London! (photos)

After a long, chilly day of traveling, I finally arrived in St. Pancras station (the new hub for international trains). Farther down the platform, one can view an enormous statue of a couple "snogging". Apparently, PR is trying to up the romance of the new station. It could turn a bit awkward for solo travelers and people meeting friends ("Look, I think you're cool and all but...). Giant P.D.A. statue aside, it just felt good to know that my bed for the next 3 nights was only a Tube ride away.

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Happened to be awake early enough to catch a London sunrise.

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The bar area of the hostel, St. Christopher's Inn. It is a favorite of Australians on holiday and a creepy Armanian guy. The bar also had a pretty extensive collection of Blues Brothers memorabilia to went perfectly with the establishment's name, Belushi's.


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Walking around Hyde Park



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These birds were enormous and ill-tempered. Bad combination. I made sure to use no sudden movements, while getting as close as possible to these guys. But after one came a little too close and I got a closer look at it's beak, I retreated.

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Statue of Cleopatra and her posse. Nobody has camels these days.

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Royal Albert Hall


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World War One memorial.




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Wellington Arch


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This store is ridiculous. Everything from baby rattles to pianos and nail polish to diamonds is sold here. Unfortunately, I left my platinum card in my other pair of jeans...shame. I had my eye on a really nice piano.
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Photo op that couldn't be missed.
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Whatever the guy with a machine gun and back-up handgun says, do it. At Buckingham Palace, what the queen says, goes.
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A church from across the river Thames. Such a cold night.


Unfortunately, I forgot the camera but I did end up going hashing with the West London H3 group and they are great people. For 2£ I had one of the best afternoons. The other perk of hashing in London is the quality of the down-downs. No PBR for this bunch, only London Pride.

Cheers!