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London, England: Trip Report
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London

On my way home to Chicago from Berlin I had a 6 hour layover in London. I certainly wasn't going to sit around Heathrow for 6 hours. Since looking at Concordes will only amuse me for so long I found some maps and asked around and found I can take the London Underground to central London. From there I can walk to some key sites and catch the train back.
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A Concorde at Heathrow.
A close-up.

Trafalgar Square

I took the Underground to Piccadilly Circus (what a name, huh?) and started walking towards the Parliament building. Along the way I ran into Trafalgar Square. I know I've heard that name a million times, I just don't remember why. Nearby down one of the streets going away from the square was that cool arch.
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Trafalgar Square.
Another view.
What the heck is this?

And here is that cool arch.

Horse Guards and 10 Downing Street

I kept walking down the street seeing Big Ben off in the distance so I knew I was going the right way. I then saw a bunch of tourists so I stopped to check it out. Turns out there was some large building and a couple guards on horses standing completely still outside.

I walked through the courtyard of the building and found a huge open area with bleachers lined up along the sides. I guess they hold events in this area. Across the street was a peacful looking park and also nearby I found 10 Downing Street, the residence of the Prime Minister. Just like at the White House there were protestors across the street being vocal about the issue of the day.
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I had to see what everyone was looking at.
Here is a close-up of one of the Horse Guards.
This is the back of the same building.

This is a wider view showing the bleachers on the sides.
This was a World War II memorial across the street.
And this nice park was there too.

I was surprised to see Pelicans here.
This is how close you can get to 10 Downing Street. I took this picture through the gate.
Some info on the history of 10 Downing Street.

Protesters were of course located across the street.
Let's see what they're protesting today.

Big Ben and the House of Parliament

Just a block or two from 10 Downing Street I finally found Big Ben and the House of Parliament. The first things that struck me about that building were just how large and especially how ornate it was! Pictures I've seen in the past just don't seem to reflect the amount of detail work on every square foot of the outside walls.

I walked around there for a little while and crossed the street to check out Westminister Abbey. I took what I thought would be a shortcut through a small residential area but it turned out I need to go several blocks out of my way. I snapped a couple pictures along the way and kept going.
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First shot of this major landmark.
I was really surprised how much detail there was.
This other tower was fairly detailed as well.

The Parliament building is quite large.
Nice fancy entrance.
Ah, this must be my entrance.

Westminister Abbey was right across the street.
I think this is the back of it.
Ok, now if I could only find my way out of this courtyard.

Finally found the front!
Even the Abbey has a gift shop.

Buckingham Palace

A rather long walk from Westminister Abbey was Buckingham Palace. The front was impressive looking, especially the gate. Immediately across from the gate was some other memorial I then walked around the other side near another nice park. I was then surprised to find the serious barbed wire at the top of the tall fence surrounding the grounds of the Palace.
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View of the palace from the side through the gate.
Palace guards wearing funny hats.
Impressive gate detail.

The memorial across the street.
It sure looks like they don't want any uninvited guests.

Harrod's Department Store

My final destination before heading back to the airport was the famous Harrod's Department Store. I'd heard so much about it so I had to check it out. The first thing I noticed is how much security there was at the entrances. As soon as I walked in I was asked to put my camera in my backpack and not remove it until I left the store. Darn. The inside was pretty fancy looking, quite a bit fancier than a Marshall Field's or Bloomingdale's.

Just as I was getting ready to leave it started to rain (it is London after all) so I headed to the Underground station conveniently next door to the store and headed back to the airport.
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The first view of the store as I turned the corner.
This man was outside the store telling tourists about the store.
Some of the detail of the outside of the store .

View of the entire store from across the street.
Ever wonder what kinds of things Harrod's sells?
The Underground station.

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