Day 1 - London Highlights

Brief Introduction of our day!

Today we went to many iconic places and attractions such as the National History Museum, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Eye and many more. We enjoyed learning about the interesting history of these places from our Tour Guide!  ‌Read on to find out more!

Day 1

After many hours of travel, we are here! Our first stop was our hotel but because we couldn't check in in the morning, we dropped our luggage off first and took a walk to the Natural History Museum which was our second stop!

Facade of the Natural History Museum

Inside the Natural History Museum; so intricate, so beautiful

At the Natural History Museum, we learnt a lot about animals, evolution and why the study of nature is so important even today. We saw dinosaur fossils and many other persevered animals like sharks, bears and kangaroos, etc.

"The animals that captivated me most were the mammals. The museum keeps many preserved mammals, some of which are endangered or extinct today and it's an eye opener to learn more about them." - Benjamin

"We then had our first meal in London of pasta and salad! So healthy right? In fact, I used to think salads were not nice at all but after having a delicious salad a the museum cafe, I think salad can be nice and not bad after all!" - Siyu

Pasta and Salad yums!

Wannabe archaeologists 

We then commenced our walking tour of the area with our knowledgeable guide Ms Themis! We started off at Prince Albert Memorial in Hyde Park and walked by Harrods, the most renown departmental store in London. Did you know that it used to sell animals and had a zoo? Can you imagine that in a departmental store! 

Prince Albert Memorial

Royal Albert Hall; Home of the Proms

Harrods just ahead of us

We then made our way to Buckingham Palace which was very nice but very crowded. We learnt that when the Union Jack flag is up, it means that the Queen isn't in the Palace and she's probably in Windsor Castle. Only if a blue flag with the Queen's crest is up then that means she's in the Palace. She wasn't in :( We also learnt that there are 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace and only 75 toilets!

The regal Buckingham Palace

"As we walked through the St James' Park, we saw many people doing different activities, everyone was active and made the park very lively. In Singapore, parks hardly have anyone in them in the day, however here in St James' Park, there were people having picnics, jogging, riding on the swings and many more. What makes the park even more beautiful than it already is are the ducks and the swans that were in the pond and on the water's edge. ‌This motivates me to visit the parks more often." - Benjamin

Time for a picnic stop at the park!

Our last stop was the River Thames where we saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, however it was under construction and we could only see the clock on one side. Better luck next time!

Big Ben under construction

Enjoying the river scene after a long day

We walked to all the famous attractions in the area today and clocked a total of 20000 steps each! It was very tiring but we all had fun and it was worth it! 

"Before we came to London, I used to think that London would only have a few nice looking buildings, but now I think that almost all the buildings are very nice because of the style of architecture, the intricacies and the details put into all the buildings here." - Aminah

"‌After spending a day in London, I used to think that life here was as fast paced and that people do things quickly to but now I think that the people here are chill and relaxed because they walk slowly and usually walk with their friends and families. This is not common in Singapore as everyone walks alone and very quickly to work or school and many hardly have time to enjoy themselves. London has definitely blown my mind today." - Benjamin

"My favourite part of the entire day (other than going back to the hotel to rest because we were so tired) was getting to walk down the streets of London with Aminah. I enjoyed "monkeying" around with her, dancing and singing as we walked down streets and taking a lot of #tourist photos. Thank you Miss Amanda and Mr Mong for taking care of us, it was an amazing first day!! :) - Siyu

It's night time here now! The 9.30 pm view from the hotel is so beautiful but we are simply too tired to enjoy the scenery.

Goodnight London! Its been wonderful so far!