Having spent a fantastic two and half days in Paris, I got up the following morning to head to Paris’s main train station, and the busiest train station in all of Europe – Gare du Nord:

It’s also the hub for Eurostar trains to London – which was why I found myself in Gare du Nord.

I was able to take the world famous Eurostar train from Gare du Nord to St. Pancras International in London – one of Europe’s most iconic high-speed routes which takes you under the English Channel:

In just two and half hours, I arrived at London’s St. Pancras train station:

I quickly made my way to the Tube inside King’s Cross (which shares the station complex with St. Pancras International), and rode six stops to Green Park Station.

One I arrived at Green Park Station, it was just a two block walk to my chosen hotel – the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane:

This was easily one of the nicest hotels in which I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying.  Thanks to my Marriott status, I was upgraded to an impressive room with one of the nicest showers I’ve ever used.   Steeped in Art Deco elegance and British history, the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane has been a filming location for several movies and television shows.  In 1947, a young Princess Elizabeth (just 21 at the time) took dancing lessons in the hotel’s ballroom.  It’s also just a couple of blocks from The Ritz Hotel (where Julia Robert’s character stayed in the move Knotting Hill), about three blocks from some of the best shopping in the world on Bond Street, and just across Green Park from Buckingham Palace.  You really couldn’t ask for a better location.

After getting settled into my room, I headed out with my camera gear.  I was meeting another photographer that I’d hired to show me around to the best locations in London to do some night photography.  As I was following my Google Maps walking directions to the appointed meeting location, Having taken the tube to Waterloo Station, I started walking to the London Eye area when I stumbled into one of the most stunning street art displays I’ve ever seen.  The location is known by many names – the Leake Street Arches, more famously the Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel, or simply Banksy Tunnel.

After going through the tunnel it was a short walk to the London Eye where I met the photographer who would be taking me on my private tour.  Like myself, she was a Canon shooter, but had not yet transitioned to mirrorless and was still shooting DSLRs.  Still she was quite familiar with the equipment I was using and she gave me some great tips on long exposure photography.  Here’s some of the photos we took that evening:

It was a fantastic evening that again ended up with many steps taken and very tired feet.

The next morning I got up early, grabbed a quick (but delightful) breakfast at the hotel, and headed out on my own.  No tours planned.  No specific agendas – just some sightseeing in London.

The Ritz hotel:

Piccadilly Circus:

Just a couple blocks behind Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus is London’s Chinatown:

I then headed to Neal’s Yard:

Next up was a visit to Knotting Hill:

The bookstore that the film Knotting Hill was based:

The colorfully painted railway bridge at Camden Town Station in North London:

Since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to swing by Kensington Palace:

I sprang for the tour, which was amazing.  Room after room of priceless art and antiques.

The Sunken Garden at Kensington Garden:

 

Princess Diana was known to frequent and enjoy this garden during her years living at the palace.  In 2021, it became even more iconic when it was redesigned as a tribute to Diana, and it’s now home to the Princess Diana statue unveiled by Princes William and Harry.

The Orangery at Kensington Palace:

I had covered a lot of ground and was ready to break for lunch.  I found a proper English pub for some fish and chips:

…and yes, English fish and chips is somewhat…bland.

After recharging my batteries, I decided to head over to Bond Street for some serious shopping.  I’ve seen the best shopping venues in the US – Rodeo Drive.  5th Avenue in Manhattan.  Las Vegas.  None of that compared to Bond Street:

In particular, the watch shopping was unparalleled.  I had been looking forward to visiting the new Rolex Boutique that Watches of Switzerland in partnership with Rolex had opened just two weeks earlier on Bond Street:

It’s billed as the largest Rolex boutique in all of Europe.  I spent plenty of time inside – look for a special report coming soon.

After shopping, I went back to the hotel, cleaned up and headed out to make the dinner reservation that I’d made at Beast in London.  It was darn difficult to find – they had a tiny sign that was behind a tree:

The inside reminded me of eating at Hofbräuhaus earlier in the week – bench seating:

I started with the Alaskan king crab legs:

For the main course I had their Kobe A5 Wagyu beef filet:

The next morning I was up early again and out the door for a formal tour.  This time, it would primarily be a bus taking us from point to point – So I headed to Victoria Station:

The first stop on the bus tour would be Buckingham Palace:

From there we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral.

I’ve been inside many, many churches across Europe and St. Paul’s Cathedral was far and away the most beautiful.

Our tour guide took us to what is considered perhaps the most sacred part of St. Paul’s Cathedral – the American Memorial Chapel.  It’s a section dedicated to the brave US soldiers who died defending Great Brittan during World War II:

The book in this case is called the Roll of Honour, which you saw in that glass case near the High Altar, contains the names of approximately 28,000 American service members stationed in the UK who died during WWII.  Every day  a page is turned in the book to ensure each name is periodically displayed and remembered.  I’m not ashamed to admit that learning of the gratitude to and reference for the US and their fallen soldiers brought tears to my eyes.

We were taken down into the catacombs of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and we stood before the tomb of the architect of this amazing church – Sir Christopher Wren:

In case your Latin is a bit rusty, let me provide you with the translation:

“Here in its foundations lies Christopher Wren, the builder of this church and of the city,who lived for over ninety years, not for his own profit, but for the public good.  Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you.”  He died on the 25th of February, 1723, at the age of 91.

The trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral was a highlight of my visit to London.

We then headed to Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, or what’s less formally known as the Tower of London:

Here are the famed ravens of the Tower of London:

These (quite large) ravens are practically VIPs inside the Tower.  According to legend, “If  the ravens ever leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall.”  Because of that, at least six ravens are kept at the Tower at all times, by royal decree.  Normally the ravens are allowed to roam freely throughout the tower of London.  But my visit was about a week before VE day (Victory in Europe Day, commemorating May 8, 1945—the day Nazi Germany officially surrendered to the Allied forces), one of the most celebrated holidays in the UK.  In preparation for VE day, hundreds, if not thousands of red ceramic poppies were placed in the green areas in the Tower of London. 

Because the ravens might try to eat the red ceramic poppies (which can been behind the cages), the ravens  were caged for their own protection.  The red poppy became a symbol of remembrance in Britain (and across the Commonwealth) after World War I, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields.”  My mother used to read this poem to me as a child.  In Flanders Fields isn’t merely a poem of remembrance—it’s a call to the living to honor the fallen not only with silence, but with action. To wear the poppy, yes—but also to pick up the torch they dropped and carry it forward.  

The biggest reason most people visit the Tower of London is to see the Royal Crown Jewels:

The line to get in to see the Crown Jewels can be hours long at times – we got lucky and waiting maybe 20 minutes.  Unfortunately, no photos of the Crown Jewels collection were permitted.

This is a photo of Tower Bridge, in its now iconic blue and white color scheme for Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.  The Tower Bridge is often confused with London Bridge – a far less impressive structure. Tower Bridge gets its name from it’s proximity to the Tower of London.  

The final stop of my bus tour was to the London Eye for a cruise down the Thames River.  It got a bit cloudy toward the end of the day, but I still managed to get a nice photo or two:

After the short river cruise, I had the opportunity to ride in a vintage double decker bus that was open air.

We drove by many interesting parts of London, including the Thames House, and yes—it’s the headquarters of MI5, the UK’s domestic intelligence agency.

We also drove by the SIS building on the south bank of the River Thames – headquarters to MI6…que the James Bond theme song:

Eventually we arrived at the final tour destination – world famous Herrod’s department store:

I was blown away by the shopping opportunities inside Herrods.  It was like Bond Street was contained inside the enormous building.  Of course, I had to check out the watch shopping inside of Herrod’s, and I was not disappointed.

Phenomenal.  That’s the only word that comes to mind to describe Herrods.

After some shopping I headed back to my hotel, grabbed dinner, and then got some shut eye as I had an early flight from Heathrow back to the US.

My #2025europeantour was an absolute success.  The weather.  The food.  I could not have asked for anything better throughout the entire 7 days I was in Europe.  Now that I’ve crossed London and Paris off my list, I’ll have to make my way to Italy and Spain on the next trip.  Can’t wait!