touristy London

Today I traversed the city of London to find iconic spots and take pictures in them. I realized I couldn't rightfully come back to the states and claim to have lived in London and not have seen Abbey Road. Or Platform 9 3/4. So that's what I did today, with Mary, and I get to check those things off my list of to-see places before I leave. It was exhausting, we probably spent more time underground in the tube trying to get to all different parts of the city, but totally worth it!

Our first stop was King's Cross St Pancras station to find Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. Station officials moved the prop from the actual spot between platforms 9 and 10 to a little shed outside the station, because too many people were crowding the station just to get a picture. Still pretty cool though.

Inside the King's Cross tube station, there was an ad for California! What a weird coincidence! It's a picture of Santa Cruz!

If you are reading this post within 24 hours of my posting it, you can go to abbeyroad.com and look at 2:28 pm and you will see Mary and I crossing Abbey Road via their webcam (we enter the scene at 2:23:58)!! (It gets erased after 24 hours though ... still cool to see others crossing though!)

So actually crossing Abbey Road is embarrassing. The people trying to drive on the road honk at you, there's a group of awkward people waiting to take their own picture, and no one naturally walks with their arms and legs spread like the Beatles in the picture... it's just a funny scene. But I knew I had to do it. I waited for a gap in traffic, and made my dash across the road. I just couldn't bring myself to walk the Beatles walk though -- maybe if I had three other people to legitimately do it with, but not on my own.

This is the tiled wall inside the Baker Street tube station -- Sherlock Holmes' neighborhood!

After Abbey Road we headed to Burough Market, recently voted the best outdoor market in England. It's mostly gourmet cheeses, oils, spices and veggies. We wandered around, got some presents for people back home, and got some dinner outside the Southwark Cathedral.

We ended the day by walking along the London Bridge. From the bridge you can see St Paul's Cathedral, the Thames and the Tower Bridge. Moments like this make me stop to think about how lucky I am, to get to stand in a place like this, let alone live in the city.