We all went to sleep fairly early on our first night in Kensington, London. I was out first at about 21:00 (that's 9:00pm), so we all ended up awake by 3am, so I got up and went on a walk around the neighborhood to pass the time, it was the shortest day of the year so there wouldn't be any sun until about 08:30. getting back to the hotel around 06:30 we all got some breakfast at the nearby Starbucks, it was the first place that was open. Then my brother and me went off to tour the city. We hopped on the underground at Gloucester Road and took the District Line to Westminster where the first thing that jumps out at you when you exit the station is Big Ben and Parliament (see photo above), after taking some photos we headed to the west side of the Parliament building and walked through Westminster Borough past St. James Park and up to Trafalgar Square, then it was just a brisk walk down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, from there we hopped on the Circle Line at Victoria station and headed to Tower Hill. Here we saw the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, across the river we saw the moored HMS Belfast and the London police HQ, which is a rather ridiculous looking building. Hopping back on the Tube we went back to embankment station to hop on the Bakerloo line to Piccadilly Circus. This is the like the Times Square of London, it's smaller and the screens play the BBC and Sky News. We were getting hungry, so we got some lunch at a cafe and checked the clock, it was only 10:45 so we made sure to take our good sweet time. After eating we got back on the tube and took the Piccadilly Line and then the Victoria Line to Pimlico to check out the only landmark in London I was truly interested to see.
About a ten minute walk down towards the Thames river you start to see the white towers, then suddenly, as you pass the last few buildings in the way you get a full view of an eerie sight that you instantly recognize, it's called Battersea Power Station but you might remember it better from Pink Floyd's "Animals" album. The coal power station has been closed since the '80s, and the art deco architecture only adds to surreal quality of this famous, now abandoned building. After admiring the sight we then moved on into the Chelsea district and past the Royal Hospital to the British Army Museum, as with almost all the Museums in London it had free admission, though we weren't allowed to take any photos while inside. If you go to London I would absolutely recommend visiting this museum, it was nearly empty and full of a wide range of Britain's military history from the 1400s to today, among the many sights we got to see the skeleton of Napoleon's horse and a few WWI & WWII tanks. Afterwards, having walked a few miles in just a few hours, we headed back to the hotel to to take a well deserved nap. and by the time we woke up it was time to head down with the rest of my family to "Brick Lane" for dinner, it's Indian Food District of London just 10 minutes south of Liverpool Station. A tip for those who visit, find a place (like this one) that offers at least 30% off the menu price and free drinks.
For Tomorrow: St. Paul's Cathedral, the Flea Markets of Camden Town, and Spamalot
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