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The third day in London

- Souvenirs, BT Tower, Regent's Park and so on

by danpop 

(about London, United Kingdom, added on Jun 29, 2009)

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It was another night with a small amount of sleep. It wasn’t because of the striking beauty that I saw during the day, in London, it wasn’t even because I didn’t felt comfortable with another 12 souls in the same room. It was Samuel’s fault. Yes, the French colleague doesn’t know how to sleep quietly; and the quality of his bad didn’t help him either. Almost all the night I heard the squeak and squeal of his bed. Anyhow, I said to myself. At least I’m sleeping in the center of London. When I woke up, something funny happened: well, at that point being so damn sleepy, I didn’t realize, but afterwards I laugh a lot on this. I woke up, opened my eyes and just raised my head. On the nearby bed, still on the second floor, a roommate girl does the same. So, for like a few minutes we just stayed there like fools looking at each other. Looking back now, it seems so funny.

OK, it was our last day in this great capital of Great Britain. We said we’ll allocate this day mostly for buying gifts and souvenirs. So, we went to Piccadilly Circus, where there are a lot of souvenirs shops, and they are quite cheap; cheap, judging by the fact that London is one of the most expensive capitals in the world. I would recommend Crest of London, from where I bought most of my souvenirs at a convenient price (The teddy bears were only 1.5 pounds each, I bought 2 of those cuties). As a tip: remember that Great Britain’s currency isn’t euro, even if the country is one of the European Union’s founders. I think their national pride keeps them away from the unique European currency, a decision that if you ask me is not the best choice. One of the key points in the European Union is in fact the word “Union” and a unique currency will simplify much of the trades and even save visitors from the nightmare of always calculating how much does he have. Having not so much pounds, we really search for the best bargain in town.

With our bags full of presents, we went to Regent’s Park. The nature there just performs an astonishing spectacle. The park is located in the northern part of central London, and it even contains a Zoo. Unfortunately we didn’t visit it, because we didn’t know of its existence. Queen Mary’s Garden is something that will blow you away, especially if you love flowers: The garden is filled with all kind of roses that will for sure color your day.

When we were about to leave the park and head to Ashlee House, the meeting point for returning home, my ego stroke out. I always saw from far away the BT Tower with its imposing silhouette but we never been close to the 177 meters height tower. So I said to the others: look, I don’t know when I will return to London, I want to see this closer, today. Daniel agreed with me, but the others were like: But we have to return, the bus will leave shortly. But we didn’t care. Daniel and I separated from the others, took the bus and went to see the tower and to takes photos from a close range. And again my intuition proved right. It was a splendid view, just from the base of the tower. Looking up from the base it looks like the tower is stitching the sky, telling the whole world about the grandness of London. We were almost late at the meeting; our colleagues even emptied the rooms and made our bags. They were a bit upset, but we were happy. We saw the tower.

I forgot to mention other two sights in London, not monuments, but definitely something you don’t want to miss: the famous London red busses and the likewise famous London red phone booths. When you take the two levels bus, make sure you go upstairs. The view is way nicer. And don’t worry if you think you’ll not have time to get off the bus. I assure this will never happen. I recommended buying a one day bus ticket that is enough to get to the most important London landmarks.
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1. Apr 8, 2007 The trip to London (London)  ( 58)
2. Apr 8, 2007 Day one in London (London)  ( 48)
3. Apr 9, 2007 The Second Day in London (London)  ( 53)
4. Apr 10, 2007 The third day in London (London)  ( 48)

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