London is great! (My holiday 1)

Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted anything, but I've been busy -- and I have been travelling. This year I decided to visit Europe, as I had not been there for a long time. I lived in France for about four years, long ago and far away, so I decided to return and visit.

On July 15 I arrived in London, England, where I stayed with my sister. London is a wonderful city with lots to do. A long time ago, a famous man, Samuel Johnson, said" If you are tired of London, you are tired of life!" Very true.

The first night I went to see the musical "Les Miserables." It is the best musical I have ever seen, and if you ever get a chance, GO AND SEE IT!! It is based on the novel by the French writer, Victor Hugo. "Les Miserables" means "the wretched."

Les Miserables, a wonderful musical. Don't miss it!!

London has many theatres. This play, "The Mousetrap," by Agatha Christie, has been playing in London for 56 years! I saw it when I visited London when I was 12 years old!

I walked a lot in London. Trafalgar Square is a central place where there are always lots of people. In the middle is a tall statue of Nelson, who was a smart English admiral who defeated the French navy 200 hundred years ago, but was killed in the battle. He is an English hero.

Nelson watching over London from the top of the column in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square. Nelson stands on top of the column.

The National Gallery is on Trafalgar Square. All the government art galleries and museums in England are free!! The National Gallery is excellent and I had a good time seeing some masterpieces.

This the Tate Modern Art Gallery in London. (I took the photo from the top of St Paul's.) It is free for everyone! The building used to be a sugar factory.

Another really cool place to go is Covent Garden. It used to be a huge flower market. The movie "My Fair Lady" begins there. However, now it is full of fashionable shops and restaurants -- very trendy.

One thing I like about London is that people come to visit from all over the world. In the street you hear many different languages. This is especially true on Oxford Street, a big shopping street. Shopping is very popular in London, but beware -- it can be quite expensive.

While I was in London, the movie "The Dark Knight" had its European premiere at a movie theatre in Leicester Square. The movie stars were there, signing autographs for thousands of screaming fans. I was just walking by, but decided to take some photos. I got this good one of Maggie Gyllenhaal, the female lead character. I think I will stop teaching ESL and move to London and become a papparazi!

Here you can see the dome of St Paul's Cathedral on the London skyline. The water in the foreground is the Thames River. If you have lots of energy, you can climb right to the top of the dome.

Many visitors to London also visit St Paul's Cathedral, a huge church that is about 400 years old. If you have lots of energy, you can climb to the top of the dome, where there is a whispering gallery. The sound, or acoustics, is so good in the whispering gallery that you can whisper something on one side and someone on the other side, about 50 metres away, can hear you. I was taking photos, which is not allowed, and the security guard whispered to me and told me to stop!

If you still have lots of energy, you can climb right to the top of St Paul's and look out over the entire city. A beautiful view.

The view from the top of St Paul's Cathedral. The Thames River runs through London

The south bank of the River Thames, which runs through London, is a great place to walk. there are many street vendors, or buskers.

Some of the street vendors and buskers at Covent Garden and on the South Bank

London also has lots of large parks -- Hyde Park, Regent Park, Kensington Park, and others. Kensington Park has a statue of Peter Pan, the popular children's fairy tale hero. The large parks are nice for people who live in London. Even if they live in a small appartment with no garden, they can go to a large park and relax.

Peter Pan, in Kensington Park

So, I had a wonderful time in London. But that was just the beginning! I had lots to do in Europe, so on July 22 I took a flight to Geneva, Switzerland.

Looking towards Buckingham Palace, where the Queen of England lives.

To be continued...