Adventurous Maite: 3 - London (UK): 8th June 2015

8th June 2015 (Monday)

The Monday morning we visited the Arsenal stadium: Emirates Stadium. Afterwards we went to see the statue of Sherlock Holmes, The Beatles shop in Baker Street and Oxford Street area.We went shopping in the town centre and finally we took the river cruise down the Thames to Greenwich... A visit to London is incomplete without a cruise along the Thames!

PHOTOS

These pictures were taken in the hostel cafe

Breakfast wasn't included in the price

Sunlight coming in through the window ㋡

Entry of the hostel

Arsenal jersey that I bought in Candem Town

We spent a short time in the pub Henry Holland. They serve traditional pub food and have a selection of lagers, ales, spirits and juke box. They can cater for private parties of up to 40 people and provide outside seating on the pavement. Good atmosphere and nice staff

We took the metro going to Arsenal Station to visit the Stadium of my favourite English football team. Laura and I reading were the newspaper during the subway ride

LOL! ツツツ

And now Triny hiding her face behind the newspaper XD

Arsenal Tube Station. This morning was dedicated to one of the biggest passions of my life: FOOTBALL! Every time I have the chance to go to a football stadium, there I go!

Arsenal is a London Underground station located in Highbury. Its location is rather unusual for a Tube station because it's on a narrow Victorian residential street away from the nearest main road... In fact its one of very few tube stations not served by any bus route though routes 4, 19, 106 and 236 serve nearby Blackstock Road

Arsenal station meanwhile is still within easy walking distance of the new stadium and is recommended by the club for use on match days. Below the photo of the Arsenal shield at the Arsenal Store Highbury House, a place where you can find everything to look an authentic Gooner!!! I took many pictures and I loved the experience. If you are a football lover as I am, you should understand me. It was exciting visiting this place though unfortunately we couldn't spend too much time there so we didn't take the tour neither visit the museum

More pics at the door of the store

Emirates Stadium stairs

Emirates Stadium: Box office

This is the entrance to the smaller store at the back of the stadium – Highbury House, just next the box office. There is another entrance to the larger store at the main stadium entrance…

Store opening hours and the plan of the stadium

Going upstairs

The Danny Fiszman Bridge leads to Arsenal's Clock End

In April 2011, Arsenal renamed two bridges near the stadium

in honour of club directors Ken Friar and Danny Fiszman

Players' banners on the Ken Friar Bridge

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium is a really impressive structure!

Arsenalisation at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal's Heroes Together

This is one of the 8 murals installed on the exterior of
Arsenal FC Emirates Stadium as a result of the Arsenalisation project

Eight large murals on the exterior of the stadium were installed, each depicting four Arsenal legends linking arms, such that the effect of the completed design is 32 legends in a huddle embracing the stadium

Ken Friar Statue. This statue depicts Mr Friar playing football as a youngster in 1945 in front of the old Highbury Stadium. Behind the statue is a display telling the famous story that saw Friar miskick a ball underneath a parked car that transpired to be that of the then Arsenal manager, George Allison

Admiring its beauty!!! Go Arsenal!! Go Gunners!!!

The North Bank Terrace. Following on from the overwhelming success of Armoury Square, Arsenal Football Club created North Bank Terrace at Emirates Stadium, a place where supporters can tell their own Arsenal stories, share memories or make family dedications

The North Bank Terrace is another opportunity for supporters
to create a unique and lasting memento at Emirates Stadium

Everyone can personalise a permanent granite stone next to Emirates Stadium

It follows the hugely successful Armoury Square development, which has seen thousands of supporters etch a permanent place in Arsenal history by creating a personalised message in a series of granite stones outside the stadium

⚽❤ "This year we sang, we cried, we believed, we celebrated" ⚽❤

There were many stones installed!

I think it must be emotional to see your name immortalized here

As part of the club's 125 anniversary celebrations in December 2011, Arsenal unveiled three statues of former captain Tony Adams, record goalscorer Thierry Henry and manager Herbert Chapman outside of the stadium. In the picture below I'm next to the Toni Adams statue. A bronze statue of former Arsenal captain Tony Adams greets fans heading to Emirates Stadium :) :) ⚽ ⚽ ⚽

The statue of Tony Adams, which is located outside the North Bank, is commemorating an Arsenal Legend who enjoyed a 19-year career at his only club. Adams joined Arsenal as a trainee in April 1983 and quickly progressed through the ranks to become the Club’s captain in 1988 at the age of just 22.

During his Arsenal career, Adams made a total of 669 appearances placing him second in Arsenal’s all-time appearance records after David O’Leary. He's the most successful captain in the Club’s history, leading Arsenal to ten major honours.

This statue recreates the iconic pose adopted by Adams after scoring the final goal in a 4-0 win against Everton on May 3rd, 1998 to clinch the League title

Welcome to the home of football. The North Bank área

More pictures from Arsenal's work on turning

the Emirates Stadium into a true home for Arsenal

The Arteta's banner at the Emirates Stadium

The East Stand of the stadium

Victoria Concordia Crescit in English would be Victory comes from harmony

I would be fascinated to visit the stadium in a match day

#selfietime

Behind me is the Herbert Chapman statue. The first statue to be made was that of Herbert Chapman, who was Arsenal manager between 1925 and 1934. Chapman’s team won the league four times in five years, and his development of advanced diets, fitness and tactical approaches was revolutionary

Walking around the stadium

Arsenal Football Club Cannon Shield

A functional, portable ticket and information booth

Thierry Henry is immortalized in bronze. The proceedings were concluded with Hill-Wood unveiling a statue of Thierry Henry, depicted in his famous celebration after scoring his wonder goal against Tottenham Hotspur at Highbury in November 2002

The statue of Henry is located in the south-east corner of Emirates Stadium, by the Spirit of Highbury mural. Henry is Arsenal’s all-time leading goal scorer with 226 goals

During his eight years at the Club between 1999 and 2007 he won two Premier League championships, two FA Cups, the Premier League ‘Golden Boot’ on four occasions and the PFA Player of the Year twice

I tried to imitate him but without success xD

His stare scares me! xD

Thierry Henry's statue with the stadium in front of it

Pictures of the team outside the Stadium

More Arsenal legends

Arsenal immortalised the great Dennis Bergkamp with this statue outside the Emirates

In February 2014, before Arsenal's match with Sunderland, the club

unveiled this wonderful statue outside the west stand of Emirates Stadium

Dennis Bergkamp is one of many Arsenal players recognized at The Emirates

Another photo of the Toni Adams statue

The spectacular Arsenal museum at Emirates Stadium is situated in the Northern Triangle Building. There you can see with independent exhibits dedicated to the history of the club

The museum houses a wide range of exhibits and memorabilia from throughout the club's history, including Charlie George's shirt from the 1971 FA Cup Final, Michael Thomas's boots from Arsenal's 1988-89 title-deciding match against Liverpool, Alan Smith's shirt from the 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final and a custom trophy commemorating Arsenal's 2003-04 Premier League season, where they won the title unbeaten

The museum is open every day of the week; 10am-6pm (Mon-Fri), 11am-6pm (Sat) and 10am-5pm (Sun). On matchdays the museum is only open from 10am till half an hour before kick-off. Admission is also included as part of tours of Emirates Stadium. I hope to visit it at another time cause I kept wanting to go! After visiting the Stadium we took the metro to reach Baker Street. Baker Street is a station on the London Underground at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road

This is the statue of Sherlock Holmes in London, sculpted by John Doubleday. It stands near the site of the fictional detective's home at 221B Baker Street. It's arguably the world’s most famous address where Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John H. Watson lived in the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, commencing in 1887 with "A Study in Scarlet" first published in Breton's Christmas Annual, then in serialized form in the Strand Magazine

The 3-metre-high statue depicts Holmes wearing an Inverness cape (a form of weatherproof outercoat notable for being sleeveless, the arms emerging from armholes beneath a cape) and a deerstalker and holding a pipe, attributes first given to him by Sidney Paget, who illustrated Arthur Conan Doyle's stories for The Strand Magazine

Finally I was able to pose with the Sherlock Holmes statue with no one around!

Inscription: This statue, comissioned by the Sherlock Holmes Society of London was sponsored by Abbey National pl to commemorate its 150th Anniversary in 1999

The Great Detective :)

Baker Street Sign

In the same street everyone should visit the London Beatles Store

This store is an absolute must for any Beatles fan! There're some rare and cool limited edition stuff! The store itself is small but they have loads of fun souvenirs...

Next to the Beatles Store we can find The Sherlock Holmes Museum

Naturally, there was a queue to get in

Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street is fundamentally a commercial tourism attraction. This is exterior of The Sherlock Holmes Museum, including the shop which contains the largest collection of Sherlockian gifts in the world, unavoidable for fans

The garish sign above the door advertised that this is a Museum of souvenirs, books, antiques, and curios. I keep it in mind for future travels ;)

There is always an actor in a Victorian policeman's uniform outside The Sherlock Holmes Museum. And of course everyone want to have their photograph taken with him :)

Alongside the Hudsons Old Restaurant, 239 Baker Street

My picture with the Victorian-style policeman :D

In the United Kingdom, postal addresses with a number followed by a letter may indicate a separate address within a larger, often residential building. Baker Street in Holmes' time was a high-class residential district, and Holmes' apartment was probably part of a Georgian terrace

More pictures of the London Beatles Store

Triny and I posing next to the shop window

Laura

A sign showing us the way to It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (another music store)

Some super-cool Beatles gifts

Diverted traffic sign on the street, between Blandford Street and Baker St. Triny thought "diverted" was "funny". She's certainly crazier than I thought xDDD. In the photo we see too the Hay Hill Gallery 35 Baker Street, a large spacious contemporary and modern art gallery showcasing some of the best contemporary artists and artworks

We had time to stroll around Oxford Street before lunch and to visit some stores. Oxford Street is one of London's most popular shopping destinations... One of my favourites was, of course, the candy shop IT'SUGAR! I love sweets but I could resist the temptation and I didn't buy anything!!! Yes, incredible but real...

Afterwards we went to the popular music store HVM, 363 Oxford Street. Here Triny bought a gift to Laura... A special present for her last Birthday: SHERLOCK, the Complete Series 1 to 3 of the contemporary re-imagining of the Arthur Conan Doyle classic, co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. I took this photo of some of the Rock and Pop t-shirts :)))

London United bus

Regent Street, one of the major shopping streets in the West End of London

Behind me is the Watches of Switzerland store at 155 Regent Street.

This is Europe’s largest showroom devoted to luxury watches

More stores on Regent Street: Timberland and Tommy Hilfiger

Veeraswamy, Victory House, 99 Regent Street (entrance on Swallow Street).
It's the oldest Indian restaurant still in business in the UK... It was established in 1926!

Arcade between Regent St and Swallow St, very close to Piccadilly Circus

Street sign reading "Piccadilly W1; this side 230-218 / 217-157. Other side 1-7 / 8-149"

We then went to eat at a nearby KFC (short for Kentucky Fried Chicken)

Eating French fries! Fast food power xD

Usually I go fast food when I'm traveling... Laura ordered chicken snackers too

Smiiiiiiiiileeeeeeeee

Haymarket Street in the St. James' area of the City of Westminster

Typical tourist photo in an iconic red telephone box

Speaking on the pone

A street mime artista... The Death xD

Walking around

Another red telephone box

The Traditional Londonblack-cab taxi

Confederación Española de Cajas de Ahorros /

Confederation of Spanish Saving Banks, 16 Waterloo Place

The Union Flag

The Villandry on Waterloo Place . It's a Grand Cafe is an all day restaurant, café and bar

The Guards Monument (or The Crimea Monument). The Crimean War Memorial is situated on Waterloo Place, at the junction of Lower Regent Street and Pall Mall in London, approximately one-quarter of the way from the Duke of York Column to Piccadilly Circus

It was unveiled in 1861 and consisted of the statues of three Guardsmen, with a female allegorical figure referred to as Honour. It was cast in bronze from the cannons captured at the siege of Sevastopol. The sculptor was John Bell

The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square seen from a side

The facade of St Martin-in-the-Fields Church with its long clock tower

and the corinthian colonnade in Trafalgar Square

Columns of the National Gallery facade

The imposing neoclassical building of the National Gallery already transmits authority

Nelson's Column at Trafalgar Square. He probably has the best views of the city =)

Trafalgar Square with National Gallery in the background

Here we see the Trafalgar Square Fountain and the Skeleton Statue on the right

We also see in the background the Canadian flag because there is the Canada House

Behind me one of the four famous lions of Trafalgar Square :)

Observing attentively the impressive lion

There're always many tourists posing with the lion statues!

But it's not that easy to just go and jump on these

monumental lions!!! I got pretty scared trying to do it...

The statues of the lions are commonly known as the ‘Landseer Lions’

Lion at the base of Nelson's Column. I got up to the base but I didn't dare on the lion

Each of the four lions is 20 feet long and 22 feet high... In the photos you cannot appreciate their great size but they're really big I didn't find the courage to climb on them! I'm not so brave for these kind of things xD. But it's normal to see people, even kids, climbing on to the backs of Landseer's lions! I found it extremely dangerous... :P

But Laura was determined to get it and she got it after many failed attempts! She even removed her shoes... Completely crazy! Below some of the pictures I took while she was over this huge bronze lion!!! OMG... It was one of the great moments of the afternooooon

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Statue, outside the Ministry of Defense, Whitehall

Horse Guards as viewed from Whitehall

Horse Guards is a large Grade I listed building in the Palladian style between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade in London. The first Horse Guards building was built on the site of the former tiltyard of Westminster Palace in 1664. It was demolished in 1749 and was replaced by the current building which was built between 1750 and 1753. Horse Guards Road runs north-south on the western boundary of the parade ground, while Horse Guards Avenue runs east from Whitehall on other side of the building, to Victoria Embankment

The Monument to the Women of World War II

This is a British national war memorial situated on Whitehall in London, to the north of the Cenotaph. It was sculpted by John W. Mills, unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II and dedicated by Baroness Boothroyd in July 2005

It's a dark monument with bronze reliefs of servicewomen’s clothing and protective costumes, appearing as if they have been hung up at the end of a working day. The unveiling of the statue was part of the events celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War

And very near is The Cenotaph, a war memorial situated on Whitehall too. It began as a temporary structure erected for a peace parade following the end of the First World War but following an outpouring of national sentiment it was replaced in 1920 by a permanent structure and designated the United Kingdom's primary national war memorial. Today it's an iconic and internationally recognised monument

Government Offices in Parliament Street SW1

It's a large UK government office building situated in Westminster between

Horse Guards Road, Parliament Street, King Charles Street and Parliament Square

We finally reached the world famous Big Ben! Essential photos if you visit London :)

It's quite impressive to be right there

Big Ben is one of the most iconic attractions in the world, and is one of the main things associated with London. The name Big Ben is often used to describe the tower, the clock and the bell but the name was first given to the Great Bell. The name of the tower is now the Elisabeth Tower, renamed as such to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II (prior to being renamed in 2012 it was known simply as "Clock Tower"). It was called St Stephen's Tower by Victorian journalists. They referred to anything to do with the House of Commons as news from 'St Stephens', as originally MPs used to sit in St Stephen's Hall

Big Ben's construction was completed in 1859, although it does have an old, classic feel to it, it still looks fantastic and is still one of the greatest landmarks in the world nowadays

Triny taking photos of Big Ben

Big Ben is of course attached to the Houses of Parliament, which is the home of British democracy, and facing the River Thames, makes it simply an amazing attraction ❤ ❤ ❤

Nice photo of Big Ben and London Eye

In a very short distance there're many of London's main sights including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. Westminster Abbey was our next stop... It's a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster

It's one of the most notable religious buildings in the UK and has been the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Between 1540 and 1556 the abbey had the status of a cathedral. Since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a "Royal Peculiar"—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the original abbey church

Views of Big Ben and Houses of Parliament over Parliament Square

The church of St Margaret is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the Anglican parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom

See below some of the pictures we took of the Westminster Abbey

Great West Door and towers

Laura and I. Triny took this picture while I was taking photos :)

The entrance to Dean's Yard

This area was originally partly covered by monastic buildings such as the granary. The northern section was part of the Abbot's garden known as "The Elms". On the east side the Abbey administrative offices and Westminster School buildings still incorporate much of the 14th century cellarer's quarters and guest house. On the west side is the Abbey Choir School and to the south is Church House. The quadrangle of grass was first laid out in 1815

The Westminster Abbey Shop. This shop sells a range of merchandise inspired by the life, history, architecture and central London location of Westminster Abbey

West Front Towers

War memorial next to West Front Westminster Abbey. A monument to commemorate former pupils who died in the Crimean War, situated in the Sanctuary, next to the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey

Thriller Live taxi advertising. I love the London cabs and it's common
to see those painted with advertising. I find it fairly curious

Boudicca Statue located to the north side of the western end of Westminster Bridge, near Portcullis House and Westminster Pier, facing Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster across the road. The statue portrays Boudica, Queen of the Iceni tribe of Britons, accompanied by her two daughters, mounted on a scythed chariot drawn by two rearing horses. The statue is located in a busy position, with traffic from the Embankment and many pedestrian tourists passing from the Westminster Abbey, Parliament Square and Whitehall to the west over the bridge past the South Bank Lion towards County Hall, the London Eye, and Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank

City Cruises River boat in front of the Westminster Bridge

I was here watching the boats from the bridge and getting frozen!!!

Posing on Westminster Bridge

Triny and I

With Laura

Triny and Laura

Fabulous views of the Thames and the London Eye

Beautiful view to Houses of Parliament from the bridge

County Hall by the River Thames, from Westminster Bridge

Portcullis House and the Norman Shaw Buildings
located on the Victoria Embankment along the River Thames

The thing I liked the least: the dirty brown water!!! :(

The elegant London Eye... From there you have the most impressive view of London!

I must go back to get on the London Eye to live this great experience because this is one of the top attractions in London. Certainly one of the best ways to see the whole of London without having to go very far

Imposing lion statue guarding the south bank of the Thames River near the London Eye

The Palace of Westminster with Elizabeth Tower and
Westminster Bridge, viewed from across the River Thames

Beautiful panoramic views...

The typical image of London

To finish the evening we had tickets for a journey by boat through the Thames

Boarding points on the left side. The boat departed from Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment but there're other departure points. Boats depart daily every 30 minutes

You should arrive at least 15 minutes before departure time...
We took some photos while we were waiting for our City Cruises boat

City Cruises plc is the leading operator of tourism and leisure passenger services on the River Thames, carrying in excess of four million passengers annually on route through the heart of London between Westminster and Tower of London… then through Tower Bridge and down river to Greenwich

Laura and I with Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and Houses Of Parliament in background. Simply spectacular. It was just moments before boarding the boat... :)

Entering into the boat

London Eye and County Hall

Photos taken from the boat

London Eye and County Hall

We enjoyed a tranquil cruise along the iconic waters of the Thames

Photographing and simply enjoyingthe wonders of the capital from a unique viewpoint...

Interior of City Cruises boat. A large and confortable boat

Once on board you can move around freely and make yourself comfortable

A few minutes after we boarded the boat it started to rain

The County Hall

Very near the London Eye

Tired faces after a exhausting day xD

More views from boat

Relaxing cruise

Checking the photos

Other ships

Modern Shakespeare’s Globe

Southwark Bridge on the River Thames and Cannon Street Railway Station

City Hall with the Shard building by the River Thames

Tower Bridge, one of the world’s most iconic bridges

HMS Belfast, a majestic warship moored on the Thames. It's a popular visitor attraction

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre complex.
London’s Southwark district is home to the modern Shakespeare’s Globe

Southwark Bridge

Anchor Bankside. The Anchor Bankside is an historic pub that is extremely popular with London tourists. The pub is located on the south bank of The Thames. The historical prestige of the Anchor Bankside dates back to the Great Fire of London in 1666 as the pub provided the location from which the diarist Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire rage across the other side of The Thames. The pub is also associated with the legendary Samuel Johnson. As such it's one of the popular London attractions for many tourists

London Bridge on the South Bank

Under the bridge

South Bank Tower and IBM Headquarters

Blackfriars Bridge... Views of the north bank and modern buildings

The boat passing under an arch of the Blackfriars Bridge

The Founder's Arms, a popular pub overlooking Thames

Tate Modern. Tate Modern is a modern art gallery in Central London. It's Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group (together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives and Tate Online)

It's based in the former Bankside Power Station, in the Bankside area of the London Borough of Southwark. Tate holds the national collection of British art from 1900 to the present day and international modern and contemporary art. Its unique shape is due to its history as a power station

The Millennium Bridge. London’s iconic modern steel suspension bridge

Tower Bridge

Pickfords Wharf and Golden Hind replica

On the south bank of the Thames, between the Cannon Street railway bridge and London Bridge is a replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship the 'Golden Hind' by Pickford's Wharf

Concentrated on the views

Laura saying hellooooooo

The latest pictures before finishing the journey

In my opinion the journey was ok but too short! We were so excited about the city cruise after reading some reviews on the Internet... but we thought that it would be longer... We took the cruise from Westminster to Tower of London. however, as written in their timetable, it was far from the 30-40 minute duration. The whole cruise hardly lasted 20 minutes and the attractions were passing too fast. So it wasn't too much value for money...