Sightseeing in West London

My US job finally finished up last week - so with the boy at daycare, my day was finally completely my own for the first time since we got here. I will start the new job hunt shortly, but first I decided to take advantage of the free time and do some sightseeing on my own. A lot of the London sites are in the neighborhood of West London - so I started there. I did the following over 3 days, but I think you could really squeeze it into one if you were pressed for time.

starting at the British Museum, heading south down to Westminster

The British Museum
This is one of the free museums that I visited with the kiddo a while back - so I decided to come back and check it out again a little more slowly. I made the mistake of coming a little later in the day than we had before - so it was packed. Definitely recommend getting here as soon as it opens. It's also massive, so I just focused on the top hits in the Egypt, Assyria, and Greece sections.

me at the British Museum

lots of mummies

I really love these guys. 

Apparently the Brits took all the friezes off of the Parthenon. Greece is (surprisingly) not happy. 

serious crowds. come early. 

Covent Gardens
Leaving the British Museum, it's a short walk to Covent Gardens - a large indoor marketplace. I just stayed for a bit, listening to the opera singer and other street musicians, but you could definitely hang out here and do some shopping and coffee drinking.

Covent Gardens on the inside

Covent Gardens on the outside

National Galley and Trafalgar Square
Then you walk south through the theatre district to the National Gallery, which is the top of Trafalgar Square. I stopped back in the Gallery (another one we had been to before with the boy), to see some big works from my favorite periods (Italian Renaissance and Impressionism) and sort of skipped over the stuff in the middle. Afterwards, I spent a bit of time people watching in the square, which seems to always be full of performers and other artists.

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery and Trafalgar Square

Whitehall
To the south of Trafalgar, the road is named Whitehall, and covered in government buildings and war monuments. It's pretty impressive as you walk south towards Parliament.

one of the government buildings on Whitehall - maybe MOD?

Churchill War Rooms

Under the current Treasury building is an expansive bunker that Churchill used during WW2. The older part of the museum has waxy-looking figures posed in a Pirates-of-the-Carribean sort of way in the rooms. It's a little creepy - I kept expecting them to start singing - but interesting to see. The new part of the museum is a very high-tech, interactive area about Churchill himself. As you walk, there are motion sensors that set off recordings of his most famous speeches. It was interesting - maybe not my favorite - but still worthwhile.

the map room

Churchill's bunker bedroom - used for his daily nap. 

Westminster Abbey
We have already hit the point where it feels like we've seen a lot of churches - so I was not expecting to like Westminster Abbey. It's on everyone's must-see list though, so I decided to go. It was amazing.  The church itself is very pretty - but what's impressive are all of the memorials inside. Of course there are all the royals - Queen Elizabeth I and Edward the Confessor, plus some Henrys I think - and lots more. Poets' Corner is one of the reasons I wanted to come - Chaucer is buried here (I just finished Canterbury Tales), but also so many more authors from Lord Byron and Henry James to George Elliot (wasn't that a fake name?). There are also a number of scientists and explorers including Darwin and Dr. Livingston, and a number of Prime Ministers. There are also a lot of no-name people that have commissioned just amazing sculpture memorials, which are really spectacular to see. There are no photos inside - or I'd have taken a million - which is actually nice because it keeps the other tourists moving. This place is packed, so you pretty much move along as a big hoard together. I made a mistake and did not book a ticket in advance, so I waited in the rain for about an hour to get inside. Definitely prebook!

waiting in line to get in

Houses of Parliament
Just next to the Abbey is the Houses of Parliament, formally known as the Palace of Westminster. Big Ben (who is actually the bell not the tower) is under renovation right now, so I did not get to hear him toll. But I did get to stop inside to hear the House of Lords. Walking into the Palace is pretty spectacular - and it just gets more and more extravagant as you get closer to the gallery (no photos inside). I got to listen to them discussing the impact of Brexit on the supply of midwives and nurses - which apparently is a big problem. I would love to go back and see the House of Commons, where every Wednesday at noon the PM comes in for questioning (I tried, but of course that's harder to get in to see).

Big Ben at right under scaffolding

the front room - the ceiling is famous for something

getting fancier as we get closer

gold covered ceiling

floor tiles like the US Senate!

(because we can't all be lords)

Feeling pretty happy as I cross the river heading back south

A couple other sites nearby:

- Piccadilly Circus is in this area. I walked through it but would not recommend it to any one else. It's like New York's Times Square but worse. It's just crowded and touristy and makes me a bit hostile. 

 - Buckingham Palace is also right near Westminster. Apparently they open more of it to the public when the Queen is on holiday in the summer, so it's on the list to go see in the future. 

So - I hit a lot of the big must-see sights this week. I didn't really expect to enjoy sightseeing by myself- but it was awesome! I loved not carrying a kid and his stuff around, or worrying about a potential tantrum. I got to walk slowly and read the signs when I wanted to - or skip over the stuff I didn't care about. I'm a huge fan!  One huge lesson I learned is the importance of booking in advance so you get to skip the line - so I'm working on setting up my future excursions to sites in other parts of the city now. I had some pretty rainy weather too, so I've definitely learned to always carry an umbrella.  For now though  - my feet are killing me and I'm exhausted, so I'm happy to sit still for a bit.