Click here to view pictures of the trip.
Saturday - May 23, 2009
Our plane was scheduled to depart Atlanta at 10:10 pm. We left the house around 6:30 pm, parked the car, and took the shuttle to the gate. Check in was quite easy and fast. We had only taken 3 duffle-bags and 3 carry on back-packs for all 5 of us. The plane left on time, without any delays. The plane ride was also quite smooth and uneventful. The flight was a "red-eye" flight, so we slept during the entire flight.
Sunday - May 24, 2009
The plane landed at 12 noon, on time without any delays. The airport customs was very smooth and fast. We boarded the Underground, Picadilly line, which took us to downtown London. We switched trains at Kings Cross to the Northern line, which got us to the Borough station, where our hotel was located. The entire train ride took around 60 minutes. We checked into our hotel, which was a 2 bedroom apartment in Marlin Apartments. It had a full kitchen, a living room, 2 bathrooms, and a washer / dryer. A small house with full amenities. There was a Tesco grocery store next door, so shopping for groceries was very easy and convenient.
We freshened up, and headed out to see London. Since it was Sunday late afternoon, not many sight seeing places were open. So, we decided to go to the BAPS Swaminarayan temple. The temple is located within a residential neighborhood, in Neasden. When we got off the train, we were told it is "just around the corner, just a few blocks away". As we walked, their idea of "just around the corner" was not our idea of "around the croner". The Temple was almost 2 miles away. This was supposedly the "closest" station. I guess they figured that you are willing to "sacrifice" a little if you want to see the wonderful structure!! The temple itself is absolutely stunning. We saw two Aarthi's, as well as shop in the local grocery store, before heading back to our hotel. We walked another 2 miles back to the train station, while eating "spicy cashews" along the way. At the hotel, "fresh chapati and idli" was made for our hungry stomachs.
Monday - May 25, 2009
We woke up bright and early to start our London sightseeing. We took the Underground to St. Paul's Cathedral, where we climbed 357 steps to the top of the dome. The view from the top of the cathedral was beautiful. We also saw the crypts in the basement, afterwhich Tejas ate a freshly baked carrot cake in the Cathedral's cafeteria.
We then rode the Underground to Westminister station, where we boarded a boat to enjoy a scenic cruise down the River Thames. While on the cruise, we saw many of London's famous buildings and structures. One of London's newest buildings is in the shape of an "egg" !! We got off the boat by the Tower Bridge, which is adjacent to the Tower of London. We walked through the Tower of London, saw the Bloody Tower, as well as seeing the crown jewels on display. We were also able to see some original medievel knight's armor. There was a short film on Queen Elizabeth's coronation from 1953. This film brought back a lot of fond memories for Mom and Dad.
We took a short walk over to the Tower Bridge, where the view of the Thames river was very soothing. We then took the river cruise back to Westminister, where we took a ride on the London Eye. The Eye is a giant ferris wheel, allowing us to see all of London. We rested for a little bit, where Tejas enjoyed some strawberry ice cream. Tejas then enjoyed Bumper Car rides at Namco Station. It was getting a bit late, so we headed back to the hotel. For dinner, we ate fresh "anna and saru".
Tuesday, May 26. 2009
It rained in the early morning hours. so we decided not to go out until the rain stopped (which was around 10:30 am). This allowed us time to activate our cell phones, as well as arrange for the car rental (for travels later in the week). We headed out to Wimbledon to take a tour of the Wimbledon Tennis facilities. Since I am a huge tennis fan, this was quite thrilling and exciting for me. We saw Centre Court, as well as learn about some of the history behind Wimbledon. Since the 2009 Wimbledon tennis matches start in mid-June, they were quite busy getting the grounds cleaned up and prepared for the upcoming event. My biggest surprise was seeing how "small" the actual stadium is. I always thought of Centre Court as a huge stadium, but in real life, it is quite modest. The tour lasted until 4 pm, so by the time we returned to London, it was around 5 pm.
Using the Underground, we made our way to Trafalgar Square. The weather was absolutely georgeous, so we walked around the Square, admiring the views, sights, and just people watching. Tejas had a lot of fun trying to climb the main monument. After "hanging around" Trafalgar Square for about 1-1/2 hours, we decided to head back to the hotel for some dinner. This night, we had fresh "thove and huli"
Wednesday - May 27, 2009
We got up early to visit Hampton Court. This was Henry VIII's Royal Palace. This year also marked Henry VIII's 500 th year anniversary of his ascension to the throne. The castle itself is quite elaborate and very well maintained. We saw his elaborate bedrooms as well as the lavish apartments used by his staff and guests. But, the real treat was the tour of the outside gardens. These gardens are absoultely breathtaking. There is a "maze" made of hedges, which was a lot of fun trying to get through. There is also a beautiful rose garden, as well as a "knot" garden. We arrived when the castle opened, at 10 am. We had estiamted 3 hours for our visit, but we had so much fun that we stayed until 4 pm.
We took the Railways back to London. Since it was a long, tiring day, the "adults" decided to head back to the hotel. After dropping them off, the 2 children (Tejas and Sudhir) went back to Westminister station. After having a fun evening walk, the 2 children took a "joy ride" on a random double decker bus. Where the bus was headed was totally unknown. After a short ride, we got off at a random bus stop, found the closest train station, and slowly found our way back home !! Spontaneity is a lot of fun, especially in a foreign country. At the hotel, fresh "puliogare" for our hungry appetites.
Thursday - May 28, 2009
We woke up very early and left our hotel by 6 am. We took the Underground to Heathrow, where we picked up our rental car. We got a hybrid Toyota Prius, which was a lot of fun to drive. Since we had never driven a hybrid, it was fun to drive a totally "silent" car which makes absolutely no engine noise when idle!!
We first drove to Stonehenge, which was about 75 minutes away. These large stones are quite amazing. The stones "appear" larger than they actually are. They are located in the "middle of no-where", with no buildings or houses or any other man-made structure for miles around. There was a peaceful sheep farm adjacent to the stones, and some beautiful yellow flowers (which are apparently unique to Stonehenge).
After spending a couple of hours enjoying the stones, and learning about it's history, we drove to the City of Bath. After parking our car, we took a tour of old Roman Bath Houses. We were able to touch 4000 year old hot water, which constantly eminates from the ground.
We took a short walk along the main city road, where people watching was half the fun. There were lot of "street" entertainers, which was also a lot of fun to watch. Tejas ate an unique Polish dish, filled with tomatoes, cheese and spices, while we all ate home-made "upit". We then walked over to the "Circus" which is a large building built in the shape of a "circle", supposedly mimicking Stonehenge. A short walk away was a large Georgian building called the "No. 1 Royal Crescent", located near a beautiful park. We then walked over to the Puteney Bridge where we took many lovely pictures. Overall, Bath is a lovely city, filled with rich history and a wonderful atmosphere.
On our way out of the city, we ran into their version of the evening "traffic jam". This delayed our trip by about 1 hour. We then drove out of Bath, onto Stratford Upon Avon. The name is derived from the fact that it sits adjacent to ("upon") the Avon River. This is Shakepeare's birthplace, so we saw his birth-home, as well as the Shakespeare Center. Other than these few buildings linked to Shakespeare, there is not much else to do in Stratford.
We then took a short drive over to Warwick castle. Since we arrived towards the end of the day, we were not able to take a full tour of the castle. We took a few pictures after which we headed back to London.
We drove a total of 300 miles during the day, but amazingly did not ever get lost!! This was only possible due to the wonderful technology of the 21st century - GPS system. Our little Garmin Nuvo guided us around every corner, every round-about, every turn and every exit without a single mistake !! On the UK highways, I drove 70-80 mph, and I felt as if I was driving "slow"!! When we started this day, I felt a little scared to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, but by the end of the day, it felt "very normal" and quite easy. I strongly advise everyone to consider renting a car in UK to tour around the suburbs, and most importantly, you must have a GPS system to avoid getting lost on the Europe highways.
Friday - May 29, 2009
We planned to spend this day roaming around London and trying to soak in the many historic sites of the "old country". We headed off to the Queen's Gallery where we took a tour to see the "Treasures of the Royal Collection". We saw some amazing jewels, paintings, and porcelein vases. Tejas had a lot of fun trying to find various vases and paintings as part of a "game" he was asked to play inside the gallery.
We walked on over to Buckingham palace, where there was a huge crowd waiting to see the Royal Procession and Changing of the Guards. The atmosphere was amazing, with people from all over the world, speaking every language imaginable, waiting to see this Royal event. After this amazing experience, we soaked in the atmosphere in the area in front of the palace by taking numerous pictures.
We then walked down "Princess Diana's Lane" to the Wellington Arch. We had a nice little lunch in the park adjacent to the Arch, after which we climbed to the top of Wellington Arch to get a nice view of the city.
We then took the National Railways to Chistlehurst Caves. These caves were dug out almost 4000 years ago, by the Romans, Druids, and Saxons. It contains almost 50 linear miles of walkable corridors. Although the outdoor temperature was a balmy 24 degrees, the caves were a cool 18 degrees celsius. Tejas really enjoyed learning about the history and walking thru these ancient caves. We experienced true "total darkness" while in the caves !!
We then took the train back to Charing Cross. We then walked across the Millenium bridge (aka the Wobbly Bridge - named for the fact that the bridge was swaying in the wind when it was first built, but then had to be closed to reinforce the structure), crossing the River Thames. We then walked along the River, enjoying the many street entertainers. After a brief rest, we then walked across the Westminister Bridge over to Big Ben. After admiring the grand clock, we walked over to the Parliament House. Crossing the street, we then walked over to Westminister Abbey. All 3 of these buildings / structures are a few hundred years old, with an absolutely magnificent architecture. We spent quite a long time admiring the grandness of these buildings and it's elaborate fine details.
We then headed back to our hotel to watch the final show of "Britain Got Talent" - and the winner was "Diversity". Unfortunately, Susan Boyle did not win. While watching TV, we ate "puliogra" as well as "hot anna and saru" for dinner.
Saturday - May 30, 2009
We got up early and took the Underground to Kensington Station. We visited the Museum of Natural History, where we saw some amazing dinosaurs. After a couple of hours of walking thru the museum, we had a nice little picnic on the museum grounds. After "refueling" our stomachs, we headed off to Picadilly Circus. This busy, commercial, center reminded us of Times Square. This was a great place to do some souvenier shopping.
For our final destination, we returned to Namco Station, where Tejas enjoyed some bumber car rides. We spent a few hours "people watching" as well as slowly walking across the Westminister Bridge. It was another bright, sunny, rain-free day to cap off our stay in London.
We headed back to our hotel earlier than usual as we had to pack for our departure. For our last night, we ate "Nan with Spicy Pickle", while Tejas ate "Pizza".
Sunday - May 31, 2009
We left our hotel around 9:30 Am, and headed off to Heathrow Airport. We took the Underground, and arrived withing 60 minutes. We had plenty of time before the plane departure, so we used the time to call many of our friends and relatives "around the world". The plane left on schedule, and arrived in Atlanta 9 hours later. On the plane, we ate a couple of nice meals, saw 3 movies and had a few little cat naps. Upon arriving in Atlanta, we quickly picked up our luggage, got our car, and drove back to Macon. We were all so tired that we just ate a quick dinner and went to bed early.
This past week in London was very memorable. We spent some quality time in one place, enjoying all the sites, and soaking in the wonderful European atmosphere. Our hotel accommodations were fantastic, with 2 bedrooms, a full kitchen, along with a washer / dryer. We ate fresh fruit, cereal, and bagels every morning for breakfast, while eating home-cooked fresh indian meals every night. Such boarding and lodging made the trip very satisfying, as we did not have to worry about "what we would eat" each and every night. We are itching to go back to Europe. Where will we go next?