First full day...

My first full day in London was just that, a full day. After breakfast, my father and I visited an office in Soho for work-related purposes. I must say, Soho's a lot cleaner than I thought it would be, in more ways than one. Passed by the gate to Chinatown on the way.

After that expedition was complete, and after the purchase of an eight-pack of batteries, we parted company and I went to my first destination of the trip: the National Gallery. Saw all sorts of paintings I've wanted to see, including my favourite, Rain, Steam, and Speed by JMW Turner. Unfortunately, no photographs allowed and about a dozen of the galleries in the newer wing were closed off for some reason.

After this trip, I went back across the square to the hotel and prepared for a walk around the area to see the sights. What was going to be a couple hours' walk turned into a nearly five and a half-hour tour. I started by going through the Admiralty Arch and St James Park on my way to Buckingham Palace, snapping pictures along the way. At the Palace, I got pictures of some of the gates around the courtyard, including Newfoundland Gate and Australia Gate (attn oceansedge, scottrell001, and james_b among others).

After the Palace, I went on the bigger portion of my tour, visiting St James Palace, Westminster Abbey, Cathedral, and Palace (Parliament), Victoria Station, and a few government buildings. I went around and around, rarely taking the same road twice. I finished this leg of the trip off with a walk along the Thames between Parliament and Waterloo Bridge, passing Charing Cross and the Battle of Britain memorial in the process. While on my way back, I passed through the Embankment Gardens, where I snapped a photo of a memorial to Richard D'Oyly Carte (attn kelloggs2066).

On my way back to the hotel, I ran into a bit of a problem. My path to the hotel across the bottom of Trafalgar Square was barricaded to allow the Tour de France cyclists to make their way to the opening ceremonies tonight. After trying to find a gap, I gave up and decided to go around behind the National Gallery. On my way, I noticed that the attached National Portrait Gallery was still open until 9. As it was just after 7:30, I decided to pay a visit, finishing up just before 8:45. While there, I saw the only known portrait of Jane Austen (attn kheetor84!)

I returned to the hotel at the end of my Grand Tour and met my father in the restaurant, where we were notified that, unlike yesterday, we could not sit down because we had no reservation and they were fully booked. So we got room service and were quite happy.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow; I'll decide in the morning. But now, I'm just going to sit back and relax a bit before going to bed. My legs and feet are quite sore!