London: Part 4

This is part 4 of a (no. TBD) part series about my 2012 trip to London and Paris-- yes, it has taken me 8 months to post about this vacation. If I get a bit exhaustive with the details, I apologize, but this is very much for my personal recollection. If you're interested, you can view parts 1, 2 and 3 here.

Get ready for a very photo-heavy post. This was how we spent our American Thanksgiving in London.

Victoria Embankment Gardens

The Egyptian Obelisk, aka "Cleopatra's Needle"

The National Gallery {I didn't go in}

Christmas at Somerset House

I purchased Rick Steves' London book for my Kindle, and referred to it often. Even more useful were his audio tours, which you can download on your phone and listen to as you walk around. The dialogue was a little corny, but I appreciated the "guided tour" along The Strand to aimlessly walking around.

This is Australia House, the interior of which was used as Gringotts Bank in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone {which is actually Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the UK and Paris, I learned} so I obviously had to stand on an island in the middle of a busy intersection to take pictures.

The Royal Courts of Justice {check out that link to see the interiors, could you imagine a wedding there?}

The original Twining's Tea Shop is tucked in between larger buildings. I had to stop in for my mom, who requested the English Breakfast directly from London for comparison {she says it's very good, but I don't know that it's any different from what we buy here}. There was a spot for tasting in the back which was a welcome break on this sunny but chilly day.

The Temple Bar Memorial, where the Strand (Westminster) becomes Fleet Street (City of London).

Temple Church, which I didn't go into. I spent awhile wandering around the surrounding area which is full of small alleyways, fantastic courtyards, and gorgeous stone buildings.

I always came back to St. Paul's.

After a morning of exploring I crossed Southwark Bridge and walked over to Borough Market for lunch.

{Blurry, but I love the guy's pose}

I had one of the most delicious veggie burgers of my life at The Veggie Table at Borough Market.

I got a closer look at The Shard (which is now open, I'd love to see the views from this building).

That evening to celebrate our American Thanksgiving we headed over to the Southbank Christmas Market where we had our first (of many) mulled wines and huge plates of roasted turkey, potatoes and onions with cranberry sauce-- perfect for two Americans in London on Thanksgiving.

Since we were near The London Eye and the line wasn't long we bought tickets and hopped on-- with a group of American students studying abroad. It was noisy in our little pod, but the views of London were breathtaking.

(A view of St. Paul's, walking back over the Thames from the Millennium Bridge)
Our Thanksgiving in London may not have been the most traditional, but to me it was perfect.