London

Over the past 11 or so weeks, I've been to the U.A.E, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, Vatican City, Monaco, France, Sweden and finally the U.K, and out of all the cities I've visited...my favourite without a doubt has to be London.

Why? 

Many...many reasons but I could whittle it down to the following:

1. Easy to get around - the tube is the best thing ever invented, along with tag in/out travel cards a.k.a ya Oyster card.
2. So much to see at every turn - pubs, old buildings, historic stuff, weird stuff, gigs, west end shows, sports...it's all here.
3. You can walk to most things too - even though London is 'big', you can still walk to everything and if not, jump on the underground and pop up out of the ground.
4. It's LONDON!!! - it just rules.

LONDON: THE LANDMARKS

Centre of Tower Bridge. 

Another reason for coming to London was to visit some of the famous sporting grounds that I have dreamt of going to and although I didn't manage to visit them all on this trip, the ones I did were top of my list and did not disappoint.

The contrast between proper east end London at the Boleyn Ground and the flash modern development surrounding West Ham United's new London Stadium could not have been greater. Walking through Westfield Stratford is a little different from heading down Green St from Upton Park Station I can tell you that much. .

I also used to think Wimbledon was a tournament for toffy nose strawberry scoffing tennis snobs. But as I learnt, there is quite a bit that goes into preparing the perennial rye for a tournament so fair play to them for taking pride in it. Quite odd though walking into Centre Court with nobody there after watching countless Wimbledon final matches on TV since I was a kid (thanks Mum). 

LONDON: THE BOLEYN GROUND, LONDON STADIUM & WIMBLEDON

What I loved most about London was the fact I could walk down some steps, jump on a train, get off at some station, walk up and out and be somewhere completely different from where I was before. Coming from Auckland where you can't really do that at all is quite something. In total I spent a solid six days riding the underground, jumping from station to station and walking everywhere in between. Here is some of what I saw. BTW the 'real' GPS meridian lies to the east of the official line and the best part is that is it free! More here

LONDON: THE VIEWS ON THE GROUND

Keep Right!

The Aldgate Pump. Allegedly the spot the last fox in London was shot. Also the well where heaps of people got sick from cemetery water.

Don't see this everyday. Balloons over London.

The excellent Yeoman Warder, Bill Callaghan. 

Walkie Talkie building, the Cheesegrater & the Gherkin. These names are awesome and so appropriate. 

The Rosetta Stone. As close as I could get to it.

The Sutton Hoo helmet.

The Mildenhall Treasure 'Great Dish'.

My fav horseshoe pub nest to Battersea Power Station.

Pink Floyd 'Animals' no? Need to imagine the other chimneys...I'll be back soon to check.

This coin was minted just behind at the Tower Mint back in the 1207 or thereabouts. Nuts.

The Tourist Meridian.

The True Meridian.

The original pedestiran arch of the the medieval London Bridge. Now covered in by modern buildings on Lower Thames St.

Looking out over the Thames at the Cheval Three Quays apartments means I get to watch the constant stream of planes flying into Heathrow. This sounds pretty boring but it is actually nuts to see five planes at any one time all doing their approach circuits flying right past the window. As I flew in on this very route, it meant I got some pretty mean views of the city on a lovely fine summers day.

I like simple, elegant yet edgy design...so naturally I like the Shard. I think it just looks rad. Perhaps not the most economical use of vertical building space however, looks trumps the practical aspects in this case. From the viewing deck you get some of the best views of London if you can't get them from a plane. 

LONDON: THE VIEWS FROM ABOVE

Last but not least was my trip to Marshall Amplification out in Milton Keynes. For about as long as I've been playing music, Marshall was the only name I knew of when it came to guitar amps. Fast forward 20 years and I now have a stack of Marshall amps and cabinets because as far as I'm concerned...there is no other amp worth bothering with. Being able to see where these amps are made was pretty special, even more so because the tours of the factory are free and you are personally taken around the factory by a member of staff, who in my case had worked for Jim Marshall for 40 years!

LONDON: MARSHALL AMPLIFICATION

For now this marks the end of my 'Grand European Tour' of 2016. By the time you read this I will be well on my way back to New Zealand via some shore stays in Dubai and Melbourne. 

The time on the road has at times been testing with my tooth trouble and all but I am glad I pushed through to see all the amazing sights that Europe has to offer. I now know where I will return to, in some cases many times in the years ahead I think *cough* London *cough* but for now I am looking forward to getting home for a bit.

Thanks to anyone who has been following along but don't forget...there is more to come over the next few months so keep an eye out.

Till' then...