Friday, March 5, 2010

My United Kingdom Trip Picture Blog

I just came back from electronics engineering meetings in the UK and also took time to see the sights and sounds of the area with 3 other engineers from work.

I felt pain in the stomach that lasted on the plane and that went on for the first two days on the trip. My body couldn't adjust to the time zone so I didn't get much sleep. Those were the only awful parts of my journey.

I traveled light but took two giant bags of Cheetos for my cousin in London. She said that Cheetos is one of her little son's favorite snack but it is non-existent in England. Coming back, I took a bunch of chocolates back with me to fill up my small luggage. I'm going to bring a bigger bag next time.

The pictures I used to take the shots below was an old digital camera, circa 2002 but still decent.

Enjoy.

RG

London Bridge

Panaramic Video of Trafalgar Square


Here is a video of Trafalgar Square

Nelson's Column At Trafalgar Square

St. Martin-in-the-Fields Parish Church Near Trafalgar Square

National Gallery at Trafalgar Square



Art gallery that puts Walter's Museum in Baltimore to shame. You can't take pics inside.

Trafalgar Square



Big Ben can be seen from the square

Another View of Trafalgar Square

Big Ben Zoomed In From Trafalgar Square

Mall Road



At the end of this street is Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the Palace. It's really neat to see.

Admiralty Arch



This archway from Trafalgar Square is the entry way to Mall Road

Views From HungerFord Bridge



Crossing the Hungerford Bridge to get to the London Eye. You can see Big Ben from the Bridge.



A view from Hungerford Bridge. You can see the Westminster Bridge with London Eye and Big Ben on either side.

London Eye



It takes about 30 minutes for a complete rotation. The sights from the Eye are awesome.

Views From Hungerford and Westminister Bridges



A shot of Big Ben from Hungerford Bridge



A view of Westminster Bridge from Hungerford Bridge with London Eye and Big Ben on either side



Side View of London Eye from Hungerford Bridge




A shot of London Eye from Westminster Bridge



A view of County Hall and London Aquarium between bridges. This was taken from the Westminster Bridge.




Another shot of London Eye



Yet another shot of London Eye




A shot of Big Ben from Westminister Bridge

Big Ben

Tower of London

Here is the Tower of London which is basically a castle. There is a neat museum inside.

London Bridge


Here is a neat picture of London Bridge on the other side going right is a World War II warship, HMS Belfast.

HMS Belfast



Here is my shot of HMS Belfast.






Here is what a professional picture of HMS Belfast looks like.

Harrod's Department Store

Here is a bad angle shot of Harrod's, the world famous department store. When you are outside the building doesn't look like much. I would have to be on the other side of the street to get a good shot of the building. But the street across Harrod's is too busy.





I really wasn't interested in checking out Harrod's at all. One of the electronics engineers with me with wanted to get Harrod's chocolate for his wife. These few pictures doesn't do any justice. All I can say is that I want to take the family here next time. It's pretty amazing to browse at all the things at the store.





Here is one example of what I am talking about. This chocolate cake about the side of a wedding cake costs 4,999 pounds. In today's US dollars thats about $7600!

A Short Video Inside the Chocolate Store at Harrod's



Unfortunately, you can't take pictures or video inside the store. I had one warning. At least they didn't make me erase anything. I think that was me that said "Mmmmmmm" in the beginning. The Asian chick at the counter said something like "...that's it. No mo foto."

Thai Restaurant

London is truly multi-national. After trying several English restaurant and pubs I tried a Thai restaurant with the team. The food was great but it was strange to have Pad Thai as a side dish because many restaurants serve this as an entree. I think my sister-in law still makes better Pad Thai. The restaurant is Patera.

One of RG's All Time Favorite Food in England


Here is an example of a great English food. It is a meat pie and in some restaurants/pubs it is shaped like a pie (instead of an empenada). After doing more research, I found out that the correct name for this pie is Pasty or Cornish Pasty. Unfortunately, the store I like doesn't sell Pasty online. Fortunately, I found online stores in the US that sells them. I will have to see how they compare someday.