London Times | Big Ben, Trafalgar and Portobello Market

We covered a lot of ground on Day 2 of our visit to the UK. Greeted by ample sunshine and warmish temperature, we headed out to Central London - the Westminster Tube stop - to start our day. The thing is, about a gazillion other people had the same.exact.plan - we weren't quite prepared for the throngs of people on the Tube, at the station, on the street, etc. God bless my sister and her husband for enduring the crowds with two toddlers in a large stroller (aka "pram") - it is quite an effort to travel with little ones in tow and they do it every weekend.

When you emerge from the Westminster Station, you are greeted to this....

...and pretty much all the tourists stop walking to snap a photo [guilty as charged, although I stepped out of the flow of traffic to take the photo].

Westminster Abbey:


Parliament and Big Ben:


A sunny Saturday is bound to attract a number of people to this area, but add in a rehearsal for the upcoming Royal Trooping the Color event and you get even more. Per the British Monarchy Website, "this is a military parade and ceremony dating back to the early eighteenth century or earlier, when the colours (flags) of the battalion were carried (or 'trooped') down the ranks so that they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.". It is also the summer celebration of the Queen's birthday.

We watched some of the ceremony from the outskirts of St James Park:



Then we made our way to Trafalgar Square and passed across the Mall that leads to Buckingham Palace.


The girls posed in front of the famous lions of Trafalgar:


The Square is home to the National Gallery:


Our next stop - Portobello Market - a street market that operates on Saturdays. It is accessible from the Nottinghill Gate Station.


We didn't buy anything, but there was plenty of eye candy to take in:




So, if you are visiting London in summer, be aware that Saturday's in the city are quite crowded, especially when the weather is nice!