I have been to London several times, more on business than pleasure and we all love it. I came for a big 2 weeks vacation with the family and it was awesome ; this is London ! I found me some older new pics to my blog and decided they should be in as all part of my life and travels, Therefore, I give you more of London with my curiosities of London, part II !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
We took as we went by car , and yes driving on the left is no problem for this road warrior, taken the eurotunnel or Le shuttle as call nowdays. LeShuttle or eurotunnel is near Calais, exit 42 then 42b of the A16 autoroute/motorway takes you directly to Check-in, Each person making Duty Free purchases will need to present a QR code when passing through the World Duty Free store. The person who booked the crossing can present the QR code from the booking confirmation or emails relating to this crossing Now that the United Kingdom has left Europe, the World Duty Free stores in Calais and Folkestone allow you to benefit from incredible offers, up to 50% off the price found in the United Kingdom !! We had great fun times with the family and did get some purchases to take to our apartment in Earl’s Court, London (see post).
The official Eurotunnel : https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/
From our apartment we went to Tesco supermarket to get our groceries, a great way to immerge in local culture and figure out their English hahaha!! Tesco is the largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. With 3,500 stores, it is present throughout the world where it supplies food products, household products and supplies. Tesco even sells products of its own brand. We did always shop at Kensington West Cromwell Tesco at West Cromwell Road, a full scale hyper market and great take out foods ! Webpage https://www.tesco.com/store-locator/london/west-cromwell-rd?bID=2765
Leicester Square is a pedestrianized square in the West End of London. It is west of Charing Cross Road, north of Trafalgar Square and east of Piccadilly Circus. Nowadays, the square is lined with cinemas, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and is the place of intense bustle, especially at night and on weekends. Laid out in the 1670s, the square was originally a garden facing Leicester House, the city palace of the Sydneys, Earls of Leicester, title of nobility from which the square’s name is derived. The garden was entirely surrounded by beautiful residences and around the middle of the 18C,the garden felled into disrepair and wealthy people gradually left the place. The beautiful aristocratic residences were then transformed into hotels, most of which were run by French people, such as the Hotel Brunet, the Hotel Sablonier or the Hotel de Provence. In the center of the square is a statue of William Shakespeare, surrounded by dolphins erected in 1874. It faced a statue of Charlie Chaplin erected in 1980 Only the statue of William Shakespeare remains, following the modernization of the square of November 2010 to May 2012. Finally, there is a French church on the square, the Notre-Dame-de-France Church, built on the site of an earlier church which was destroyed during WWII. The circular layout, sober and elegant, church is a place of prayer for French people passing through or living in London and French-speaking Londoners. We enjoyed it with a great memorable familylunch at Chiquito, a restaurant chain specialising in Tex-Mex foods. The one we went is on Leicester square right off Piccadilly, The resto is known as ‘The Original Mexican Grill & Bar‘, and has been described as the United Kingdom’s best known Mexican chain , We have fond memories of our family visit,
Piccadilly Circus is a crossroads and pedestrianized square in London’s Westminster district The square, once considered the center of the British Empire, is still one of London’s nerve centers today and famous for its plethora of shops lights that surround it. It also has several tourist attractions such as the Criterion Theatre, the London Pavilion and several famous shops. Piccadilly Circus is at the crossroads of five major West End thoroughfares: Piccadilly, Regent Street, Glasshouse Street, Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street. The square is also at the crossroads of the aristocratic district of Mayfair, that of the theaters of the West End and those devoted to nightlife, Soho and Leicester Square , Piccadilly Circus is directly derived from the name of the street Piccadilly, one of the five streets converging on the crossroads, to which the name “circus” has been added, from the Latin circle, but here it should simply be understood in the figurative sense of an open space , more or less circular in shape, where several roads meet it, Originally a circular square, distorted after Shaftesbury Avenue was cut through in the late 19C.
Until the 16C, the area was owned by Eton College and the Mercer’s Company, before a tailor called Robert Baker indirectly came to give it its current name. This man had grown rich in the trade of “piccadils”, high starched collars much in favor in the time of the Stuarts with the dandies. Although today’s Piccadilly Street was officially named Portugal Street in 1692 in honor of Catherine of Braganza, wife of King Charles II of England, there is evidence as early as 1743 that the name used for the street was already became the current name, that is to say that of Piccadilly. Piccadilly Circus was established in 1819 as an extension of Regent Street. The ‘Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain’, built in 1893 to honor Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, sits in the center of the square, a statue crowning it, the Angel of Christian Charity, In 1948 ,the fountain returned but is moved from the center of the square to its southwest corner. There is at the corner of Piccadilly and Haymarket streets: Horses of Helios Sculpted by Rudy Weller, this bronze statue depicts the four horses of Helios, the Greek god of the Sun and light: Pyrois, Eoos, Aethon and Phlegon,
Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, which held bizarre artefacts including a two-headed calf and Amazonian shrunken human heads, suddenly shut on September 29, 2017 after almost ten years. The five-floor museum in Piccadilly Circus opened in 2008 and was famous for its large collection of Marilyn Monroe’s belongings. It was located at The London Pavillion, 1 Piccadilly Circus,sadly it was fun for the whole family, here for the memories of always.
Art in all shapes and forms, Michael Jackson in gummy bears, Princess Diana in fluff, an artwork made from toast, it’s all art and part of children’s awakening as to what creativity can mean. Want to know a little more about vintage British prime ministers Disraeli and Gladstone ? You will also find Queen Victoria’s death mask and historic artifacts from many and diverse cultures. This is, without a doubt, the best mirror maze I’ve even been in. I’d lost the kids by this point, a rare moment of solitude. I could hear them, so I won’t say quiet. There is a laser maze, this attraction totally rocks my kids’ worlds, mine too You can try the laser maze without paying to enter the main Ripley’s collection, it has its own separate entrance just off Piccadilly Circus. There’s the usual collections of oddities, two-headed lambs, multi legged cattle and self-made human freaks. It’s all good clean fun and a great opportunity to discuss these things with the kids ,Awesome family fun !! The London location is closed, sadly.For reference the other sites we have visited St Augustine Fl, and Orlando Fl, USA. The official Ripley’s Believe It or Not : https://www.ripleys.com/attractions/
Robert Leroy Ripley was an anthropologist, passionate of unbelievable objects and strange and unexplained events.He based his life philosophy in the belief that the truth exceeds fiction. During a period of his life he decided to travel all over the world collecting incredible objects for his personal collection. In 1923, he returned to New York and was hired by the newspaper New York Globe. He sold over 500,000 copies of his first book, and thus became the first cartoonist to become a millionaire. His first exhibition of strange objects took place in 1933 in Chicago World’s Fair and since then his collection became incredibly popular. Ripley died in 1949
Sea Life London is an aquarium located in the center of London, opened in 1997. It allows you to discover 500 species on 3 floors in more than 60 tanks, divided into 14 thematic sections. The most spectacular tank is home to more than 40 sharks of 12 different species, including a 2.7 meter tiger shark. Located at the south bank of the Thames river within the County Hall building. The London Film Museum, is a museum dedicated to the British film industry. It was previously known as The Movieum of London and was originally situated in County Hall, but moved to a Covent Garden location in April 2012 ,The main six story building ,construction started in 1911 and the building was opened by King George V in 1922. For 64 years County Hall served as the headquarters of local government for London , When the government of Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC in 1986, County Hall lost its role as the seat of London’s government. The main riverside County Hall building contains the Sea Life London Aquarium, London Dungeon, tas well as the luxury 5-star Marriott County Hall Club & Spa is located on the top floors of this historic landmark building. The official Aquarium of London : https://www.visitsealife.com/london/
The official London tourist office: https://www.visitlondon.com/
There you go folks, a wonderful sights of London ,my curiosities were always a wonderful family trip. We will be back, eventually, Again, hope you enjoy the post on curiosities of London, part II !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all !!!
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