Au Revoir Europe

Day 19
April 26, 2009
London

It felt like we were just starting to see London but we already had to go. I had not even seen Buckingham Palace yet. As the hotel checkout time was 12 noon and Paris train ride was at 1 PM, we only had few hours to make a quick visit to some attractions near our hotel.

First, we watched the uneventful Changing of the Guards at Horse Guards Arch at 10 am. The one that takes place in Buckingham Palace is probably better.




Then, we went to Westminster Abbey, a Gothic monastery church that is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English monarchs. It was closed on Sundays so we only saw the exterior.



And that was it. At 4 PM, we were back in Paris. And a few hours later, I had a 3-hour stopover in Seoul and some more hours later, I was back in Manila, 250K pesos poorer but very happy.

Total Expenses:

Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford Day Trip

Day 18
April 25, 2009
London

The next day, we took a 10-hour guided day trip to some popular attractions outside of London. The first stop was Windsor, the largest continuously occupied castle in the world. It is a Royal home and fortress for over 900 years. Here we saw St. George's Chapel and the State Apartments.











Next, we went to the most famous prehistoric monument in the world, Stonehenge. Now a World Heritage Site, Stonehenge stands alone in the vast emptiness of Salisbury plain. There is actually another tour that starts at dawn that allows tourists to get inside the "inner circle of stones". Unfortunately, it was not available on the day we came.






The last stop of the tour was Oxford, one of the world's greatest academic institutions.








After the tour, we went straight to London Eye for our scheduled flight via one of the capsules, for a view of the city.

Big Bus tour of London

Day 17
April 24, 2009
London

Going to London meant having to apply another visa since the Schengen visa does not include United Kingdom. Fortunately, having acquired our Schengen visa already, the UK visa process only took 5 days. Unfortunately, Rissa did not apply for one since a later return flight was not available using her Cathay Pacific miles account.

So come April 24 Friday morning, Marlon and I bid Rissa goodbye and went to the train terminal on our way to London. We arrived at the terminal a few minutes before the 7:13 am departure and was surprised to learn that we needed to pass thru immigration and scurity checkpoint prior to boarding the train. For the past 2 weeks, we have been used to the other trains we rode where in we just arrived in time for the train's departure. Gladly, we still made it.

Two hours and 20 minutes later, we reached London during the rush hour. It was just like the rush hour in Manila but with everyone wearing suits and looking good! After a quick English breakfast, we boarded the underground train to get to Citadines London, a modern and chic apartment hotel near Trafalgar Square. After taking a breather in our hotel room, we set out to tour London. We went to Trafalgar Square where the Big Bus red tour we booked was scheduled to make a stop. From the bus we saw a number of landmarks such as the The London Eye, the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben.





We also hopped off the bus to visit some sites. First one was St. Paul's Cathedral which is the seat of the Bishop of London. We climed the dome to see a nice view of the city, including millenium bridge.






Next stop was the historic Tower of London. Here, we took the lively Yeoman Warder tour of the complex, saw Henry VIII's armouries at White Tower, and marvelled at the crown jewels including the Imperial State crown, which has 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies.






From the Tower of London, we went to the Tower Bridge, popular due to its bascules which still rise today to let ships pass through. We walked thru its high-level walkways, situated 42 metres above the River Thames.





Later that night, we watched the West End production of 'Spring Awakening' at Novello Theatre. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to London since the Broadway production was already closed. I was glad to have watched this in London as it actually closed also a few weeks after.

Alone in Paris

Day 16
April 23, 2009
Paris

It was our last whole day in Paris and it was the last chance for us to tick off the last few items in our to-do list in Paris - Marlon did a last minute shopping, Rissa had another date with her French guy, and I went for a breathtaking view of Paris.

But before each went out to his or her own way, we first went together to the Latin Quarter and St-German to visit Jardin du Luxembourg and Pantheon. Right in front of Jardin du Luxembourg is the first McDonald's restaraunt we saw in Paris! We have been in and around Paris for 5 days and this was the first McDonald's we saw. We bought our lunch here and decided to have a picnic in the garden.

The 25-hectare charming Jardin du Luxembourg was teeming with people just sitting and relaxing around and children sailing boats in the pond. The garden is beautifully decorated with statues, fountains, and flowers.











From the garden, we went to Pantheon, a neo-Classical church, which is now a burial place for French heroes like Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Pierre and Marie Curie.











From Pantheon, we all went our separate ways. I went back first to Notre-Dame to climb the towers and see the legendary bell, which we missed yesterday. I also got to see the famous gargoyles.













Next stop was Sainte-Chapelle, with its glass-stained windows, built in the 13th century in order to put relics from the Passion of Christ in a safe place.







I then headed over to one of the sites mentioned in Da Vince Code novel, St. Sulpice, to find the so-called Rose line. I did not find it, or probably saw it but did not know that was it.





Lastly, I went to Tour Montparnasse, where I had a breathtaking view of Paris. At a height of 196 metres, the place offered a 360 degree view of Paris landmarks, such as Eiffel Tower, Sacré Coeur, the Panthéon, and others. I stayed here for around 4 hours since, capturing the city at different times. It was the best way to end my Paris trip.