London by Foot

This Sunday I went on a walk of London, trying to hit as many famous landmarks as I can.  I started walking after lunch from the McDonald's at Notting Hill Gate through Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace.

I walked along The Serpentine, the lake running through Hyde Park.  It was definitely one of the best summer days in London!

This is the biggest freaking swan I have ever seen.  The camera doesn't do it justice, but look at it compared to the boat in the picture above.

Finally reaching the end of the park, I am inundated with exquisite statues and arches:

Elaborate arch leading to Buckingham, with a closeup of the gate doors:

Buckingham Palace:

 Sad guard standing watch in the heat:

The front gates:

Tiny guards on patrol:

The Palace and statue from the front:

After Buckingham Palace, I walked through St. James's Park.  Lots of people and ducks about, enjoying the day:

 Walking to Trafalgar Square:

 The Square itself. The stone lions are pretty massive (compare to the guy riding it on the right):

 The National Gallery, a classical art museum, is directly in front:

From the National Gallery:

I stayed a while at the National Gallery, which had a huge collection of famous classical art from all of Europe.  In the interest of not spamming hundreds of photos, here are just a few highlights.  I did not take pictures of the Da Vinci, since they did not allow that.

Picasso and Van Gogh:

 Crazy Dutch House Illusion:

Walking down Whitehall Road:

 Downing Street, home of the Prime Minister!  You can sort of see the house...

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 Big Ben:

 The London Eye and the Thames River:

 House of Parliament:

Unfortunately, Westminster Abbey is closed on Sundays for service:

 Saddened by not being able to see famous dead people, I decided to visit the Churchill Museum on King Charles Street:

Unfortunately, tickets to this museum are £17.00 (which is a little higher than my budget of £0.00).

 Luckily, I heard that the London Chinatown wasn't too far, and craving some Asian food, I headed there via St. James's Park and Trafalgar Square:

 The small alleyways of Chinatown:

My first trial food is an egg tart from Chinatown Bakery:

 Rating: 2.5/5   Expensive and average, the crust is not very flaky and the egg filling is of the wrong consistency and taste.

If you're curious, my top two egg tart places are:
Golden Gate Bakery, San Francisco (Rating: 5/5)
Lord Stow's Bakery, Macau (Rating: 4.75/5)

Second trial food is Taiwanese boba at Chatime:

Rating: 3/5  The consistency of the boba is decent, and the tea taste is fine (a little sweet on a half-sugar order), but there not much choice in the menu compared to many other places.  Overall beverage is average.

If you're curious, my top two boba places are:
Half & Half Tea House, San Gabriel (Rating: 4.8/5)
Factory Tea Bar, San Gabriel (Rating 4.25/5)

After that, it was back to Notting Hill gate.  Here is a map of my circuitous journey.  The blue is my walking route, and the red is my subway route back.  Quite a distance!

My route for the main attractions.  Yes, it is very inefficient.

Next time, a small tour of the British Museum.