Aaron 'n' Floss In Europe: London 2012

We left Mykonos and arrived in London on the 27th of July. London was a landmark city for us on this trip as back in 2008-09 when we were newly engaged and planning our wedding we also began to plan this trip of a lifetime. It was the London 2012 Olympics that first inspired us and re-sparked our travel bug. All travel details centred around London. So naturally when we arrived we were both very excited.

We had a week to explore and enjoy the sights. We arrived at our apartment that we had found on AirBnB.com and after hauling our heavy packs up 11 flights of stairs we were met by Ed, our host. Ed and his wife are also fellow travellers so instantly knew all the local knowledge we would be interested in. The apartment was fantastic and located right across Westminster Bridge near waterloo Station. During the week two other sets of travellers also came and went.

First port of call was finding somewhere to watch the Opening Ceremony which was due to start in a few hours. We wandered down the road and found a local Tapas Bar and enjoyed a good feed. The local school had set up a big screen and the community had gathered to watch together. Luckily the weather was in our favour and we sat as the sun set and readied for the show. What a spectacular night London put on!

We were surprised during the whole week at the lack of crowds at all the major tourist attractions. We had been warned that everywhere would be crazy busy. We bought an Oyster Card and a 48 hour London Pass and got busy making the most of them. Highlights for us included: Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Big Ben, the London Eye, a night out seeing Singin' in the Rain at the Palace Theatre and watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Just being out and about on the town was exciting, everywhere you went were people willing to lend a hand, buzzing with the excitement of the Olympics.

We were lucky enough to have tickets to see Australia vs Great Britain followed by Brazil vs Russiain in the Mens Indoor Volleyball. It was such an exciting night and we cheered so loudly much to the crowds dismay as Australia wiped the floor. We met an interesting Californian man who educated us on the history of Badge Collecting during the Olympics, fascinating stuff...

We were also lucky enough to have tickets to see the Womens Basketball and saw the Czech Republic vs Croatia and Team USA vs Turkey. The basketball arena was located at the main Olympic park. It was spectacular to be there and see all the hard work London put into these games. The main stadium lit up at night is a spectacle on its own. It was a great night out made even more fun by the hilarious MC who had us all fully engaged the whole evening. During half time there was the most incredible skipping rope display we have ever seen.

The week went by way too fast and we were ready to start on our 19 day road trip around the UK and Ireland.

As we write this post we are currently in a B'n'B in Doolin, Ireland. We are playing catch up with the Blog and will hopefully have the first part of our road trip written up soon.

Love to all,

Aaron & Floss.

Here are a few pics of London...

Opening ceremony night @ Johanna School

Johanna School's Big Screen!

Trafalgar Square Fountain

Floss @ Trafalgar Square

Admiralty Arch

London Bobby's and Buckingham Palace in the distance along The Mall

Horse Guards Parade - Beach Volleyball was held here.

Floss and the Aussie Flag

Westminster Abbey

Morgan Outside Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

Tower of London

BeefEater!

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

This seems to be where the Crown Jewels are kept. There were a LOT of diamonds in here.

The Old Operating Theatre of St Thomas Hospital. This is actually in the attic of an old church and was undiscovered until fairly recently as it was closed down when St Thomas' Hospital relocated to it's current location by the Thames.

Floss and a London Bus

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - Unfortunately we missed the last tour of the day (@11.30am!) by only 3 minutes so we had a look at the Globe Museum instead.

Aaron went on a tour of Chelsea FC.

Two legends of the game - John Terry and Frank Lampard.

Chelsea FC - Stamford Bridge

Our first ride in a London Cab.

London Eye!!! - Fantastic location and great views across London.

Floss on London Eye with Big Ben in the background.

Panorama of the view from the top of the London Eye to the west. Big Ben, Westminster, Buckingham Palace and the Horse Guards Olympic Site all visible!

The British Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

Big Ben and Westminster

Floss and one of the Olympic Mascot Statues which are all around the city.

Aaron and Sherlock Holmes on Marylebone St near Baker St

We got to rub shoulders with Hollywood royalty but unfortunately we both came away covered in wax.

George Clooney above and Tom Whateverhisnameis below at Madame Tussauds.

SHREK!

Aaron attempting to become the Hulk.

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Harrod's in London - This really is another world and totally takes department stores to a whole new level.

The lift in Harrods

We had a very fancy lunch in the Tea Room at Harrod's

Harrod's even caters to our four legged friends with Diapers and Cologne... Still not sure how I feel about this. There is also a doggy day spa here for all your pampered pooch could ever require.