Just because we spent a lot of time on the outskirts of London or outside the city, doesn't mean that we didn't see any of one of our favorite European cities. We visited several museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery, and the National Portrait Gallery. We also had to stop by Harrods for some afternoon tea and scones with clotted cream! One of our favorite days was spent in the borough of Westminster. We took a morning guided tour of the Houses of Parliament, or the Palace of Westminster, which was very informative. It was interesting to learn about the political system of Great Britain, and the roles of the different parties and houses. After this tour, we returned to Westminster Abbey, a place where you can always walk around in awe of the history that surrounds you. We finished up the day with a wonderful stroll through Portobello Market, which we knew from the Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts movie "Notting Hill." It was the day of the week where vendors not only sold fresh produce, street food, and crafts, but also various antique objects and jewelry.
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| Waiting for our tour of the Houses of Parliament inside Westminster Hall. |
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| Westminster Abbey |
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| Portobello Market |
Another fun morning was spent in the land of champions, the Wimbledon Lawn and Tennis Club. It is the holy ground of tennis, and every tennis player dreams to be invited to play in this Grand Slam. Being tennis players and fans, we decided we had to return (we went to the championships in the first week in 2007) to learn about the history of the championship and to take a tour of the grounds while there weren't thousands of people in our way. We first took a very informative tour that showed us various courts, took us to the press room, and gave us behind the scenes access to places where the players go. Our favorite stop was, of course, Centre Court. We could only stay there for a few minutes because, luckily enough, "60 Minutes" was about to do an interview with John McEnroe! Trust us when we say we tried to see him, but to no avail. We also spent some time down in the museum, where we learned about both the tournament and the invention of the sport of lawn tennis. We had such a fun time taking in this indescribable and amazing place, allowing ourselves to get drawn into the history, stories, and majesty of Wimbledon.
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| Centre Court! |
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| Last year's Men's Finals with Andy Murray the Champion. |
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| Where "60 Minutes" was going to interview John McEnroe. |
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| We knew one day we would make it to Centre Court! |
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| Previous Champions for Men's and Women's Singles. |
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| It's time for our press conference! |
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| Henman Hill at Wimbledon. |
Kensington Palace, one of the royal residences that is located in the city of London, was our next stop. Kensington Palace had wonderful exhibitions on Queen Victoria, the Georges, and Royal Fashion (mostly of Princess Margaret and Princess Diana). We especially enjoyed those on Queen Victoria, as we learned about her royal life as an impressive monarch as well as her personal life that was full of great tragedy.
We also had a chance to catch up with our cousin Chris for dinner. He took us and our dad to this great gastropub in his neighborhood, where we had traditional British grub prepared with finesse. We even found the courage to try "black pudding!" (Still don't know exactly what's in it, but we don't really want to know anyways). It was fun to chat and share travel experiences with him, and the food was absolutely delicious, contrary to what people say about British food.
On our final day in London we enjoyed the sites on the river and returned to the Tower of London, one of our favorite places in the city. The Tower has such a diverse and unique story that you always learn something new when you visit. We also love admiring the precious royal jewels, some of which have been around for centuries. It was a beautiful day, allowing us to end an amazing week in the wonderful city of London, three weeks of straight traveling throughout Europe, and close to eight months of experiencing life outside of the US.
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