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A very harry weekend - London at its best!



When it comes to cities, London is one of my all-time favourites. I've been there three times already and loved it more every time. Last week, I had the chance to visit it for the fourth time with a good friend of mine - and once again, I wasn't disappointed! 

 What we hadn't know by the time we booked our trip: It was the weekend of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. As you can imagine, the atmosphere in London was therefore very joyful and festive. In fact, it was a very harry weekend - Prince Harry for day 1, Harry Potter for day 2. London calling!
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 We started our trip in the early morning and arrived in London city just when the first rays of sunlight appeared. It was a fantastic view from above! 


Tower Bridge to our feet
 After checking-in into our hotel, we started our sightseeing tour. Although we both knew the city already, we couldn't resist doing the typical tourist program.  First stop was Buckingham Palace. We had expected a lot of fans that waited for the wedding, but surprisingly it was very calm and not many people were there. 


Oh, and while we're at it: Let me present you Manuel, the sloth and stowaway that travels with me most of the time. He really seemed to like Buckingham Palace, don't you think? :-) 


We enjoyed London's parks...


... its inhabitants...


... and then visited one of the MUSTS in London. Unfortunately it was wrapped in a scaffold. Can you guess what it is?
yes, you're right: This is Big Ben under construction
 Our next stop was Westminster Abbey, a beautiful cathedral with a fascinating history - I think I've never seen a place where more famous people are buried! 




 

 In the streets, we saw more and more people with Union Jack-flags, hats and costumes. The wedding ceremony started soon! We got inspired by this festive atmosphere and started looking for a place to watch the wedding as well. We found a public viewing, but it was still a bit early so we continued to walk...  
Waiting for Harry and Meghan


The streets were full of flags...
 

Unfortunately, there were less public viewings that we had expected, so at the end we were quite stressed finding a place where we were able to watch the wedding. 2 minutes before the ceremony started, we finally found a pub with TV, sat down and started watching. Later, we found out that the pub probably wasn't open at that time, which explained why nobody asked us for our order, but anyway... :-) 

Here comes the bride...

A Costa Rican sloth watching a British wedding... 
 One hour later, we had seen the most important things (the dress, the bride, the kiss) and continued our sightseeing tour (we would see summaries of the ceremony again and again for the next 2 days). 

 We walked along the Serpentine in Hyde Park... 

 


 ... visited Kensington Palace... 


... explored the noble Belgravia neighborhood...




... had a great aperitif in our Hotel "The Z Victoria" (--> Link)...


... and then had dinner in the pub next to our hotel. It was the first time I ate vegan Fish and chips - and probably also the last! :-) 


Back in the hotel room we couldn't resist watching the summaries of the wedding and all the gossip about it. We were seriously infected by wedding fever! :-) 


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Day 2 was very harry as well - but this time it was Harry Potter that kept us busy! As my friend and me both love the Potter books, we visited the "Warner Brothers Studio Tour" some kilometers away from London. The tickets were expensive, but it was totally worth it. It was interesting to see how the movies were shot, and I especially loved to learn how all the special effects were made. A fascinating world! 


If you're a Harry Potter fan or read the books, you'll surely recognise Harry's wall closet...


... the great hall of Hogwarts...


... some costumes... 


... some other (very cute!!) fans... :-) 



... Dumbledore's office...


... Snape's classroom...


... Hogwarts express...


  ...Diagon Alley...


 ... or a model of Hogwarts. It was an amazing experience! 


We were back in town in the early afternoon. We then explored South Bank, the area along the Thames river. 

St. Paul's Cathedral...


... The Shard skyscraper...


... Shakespeare's Globe theatre... 


... some nice places to hang out... 

... and the Tower Bridge... 


We suddenly craved for a drink (with a good view off course!) and found it at "Aquashard", a bar at the 32th floor of the "Shard" (a 95-story skyscraper.) The view was indeed amazing and our bellinis very yummy! 






 We later continued our walk along the Thames river and found some more very cool spots...


... a psychedelic Shakespeare... 






... Shakespeare's Globe theatre again... 

... St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millenium bridge...


... a nice book market... 


 ... the wrapped Big Ben again... 


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Day 3 was our last day in London. After to days dedicated to Harry, we were in the mood for shopping. We started the day with a breakfast in the very cute "English Rose Café" next to Victoria Station. London wouldn't be London for me without having some tea and scones! :-) 



Later, we passed Buckingham Palace again... 




... Hyde Park...

... the beautiful, elegant Burlington Arcades...



... and then started shopping in the colorful, bubbly SoHo area. 








We also crossed Chinatown... 


... and then visited two museums - the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Both very beautiful - but too big to see everything in one day! 


Hooray, inally a portrait on which I recognise the model without reading the information!


On our way back to the hotel, we crossed a wonderful house... 



... had a five o clock tea / coffee and then finally made our way back to the airport. 


What a wonderful weekend trip! I'm sure I'm back in London before the next royal wedding! :-) 



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