It’s always fun to spend time in London especially at Christmas and with exceptionally good timing we just managed to squeeze in a short break days before the Government announced stricter COVID-19 measures. Hotel rates had dropped significantly in recent months meaning that we were able to book a bargain stay in the affluent borough of Kensington & Chelsea.
We’d arrived late the previous evening, giving us two full days to soak up the festive atmosphere. Our hotel, the Ibis Styles London Kensington offered a grab and go breakfast comprising of a croissant, chocolate muffin, oatcakes, fruit and a carton of juice to take back to our room plus free use of the hot drinks machine until 10.00 a.m.
It was a bright, sunny morning and rather than take the underground we decided to start the day with a walk along to the Natural History Museum on Cromwell Road. The museum is housed in a magnificent Romanesque style building with gothic arches and terracotta ceilings which has been described as a cathedral to natural history.
It’s a museum that we’ve had the pleasure of visiting many times and as it’s so big we tend to turn our focus to specific galleries. The Volcanoes and Earthquakes section had been redesigned since my son’s last visit so we decided to head there. In COVID-19 times it was pleasing to find that many of the interactive exhibits could still be used so we had fun pressing buttons trying to work out some of the answers. There’s even an earthquake simulator demonstrating what it felt like during the 1995 Japanese earthquake in Kobe. Three years ago we visited Taiwan which is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Near the top of the Taipei 101 building we inspected the world’s largest and heaviest damper that acts as a giant pendulum to counter any motion to the building. You might be interested to read about my visit here.
Both the Science Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum were closed so we strolled past these fine buildings and continued along to the Royal Albert Hall. This magnificent Grade II listed building is famous for hosting such events as The Proms, a world famous 8 week summer season of daily classical music concerts. I have fond memories of attending my son’s graduation ceremonies on two occasions in the Royal Albert Hall which were very proud moments in such a marvellous setting.
Just across the road are the entrance gates to Kensington Gardens and as the weather was so nice, it was a perfect opportunity for a stroll through one of the capital’s eight Royal Parks.
The park covers 265 acres and with miles of paths and bridleways to be explored ranging from formal avenues lined with magnificent trees to narrow paths crossing open grassland there’s plenty of room for everyone. Our walk took us to Kensington Palace, the official residence of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. Queen Victoria was born in the palace and Diana, Princess of Wales also had an apartment there.
The state apartments and gardens are usually open to the public but temporarily closed, more information on visiting can be found on the Historic Royal Palaces website. To the front of Kensington Palace lies the Round Pond, a large ornamental lake created in 1730 by George II and home to large numbers of wildfowl.
Our stroll continued through the park to West Carriage Drive where we crossed the road into Hyde Park, the largest Royal Park in central London stretching from the edge of Kensington Gardens as far as Hyde Park Corner.
The Serpentine Bridge marks the boundary of Kensington Gardens, with the upper western part of the lake being called the Long Water. Near the Italian Gardens close to Lancaster Gate we spotted some bright green parakeets sitting on the top of a low fence and even eating nuts out of people’s hands. These birds are not native to the British Isles but don’t appear to have a problem with our cool climate as they actually seem to thrive in our chilly conditions.
Moving on, we continued to the Diana Memorial Fountain, a loop of water created from Cornish granite. This unusual fountain was opened in 2004 as a memorial to the People’s Princess. The fountain wells up from its highest point creating a water table from where it flows in both directions cascading over small ridges until it reaches the calm pool at its base.
Before leaving the park we enjoyed a stroll by the side of the Serpentine, finding a sunny bench to sit down on to eat some sandwiches we’d bought earlier from a nearby Waitrose. The Serpentine was the world’s first artificial recreational lake and was used as a venue for the Triathlon and marathon swimming events at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Just south of Hyde Park lies Knightsbridge, synonymous with luxury with its upscale hotels and high-end shops. Harrods, one of the world’s largest and most famous department stores is located on Brompton Road and is the epitome of luxury. Established in 1849 by Charles Henry Harrod, it started life with humble beginnings in a single room with just two assistants and a messenger boy selling tea and groceries. It’s now owned by the Qatari Royal family, and employs 4,000 staff.
We popped in for a look around and for some much needed Christmas shopping inspiration which has been sadly lacking in recent months. Although it brands itself a luxury retailer, it sells reasonably priced goods too, fulfilling its motto ‘Omnia Omnibus Ubique’ which is Latin for ‘all things for all people everywhere’. Another claim to fame is that the store featured one of the world’s first escalators in 1898, known in those days as moving staircases.
It’s very easy to get lost in such a vast emporium so we just looked in the Christmas Shop and magnificent food halls which were perhaps not quite as busy as in more normal times but still had a reasonable number of shoppers around.
A little more window shopping in Knightsbridge followed before taking the underground the short distance back to our hotel near Earls Court Station. Rooms at the Ibis Styles Kensington are compact but well equipped and of a reasonable size just as long as you don’t bring along some large suitcases.
After about an hour’s rest we were raring to go again, enjoying an evening meal in the Oyster Rooms at Fulham Broadway. We then took the underground across to Piccadilly Circus to view the Christmas lights.
Feeling festive, we continued along to Leicester Square and Chinatown before ending our evening at Covent Garden with its vibrant atmosphere, twinkling lights and street entertainers.
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Hello dear! I felt myself missing London and was sure you’d have been there recently so opened your blog to see. These photos bring back so many lovely memories of my visits. The parakeets are quite a bizarre sight in London but they sure are cute! At work we have been “travelling” around the world to all the countries our kids are from and when we had England, I showed a video of the Christmas lights there and one of the kids got so upset because he felt it was unfair that the lights in London are so grand compared to Helsinki, LOL! Well, maybe he can travel there himself when he’s old enough to see them in person. ❤
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Hi Suvi, it’s so nice to hear from you and what a great idea to ‘travel’ around the world with the children. It sounds as though you are still enjoying your job, hope it’s going well. Marion
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Hi Marion, I’m glad to say I am still enjoying the job! It’s not easy and it’s quite exhausting at times but every day is different and has it’s joys. Also, it’s nice to be around people all day 🙂
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This post brought back warm memories of a month-long stay in an apartment in Kensington which let us leisurely sightsee. I did my run through Kensington Park most mornings. There is an estate just down the road from Kensington Palace that I found intriguing – portions are still in ruin from WWII bombing. I fell in love with it. Next trip to London, I recommend taking a look. I wrote about it here. https://stillarunner.com/2016/11/15/a-walk-through-london-parks/
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How lovely to have had the opportunity to spend a month in an apartment in Kensington and to run through Kensington Gardens mist days. I’m pleased that this post brought back some fond memories and I’ll definitely take a look at your post too.
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What a lovely stroll through a beautiful city … I’ve now seen places I always wanted to see, thanks 😊.
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I’m so pleased to read that you enjoyed my stroll through London. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to visit yourself one day.
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This was a fun read. You mirrored much of what I did in December too. I’d never normally stay in Kensington but I really wanted to visit the Natural History museum and I was pleasantly surprised to find hotels were pretty affordable by usual London standards so it was an ideal base for a couple of days 🙂
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Thanks Jason, as we were flying back into Heathrow we decided to enjoy a couple of days in central London on the way back. Just as well we did as we’re stuck at home again now!
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Yeah I remember you saying that was your plan. Glad you made the most of it before everywhere went in to lockdown. I’m glad I squeezed in a trip before Christmas too.
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Thank you for your kindness.
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London beautiful country
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London is one of the world most beautiful cities. Thank you for your welcome thoughts.
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One of my favourite cities!
We were meant to be in London this past Christmas, but well, that didn’t happen. So it was nostalgic to view sights through your captures!
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Thank you for your kind words. London is wonderful at any time and let’s hope it won’t be too long until you can return there.
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Aaagh! I’m so jealous. I would have spent a couple of days wandering around the city if it hadn’t been for tougher regulations where I live which stopped all travel out of the area. I just love London in the run up to Christmas. It sounds great that it was a little less busy than normal. That was a great review of your time in London, and I’m enjoying working my way through you visits to parts of the world that I’ve not been to yet.
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Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking an interest in my blog. In so pleased to read that you are enjoying my posts and that travelling will again be possible for us all in the coming months.
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It must have been a bit different seeing London at Christmas during Covid, compared to your other Christmas visits. Still, a great visit and city nonetheless. Lots of memories from one of our spring trips where we stayed near Paddington. Thanks for sharing Marion. Allan
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It was very quiet but nonetheless still lovely to be back in London. The underground was eerily quiet which seemed so strange but good for social distancing! Thanks for taking an interest in this post. Marion
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Wow. You do have nice content. I really do love this.
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Please follow my blog. I have great and wonderful contents. God bless you as you do so. I promise to follow back🤲
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Thank you for taking an interest in my blog, and for commenting, it’s much appreciated.
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I left my heart in London, and I’m looking forward to be able to travel again! It’s surprising that museums and stores are still open, it’s quite different here in Italy even with less cases of Covid (museums have been closed since summer)
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Sadly everything has now had to close here too, since 31 December. Let’s hope the nightmare is over soon and we can all get back to travelling once again. By the way, I love Utaly too. Whereabouts are you based,. Thank you for taking the time to comment, it’s much appreciated.
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Thank you too, I’ll save your posts for my future travels 😁
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That’s lovely to read. I’m pleased you found them useful.
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Seems like an amazing trip… beautiful pics….can’t wait to start travelling 🙂
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Thank you so much for your welcome thoughts. London is a marvellous city and hopefully it won’t be too much longer until you can start travelling once again. Hope you’re having a good weekend. Best wishes, M.
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How nice for you to get to London Marion. Love the Christmas decorations…
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Visiting London was wonderful Sue but so sad to see the city so quiet. I’m confident towns and cities around the globe will bounce back into life for us all to enjoy once again. Let’s hope it’s not too long coming Sue. Hope your weekend went well. It’s icy cold here so I assume you are sweltering!
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It’s SO incredibly hot here this week I really dislike it!!
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Feeling like u had spend a amazing and beautiful new year…off course London is a beautiful city no doubt…after seeing your i really want to go this place🤗
Happy new year!☺
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Thanks for your kind words Safira. London is a beautiful city and I do so hope that you will get an opportunity to see it for yourself before too long. Take care and enjoy the weekend. Marion
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☺😇
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Glad to see you managed to squeeze in another short city break before the new lockdown. I’ve enjoyed reading about my hometown, especially as there are a few spots I still need to tick off. Hope that you are doing well in these challenging times. Take care, Marion.
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Thank you Tom for your welcome thoughts. We were fortunate in being able to fit in a few trips in the weeks before the new lockdown. Let’s hope that it’s all over soon. Hope you’re doing well too and are able to stay in Serbia. Any more news on that yet? Hope it all works out for the best. Take care too! Marion
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You are more than welcome. By the way, I think this may be the point in which I tell you that my name is Leighton, ha ha. Current prognosis on Operation Belgrade is that we have been granted a visa processing extension until February 3rd. If we get the green light I can stay for a further six months. If not, I’m guessing a customary seven days to get out of dodge. All digits crossed.
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Apologies for getting your name wrong Leighton, but will remember in future. Hopefully you’ll get the green light to stay in Belgrade, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you too! Never visited Serbia so somewhere else to look forward to visiting one of these days.
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No worries 😉 Belgrade is a fascinating city. Hope to do it some blogging justice in 2021.
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Great that you were able to get out and about despite the times we live in!
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It was a lovely couple of days Andy. We all just have to take any opportunities we can right now. Have you been able to travel interstate recently?
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not yet. the problem now is that as soon as there is any sort of outbreak borders close up so its so unpredictable. but we will see hopefully march.
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Hopefully the situation will improve for all of us by March, I sincerely hope so as the current outlook is so bleak. Take care. M.
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I love to go back in London, and visit the “Harry Potter” places 🙂
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I do so hope it won’t be too long before you are able to return to London. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment, it’s much appreciated.
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🙂
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It’s been nearly a year since I was last in London and I can’t wait to be able to go again some day. It’s been great to see your photos, especially of a couple of places I’ve yet to visit in London.
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed seeing my photos of London. I really hope that you will have an opportunity to go there again yourself too.
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I love all of these places, been to them a few time. I find it interesting though to see pictures of London that empty! I mean I know it’s because of Covid, but still. I am looking forward to going back to London again once Covid is contained.
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London is much nicer with all the hustle and bustle of normal life but was still lovely to visit recently. Hopefully you’ll be able to come back before too long Anna. In the meantime stay safe. Happy new year,. Marion
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Haha as someone living and working in/around London, I was always complaining about too many people. Now I am complaining of not seeing enough people 🙂 But London is not the same without the bankers, the tourists and so on. Thanks for your wishes and stay safe, too Marion!
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Thank you London is always amazing
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This truly makes me want to hop on a plane and go! I have never been but London looks very enticing.
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London is absolutely wonderful at any time of year. Let’s hope it’s not too much longer before we are all able to travel wherever we please once again and you can come over. Thanks for your kind words and taking the time to comment. Take care, Marion.
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You got some amazing photos!
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Thank you, London is always amazing.
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Sur ,travel lead to inspiration
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Lovely post ,London is a gorgeous city. I hope soon to visit
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I hope you will be able to visit London too!
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Very good, your journey, this is my friend’s beautiful pictures and a wonderful festival.
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Thank you for taking an interest in my recent visit to London. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
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My favourite place in spite of everything!
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Thank you so much. London definitely lifted my spirits with its twinkling festive lights and even though it was eerily quiet, we still loved our visit to the capital and felt very safe there. Best wishes for 2021, Marion
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I’m glad Marion! Many thanks and all best, Josh
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We were here back in the end of 2019. Your post reminds me on the time we spent there. Really an amazing city, and we hope to come back one day.
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Thank you for your kind words Arnold. I’m so pleased my post brought back some happy memories of your visit a year ago and I do hope that it won’t be too much longer now until you can return. In the meantime take care and best wishes for a Happy and better New Year. Marion
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London looks lovely when you visited! I was in London over five years ago just after Christmas. My time was short there, but I remember visiting many of the sites you went to (Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park, Harrods…). I hope to return someday to see more of the city, and to spend a little bit more time doing so! Thanks for sharing your festive time in London. 🙂
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It’s my pleasure Rebecca. I’m glad that my post brought back some fond memories of your own visit to the capital. I do hope that it won’t be too much longer until everyone can travel freely once again and that life can return to normal. In the meantime take care. Marion
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London is a one of a kind city where even a week would only scratch the surface of interesting places to view. But its a very sad city at the moment along with major cities of the rest of the world where this pandemic is creating havoc.
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It’s an absolute nightmare Ian but let’s hope with the rollout of vaccines the situation will soon improve for us all. London was very quiet but still a wonderful city to visit and we were very careful.
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Travel dayr
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Effectively
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A beautiful post. Nice article
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Thank you, London is such a wonderful city at any time.
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Looks like a lovely trip ! Happy new year !
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Spending a couple of days in London was just what we needed, and absolutely lovely. Thanks so much for your welcome thoughts and a Happy New Year to you as well.
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Thank you
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Beautiful pictures from London
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Thank you for your kind words. London is such an amazing city even in times of Pandemics.
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Traveling I like
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It’s the best!
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Going to London is m
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I do hope you are able to visit London as soon as things return back to normal.
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Perhaps ,I c
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This brought back so many happy memories of places visited with my Hyde Park Walking Group. Hope you enjoyed it all. I lived in Earls Court Road before getting married 39 years ago!
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Thank you for your welcome thoughts. What a coincidence that we were staying so close to your former home. Our hotel was nearby on the Hogarth Road. London may be deserted right now but otherwise it’s still the same and a wonderful city to both live in or to visit. Best wishes for 2021, Marion
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How curious. I worked at the Hogarth Hotel several times between 1978 and 1981. Lots of stories to tell from that experience! And I’m reading a biography of Queen Victoria (by Julia Baird) at the moment. It says that all those museums were (caused to be) built by Prince Albert from the profits of the Great Exhibition in 1851. You probably know that trivia. . . but I just thought it co-incidental to be reading about them in your blog at the same time.
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What a coincidence Gwen that you worked at the Hogarth Hotel around 40 years ago. It’s a wonderful part of London. My son studied at Imperial College and had the pleasure of living in a student hall on Prince Consort Road overlooking the Royal Albert Hall one year.
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So much history!
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Glad you had fun! Nice to see photos of my playground again!
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Thank you so much for your welcome thoughts. London might be lacking it’s beating heart of commuters and tourists but it’s still lovely all the same and waiting patiently to welcome everyone back. Let’s hope it won’t be too much longer now! Take care, Marion.
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Sigh…. I do miss traveling. Thank you so much for getting to London just in time and sharing the city with us. I have been to London often and seeing the images brought me back to safer times. Keep on traveling.
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Thank you so much for your welcome thoughts. I do hope that it won’t be too much longer until we are all able to travel freely once again. Until then, I hope you enjoy my posts from the comfort of your armchair! Marion
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You were so lucky to get that trip in before the lockdown, London is a great place to visit at any time of the year. We just love to walk and walk and you discover so many wonderful little places that you’ve never seen before every time you visit.
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That’s so true Jonno, there’s always somewhere new to discover or old haunts to be re-visited. I just love our capital so much. Have you managed to sort out accommodation for the next few weeks as I assume your housesits are unlikely to be happening. Do hope it all works out for you both. Marion
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You did so well managing this trip before the stricter lockdown measures came in!
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We did indeed, they came into force the following day so we were very lucky. London was of course much quieter than usual but still a wonderful place to visit. I hope that soon we will all be able to travel wherever we wish once again. Take care Han. M.
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London is a gorgeous city, I thank you for your post that reminded me of my own trip back in 2008.
A happy and healthy New Year!
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Wishing you a very happy new year too! Thank you for your lovely comments. London is indeed a wonderful city and I do hope you will have an opportunity to visit again before too long. Best Wishes!
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Looks like a wonderful trip. Love the parakeet. I was reading about them the other day.
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It was wonderful, let’s hope we can return soon. I read about the possible culling of parakeets in London too. Hope it doesn’t have to happen! Nice to hear from you. Marion
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Makes me nostalgic about our trip. Nice article 🙂
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Thank you for your kind words Sangeeta. I do hope that it won’t be too much longer before we are all able to start travelling wherever we please again.
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I am sure, the whole day would have been delightful. With the Christmas decoration still on, walking around was I guess a lot of fun. Happy New Year, Marion
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Thank you for your kind words Reena. London was quieter than usual but nonetheless pretty. Hope you enjoyed a happy new year. How did you spend it Reena? Best wishes, Marion
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Yes, this new year was different. We were home with family due to “no gathering allowed” in the course of pandemic. Nonetheless, we celebrated our family dinner with some traditional cuisines. Although we were only the family members, but we really had great time, cooking. Haha..
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed the time even if it was in a different way to normal. Preparing traditional dishes is definitely the thing to do. Best wishes and thanks so much for your welcome thoughts. Marion
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Lucky you ..looks like a fab trip to get you into the Christmas spirit
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Thanks Alison, It was lovely to soak up some of the festive atmosphere and being so quiet, felt perfectly safe. Hope your new year has got off to a good start. Are you able to travel interstate now?
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Haha not yet again the borders have closed
Was planning a trip over east in February but looks like that is on hold again. In the meantime just enjoying the summer in WA 😎
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Oh dear, at least you have warm weather unlike us. Hope the situation improves soon. M.
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Yes me too but I’m not holding my breath
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A beautiful post with lovely captures Marion! Look forward to seeing how you spent the remaining days Marion 🙂
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Thank you, London was understandably much quieter than usual, but still lovely to visit at Christmas.
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Brave of you to venture to London
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Can’t go many months without a visit to our capital Sheree and felt just as safe there as at home, it was so quiet and gave us some festive cheer. Hope things are going well for you, M.
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