Bye Bye London, Bonjour Paris!

Definitely it was better to take the train rather than the plane from London to Paris. When you only have one week for both cities, a few hours waiting for boarding in the airport and traveling between airport and cities were not logical, in our rational, anyway. It cost slightly more, however the stress-free travel and also the great country-side view that you have during the journey was worth it all.

The journey from St Pancras International in London to Gare du Nord in Paris took only 2hrs 15 mins, with 45 minutes boarding time prior to departure. Eurostar is a longer version of the TGV, having a long-standing position as bullet train of Europe.

Coming out from the train, we felt a complete change in atmosphere. The weather was extremely warm and humid, we were perspiring even before reaching the hotel which was just 5 minutes away. The people were more 'casually' dressed and there were numerous beggars and gypsies asking "Do you speak English?" around the train station. We tend to see a lot of that in other parts of the city as well. First impression received was not the Paris that we had in mind, maybe we had higher expectations of the City of Lights and Romance.

We planned to see the Eiffel Tower on the second day, leaving the first day for exploring around the hotel and also for a relaxing walk. We went to Sacre Coeur, where the unpleasant "friendship band" event occurred, cutting me short by 10eur and a bad impression. Hopefully the next few days can make up for this event. Can't wait to see the tower in person, though.

Trafalgar Square

In 1805, Admiral Horatio Nelson led the British Royal Navy into victory in the historic Battle of Trafalgar, against the combined fleet of the French and Spanish Navy. 22 ships out of 33 ships were lost by the French and Spanish while the British navy lost none of her 27 ships. He lost his life in this decisive battle and affirmed his place in British history as a hero. Trafalgar Square was named in honour of this battle and Nelson's column rises above all in this square.

Nelson lost his arm in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and his life in the Battle of Trafalgar. Legend has it that in order to bring him back after the victory in Trafalgar, the men on board the Victory put him in a barrel of whisky as a pickling substance. As opposed to others who died in sea and were subsequently thrown to the sea, he was brought back to England for a state funeral.

Next to the square was the National Portrait Gallery. We did not have a chance to visit it though, our time spent in London was actually too short. It was well recommended as well, but we have to save it for another time, if any.

We did however have time to linger around the square even after nightfall. The gallery was closed at that time. There were still quite a crowd at the square, just enjoying the cool night breeze. We had our share of people watching as well, sitting on the staircase to the gallery, with a higher vantage point.

The Palace and the Palace Guards

Who would have known that there are two lone guardsmen standing on their own for you to have a photo with them... Not really though, they are there for actual duty, protecting the palace. Look around for them, walk further away from the palace and grab this photo opportunity up close and personal.

Psst.. you know, they are not allowed to talk or move around freely. When someone would ask for photos to be taken, they would just gently nod their head and not speak a single word. However this is the conversation that we had with one (not the one in the photo...)

Me: Can we have a photo with you?
Guardsman : Sure, no prob!
After,
Me: Thanks!
Guardsman : Cool! See you!
A rather cool guardsman compared to the rest and not so uptight.. hehe

The amount of people around the front of Buckingham Palace was amazing. They were all gathered around for the changing of the guards. This is a really elaborate ceremony where one team takes over the duty from the other one and was done everyday around 11am during summer. This spot was recommended by our bicycle tour guide, Jim from London Bicycle Tour. It was included in the London Pass that we purchased and was one of the few nicest offers.

We came back again to the palace for a photo and met a Spanish family. After some short and simple conversation in Spanish (ahem.. not that bad, they understood me! ^.^) we took a photo of them and they returned the favour.

An experimental shot inspired by a similar shot seen elsewhere. Can you see the palace?