We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the hotel and also found it was a fabulous location, a stone’s throw away from the Borough Markets, London Bridge and Southbank, a gorgeous walk along the banks of the Thames for which we would find many neat surprises. But our first stop after checking in at the hotel was Wagamama along Southbank housed under a huge stone archway, for plates of noodles and curry.
As it was looking like a promising sight-seeing day, we walked off lunch along the Thames, towards the London Eye. On the way down, we found many surprises such as the South Bank Book Market on the cobbled street under the archway of one of London’s many bridges.
Not too far from here, the London Eye appears majestically, leisurely rotating over the riverbanks of the Thames.
Be warned the lines are long, but on holiday one should not be in too much of a rush anyway. The glass pods are spacious and hold up to 20 people. As the wheel takes you up, London as you have never seen it before, dramatically unfolds before your eyes.
The view from the Eye is nothing less than unique. There are very few opportunities to view London from the height that the Eye offers as the city boasts very few high rises. And even then, those high rises are accessed by only a privileged few.
An interesting article appeared in The Guardian newspaper today on the history of the London Eye. Little known facts and quirks about how the modern ferris wheel came (and almost didn’t come) to be, are as interesting as looking at the rotating glass baubles itself.
For instance, did you know that the Sunday Times commissioned a competition for its readers to "design a monument for the dawn of a new era"? However, when the entries were in, the newspaper announced that none were imaginative enough. But husband and wife team, David Marks and Julia Barfield, couldn’t let the idea of their 21st century ferris wheel go and set upon building the structure themselves. The article goes on to describe Marks and Barfield’s journey with getting British Airways to fund the project and the years they spent visiting and selling the idea to get approval from an infinite number of stakeholder groups, including all 33 London boroughs!
The initial plan for the London Eye was that it was to only be a temporary structure (for 5 years) on the banks of the Thames to celebrate the Millennium. But don’t worry, if you haven’t visited yet, the Eye is here to stay, especially seeing as it draws in 3.5 million visitors a year and very few people, locals and tourists alike, would disagree that it doesn’t provide for a spectacular sight along the riverbanks of the Thames.
While many think the 15 pounds is a steep price for a 30 minute ride, the Eye is still voted the best European attraction on Tripadvisor and definitely tops our list as one of the most memorable things to do in London.
After the excitement of the London Eye, it was a relaxing walk through the bustling streets of London to the shopping districts of Covent Garden and Regent Street. Regent Street is a shopaholics playground with row after row of flagship stores of all the big UK and European brands such as Mango.
Before being tempted by the shops, we had to hop on a bus to get to the leafy West London to meet Wendy and Will, fresh from a weekend away in Lake Como (hence the gorgeous tans!) for dinner at their local Chinese restaurant, Gold Mine.
