was normal, after three hours on ground we were finally a few
thousand meters in the air. No one announced the speed or altitude
and temperature as I was expecting, maybe they are saving on
electricity for the comm's!?
At
one moment I was looking through the hatch and suddenly realized we
were like child's toy in the hands of something higher than us. A
strange feeling, but in the same time a calming one. Imagine a small
boy running around with it toy plane in one hand and making circles,
now imagine you are in this plane... You somehow feel the grip is
steady, but in the same time it's shaking and yo have no idea where
it's going to turn to.
Landing
wasn't unbearable, we all applauded the captain and for a reason I
think, these airmen are not human, imagine the knowledge and focus
and the nerves of steel they posses! The
plane stopped right in front of the doors
and
a hundred and fifty passengers jumped out as if we were chased by
Godzilla or something. I didn't know what to expect, this was my
first visit to UK, but somehow I had a purpose and was determined not
to get lost in the beginning of this journey. It was windy, it was
raining – surprise! - and it was darker than I expected. Some staff
was already at the tarmac and they pointed us to the doors, through
the tunnels, stairs and corridors and in less than a couple of
minutes we were at the security waiting in line.
Scan,
look, welcome to England, please proceed.
My
flight was to Luton airport because Wizz Air uses this one, away from
London and an extra 22 pounds for bus tickets, but the schedule is
far more acceptable – I arrived at 14:00 hours and the departure
was at 21:05 hours as other lines using
London
Heathrow Airport
depart at 05:00 hours which was a deal breaker for me. I was one of
the first out, because I travel light – a 25Lbackpack, a camera, a
phone and all the useless /220V/ chargers.
Before
I exited one girl handed me a prepaid gsm card with international
rates much lower than what I get in my country... One to five penny a
minute for Europe calls.
I
had prepaid return ticket for the bus to London but since I was late
one hour and change I asked if it still was valid. No problem, you
can use it for the day, there was a bus every twenty minutes leaving.
I even had time to look around. It was raining and blowing pretty
nasty so I entered the bus and found a good place for the trip. After
the bus took a few “crazy” turns and went out for the highway the
sun started to shine and the clouds disappeared, the fields started
glowing in a bright yellow color. The trip to London is about one
hour on a five lane highway, something you don't see much in eastern
Europe.
As
we entered London suburbs some small houses which are all looking the
same way started rolling by. There was traffic but it was still easy,
waiting on the lights was no more than a minute. And all the
two-story buses and the typical taxis as in the movies were all over
the place. It was nice and I was glad to have taken the bus so I can
see more of the life here.
The
bus stop is right beside the Victoria train station and the
Underground has an entrance here. Nice and convenient. There are
signs everywhere, there are maps and directions on every bus stop.
So
I got to Victoria and I saw a stand, they were giving away area maps
for tourists like me, I grabbed one and a lady asked if I need some
help or directions – nice. On some other stand there were leaflets
from the guided bus tour operators in London, again with maps of the
tour, including the Thames tour, Buckingham palace, the Eye and so
on. Just be careful which guide you choose, some are hop-on/hop-off
all day ticket, which is very nice, because you can enjoy certain
sites more and have a coffee or breakfast there, while other tours
are a straight drive through, no stops and it just isn't that
interesting...
Food
was my concern, but I found out there are plenty of kiosks and
cafeteria like Starbucks and Costa and many local brands I never
heard of all over the streets. Pret a Mange is a very nice place to
eat, it actually serves fresh sandwiches and salads which tasted
great! The coffee is about two pounds everywhere, but keep in mind
this is the standard and it's half a liter, so for me at least it was
huge bucket that I could drink all day. You can also buy decent
sandwich and/or salad, water and what not in Sainsbury Local, which
is a nice little “corner” shop, on the cheap side, but products
are good and fresh. They have alcohol if that's your treat and
anything else a tourist might need to survive the day / and night /.
It's
easy to get around London, but I did prepare upfront, for a couple of
days I was marking the places around Victoria station on google maps
and I finally pre-cashed the region on my phone. I also got a free
London underground map as an app and live train and bus schedule
programs just in case.
Well,
like a typical tourist I didn't waist time and walked straight to
Buckingham Palace as soon as I got off the bus. It was windy and
rainy but I was determined and had it all worked out. One of my
“major concerns” was the souvenirs I had to buy! No trouble, it
was full of small shops on Buckingham road and as soon as I got by
the palace garden walls I saw the Royal Mews Souvenir shop. I passed
by without even looking in, which was a mistake I think, so I would
suggest you check it out.
Btw,
the crossing is dangerous, the “other side” traffic can be very
intimidating at first and the pedestrian lights are slow so everyone
is crossing by running when there are less cars on the street. At
least on every corner and passing there are signs – Look left –
Look right. I'm not sure if the signs are for locals or tourists...
The
tourists are everywhere, it's actually overcrowded even in this
season /April/ and I can't imagine what it would be like in the
summer season.
Here
is the Royal Gallery with a poster on the side wall for an upcoming
Leonardo exhibition, but of coarse it begins 4th
of May and I will miss this event too.
The
palace is not huge but is very beautiful. All the ornaments on the
fence are gold plated and in such detail, just beautiful. Arches,
walls and parade gates, everything is perfect. The gardens around the
square are so beautiful with the colors of the flowers picked to
shine even in a cloudy day as this one.
The
fountain with Nike on top is the perfect place for a rest and some
lunch and lots of pictures. There goes one chopper, as it appears it
is normal and some say it's the queen herself flying over London –
to keep track of things... Nice eh! It's sunny again and the rain
stopped. Good to go ahead. I hoped it will stay like this /wishes,
wishes.../
Off
to Big Ben, no time to waist. The easy way is on right hand side of
the St James's Park, a part of the infamous Hide Park of London, by
the Guards Museum on Birdcage walk.
Walking
by the park I saw a couple of squirrels making street show for the
tourists, they were so fluffy and so fearful I couldn't believe it.
Very nice.
I reached the middle of the walk and there it was, the infamous Big Ben tower. Beautiful and the weather was still good to me. The whole walk is no more than five minutes but if you stop to take pictures of the park and all the beautiful flowers and animals it can easily take you half an hour.
There are information panels on every corner and entrance of the park describing where you are and what is within five minutes walk.
The Abby is in front, William and Kate got married there, nice. There is the Churchill statue, ugly, but non the less a great politician... It was raining and blowing again but as the hundreds of tourists did I kept taking pictures and admiring the views.
Except
for the still strange “opposite direction” traffic and the fact
that every time you cross a street you wonder where to look first, I
was really amazed by the wide street and all the monuments in the
middle of the lanes. A general on a horse, a monument with a flag and
the WW2 Women huge metal block, with really good representation of
all the clothes and uniforms those brave women wore back then.
Finally
reached Downing street 10 and I saw hundreds of tourists snapping
like crazy, I also saw two police officers in front the main gate and
two inside with machine guns. It wasn't exactly a cheerful
sighting... I decided that being alone its not a great idea to start
shooting the gate and the officers. So I went to the next stop, The
Household Cavalry Museum. At
the entrance were two horseman in parade uniforms and an interesting
sign: Beware, the horses might kick and bite. Thank you... Inside the
yard was another guard with a sword who was “playing” a show for
the kids. To the Horse Guards Parade through the yard, where there
was a happening obviously, but i've missed it unfortunately.
Went
to the park after a few shots because it was time to start the
backtrack. Wizz air sent me a sms to be early for security was
overwhelmed with passengers on all London airports. I went for The
Mall street when another squirrel “attacked” me (video) but when
it understood I had nothing to give it went after other unsuspecting
tourists. Some more pictures and back to the palace. Another tour of
the beautiful gardens and gates and off to Victoria Station.
No
coffee on the bus... Need to drink this huge cup before we leave for
Luton airport. Through London, the strange horse head and then
Wembely in the distant horizon. It was raining heavily and I couldn't
take pictures from the bus. Next time I'll come for a long vacation
to see the real London.
Regards
and all the best of times wherever and whenever you are headed to!
28.04.2012
Sofia
– London - Sofia
Airplane.
Bus.
Information
sources for this travel
plane
train
bus
weather
maps
how
to precache a map on Google Maps and use without internet connection
– on android
android
phones – apps for travelers
booking.com:
http://bit.ly/KyHjIH
london:
http://bit.ly/KyHxiN
route66:
http://bit.ly/KyHBiC
london
underground: http://bit.ly/KyHeVj
I
used this sources and apps for my trip, I don't pretend they give the
best information, options or prices. I only offer them as a starting
point. In any case it's best to make you own research, ask friends
who have traveled the road and keep in mind that all you know or
expect might turn out to be quite a different experience.
Коментари
Публикуване на коментар