{my trip in photos: london 2012}

Happy Monday! Hope you had a marvelous weekend and are ready to face a new week ...

This weekend I finally began to sort through my photos of my European getaway, and I thought I would break up my posts by city. So here first is my view & list of must-see's in London-town, merely two weeks before the festivities of the Olympics began {all images taken by me, my dad, and brother - it was a family effort!}

A view of Big Ben - did you know the name actually refers to the BELL inside of the tower, and not the clock itself?

We stayed at the Lancaster Gate Hotel pictured below. A very picturesque & safe area, I would definitely recommend it. I loved that everything was black & white, with pops of red from flowers, to shiny buses, to the iconic and oh-so-charming telephone booths.

I'd recommed bringing along a classic trench coat, and as many pretty scarves as you can pack {layering is key in a city that experiences rain, wind, and sun all in a matter of hours}. I kept a small umbrella tucked in my purse at all times! Couldn't risk that flat-ironed hair getting wet after all ;)

Buckingham palace is a sight to see with all of it's grandeur and opulence! I loved all the little details. You can catch the changing of the guards every morning in the summertime.

A hit of neon in the streets ...

The newly iconic London Eye is the perfect high viewing point to capture a photo or two of the historic Parliament building and the great River Thames.

And speaking of history, another must-see ... Westminster Abbey. The details are nothing short of glorious! Everything is on a massive scale, the pictures can't quite do it justice.

Getting prepped for the games: I felt lucky to be there in a time when excitment could be felt in the air!

Another recommendation: book tickets ahead of time to watch a Shakespearean play in the open-air replica Globe theatre {Something I wish we could have done but I didn't know about ahead of time!}. It's been made to the exact specifications of the original playhouse, and it's the only remaining thatched roof since the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Oh, and of course it was also fantastic to simply roam the streets and take it all in, especially in a place where even the street-lamps are elaborate and glamorous!

Have you been to London recently? What a beautiful place filled with history. Anything else to add to this list? I'll recap Paris & Rome this week as well; each place was so different & so wonderful in it's own way.