Here are some snapshots of  other places of interest in London . It was a pleasure to explore her streets; marveling at the fabulous mix of history, modernity and pop culture located at almost every corner. In fact more so than New York or Paris but equal to Chicago (still my favorite city outside of Manila and Cebu), I could actually see myself living here, maybe as a student, possibly as an expatriate. Time will tell. * It seems that almost every corner in the city has a story to tell, a tale of heroism, tragedy, travesty or oddity, what with the thousands of random things you can find; such as this  Memorial to the Royal Artillery  located randomly in the middle of a park.

Continuing on my tour of British Royal Residences, I was able to spend a couple of hours in  Kensington Palace . While the Queen certainly favors Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace as her official residences, Kensington Palace was the l ong-time home of  Princess Diana  and currently serves as home to the  Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) and their son, George . * Some nice and quaint-looking buildings greeted us upon exiting the  High Street Kensington tube station . It soon became apparent that we were walking along a more affluent side of town!

Pretty much every great city in the world has an equally  great museum . And in all my travels, I have been fortunate enough to have seen a few REALLY awesome ones;  Paris ,  New York ,  Chicago ,  Jerusalem  and  Rome  come to mind. So when I realized that I had a few hours to kill, I knew that I HAD to check out the  British Museum ,  one of the largest and most comprehensive museums in the world! I am happy to rank this as my  UNDISPUTED FAVORITE museum  ever ; with collections originating from practically every continent. Best of all,  admission is FREE ; with the rationale being that all objects found therein belong to all of humanity. God bless them Brits! * Accessed via the  Holborn or Tottenham Court Road Tube Station , the British Museum was established in  1753  and has a neo-classical exterior. Originally, the collections found therein were all originally owned and thereafter donated by the physician and scientist   Sir Hans Sloane .  

* Originally built to commemorate the  British naval victory  at the  Battle of Trafalgar  over the forces of Napoleon during the  Napoleonic Wars ,  Trafalgar Square  is today a bustling public space full of tourists, relaxed Londoners and the occasional protesters. It is also London's  main venue for rallies and public celebrations  such as the countdown to New Year's Eve. * At the head of the Square stands the neo-classical  National Gallery , the  fifth most visited art museum in the world,  showcasing a collection of paintings dating back to the  13th Century . Among the  two thousand paintings  featured here, are among those done by the masters:  Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, and Van Gogh .

While  Buckingham Palace  is designated as the  Monarch's official residence , the current Queen,  Elizabeth II , usually  spends her weekends in Windsor Castle . Built by  William the Conqueror   (the same guy who built the Tower of London)  in  1080 , the Castle is the  longest-occupied palace in all of Europe   whose purpose was to guard the Western approach to London with its strategically important location along the River Thames. * To get to Windsor, one has to take a  30-minute train  ride to the  county of Berkshire  via the  London Paddington Station . Thanks to the  London Pass , we didn't have to worry about any lines or payment! Paddington is also the line servicing the cities of  Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Oxford and Worcester , thus making this a very busy place for travelers. 

If  Rome  has the grandeur of  St. Peter's Basilica ,  London  has the magnificence of  St. Paul's Cathedral . Located in the ancient square mile known as the  City of London   (which is the ancient, historic city located inside the current city of Greater London) , the Cathedral stands tall as a proud icon of the English people. And nowhere was this more apparent than during  World War II , when images of the Cathedral  standing resilient amidst a city devastated  by Nazi bombing became effective propaganda symbols of English resiliency. * Built after the  Great Fire of 1666 , the Cathedral was the masterpiece of   Sir Christopher Wren , one of the most esteemed English architects in history. Having overseen the  reconstruction of at least 52 churches  after the fire, Wren was also popular within the scientific-intellectual community with his contributions to science being highly praised by contemporaries such as  Isaac Newton  and  Blaise Pascal .

Of all the sights in London, only one place can claim to be as  historically significant as it is significantly haunted . Built in  1078  by the Norman King,  William the Conqueror , the  Tower of London  has served as a  royal palace, armory, treasury, zoo  and most famously, a  prison  where some of the most famous characters in English history have been imprisoned, tortured and executed. Today, the fortress is one of London's most famous tourists spots, as it also  houses the Crown Jewels  of the UK. * After getting of the  Tower Hill Tube Station , expect to take a 15 minute pleasant stroll towards the main entrance of the Tower.

For first timers to both London and Paris, I would highly recommend getting this nifty travelling tool known as the  London Pass (or conversely the Paris Pass) . For the price of  £77 , one gets  access to all the major tourist spots  with special  cut-the-queue lines , discounts on various restaurants and services and more importantly,  FREE access to the London Tube  for three full days! A VERY good deal indeed for those planning on maximizing their visits on limited tour dates. Upon looking at the London Pass booklet, my cousins and I were stoked to find a special offer for the  Blood and Tears Haunted London Walk . For the price of  £7.00 , we got to go on this highly-rated and recommended walking tour, focusing on the bizarre, creepy and occult-ish elements of this medieval city. * Having met our guide,  Declan McHugh , on the  Barbican tube station , we started our  one hour and 45 minute walking tour  of London's gruesome and freaky history, including areas w

One cannot go to London and NOT SEE Westminster Abbey !  To do so would be a grand disservice to your trip. I mean how can you not experience the  most important (and heck, oldest) church in London :  site of coronations, burials, memorials, and lookalike to every Citadel in our dreams?! Yeah, I'm a big fan of this place. So big that I purposely and happily went here thrice in the two times that I've visited London! *  Taking the tube  to Westminster and  getting off Westminster Station , short and sweet!! While I greatly appreciated the presence of English all around (compared to everywhere else in Europe), I must say that  I found the Paris Metro to be more navigable compared to the London Tube . Must be because the Metro uses a numbering system (Get off the 6, Hop on the 9) compared to the system of the Tube which uses named lines (Jubilee Line... Jubilee Line.. Wait, what I am doing on the Metropolitan Line?!)

Across the river from the London Eye stands  Westminster , England's  political and religious center . Since the  11th Century , Westminster has proudly been the center of power for the English people from the moment  King Canute built his palace  here and his successor,  Edward the Confessor , founded Westminster Abbey right beside it . On a regular day, expect to see crowds of civil servants and tourists coexisting in this tiny yet hallowed area. * Taken from Parliament Square is this shot of  Parliament on the right  and the  Norman Shaw Buildings , the original site of the famous  Scotland Yard  synonymous with Sherlock Holmes and detective work,  on the left .

Being a big fan of  Sherlock Holmes , the movie  Eurotrip , British musicians such as the  Beatles , Coldplay  etc, and  British imperial history , I knew that  London  would be the  pinnacle of any European sojourn.  There are just too many places here that I wanted to see! However to have the chance to  visit the city twice in two years  (one with family in 2012, the other for work in 2013), gave me a good appreciation of what this city has to offer. And like any traveler in the good old days, I did what any newcomer in a strange locale was expected to first do upon arriving, and that is to   pay my respects to the Sovereign . *  Buckingham Palace  is known the world over as the  official residence of the British Monarchy . As you can see in the succeeding photographs, there is a  huge difference   between the size of the crowd last year (2012) and this year (2013). When I visited last year, it was about the time that the London Olympics had just ended and for some r

As an added bonus to what was already an awesome trip, we were able to visit an honest-to-goodness  Scottish castle ! Built in  1546 ,  Ballindalloch , known affectionately as the  Pearl of the North , is one of the more beautiful and romantic-looking castles in Scotland. Having been continuously occupied by the  Macpherson-Grant family  since its inception, the estate and its grounds are now open to the public as a museum, distillery, public garden, golf course, dog walking park and ranch serving its own renowned Angus beef. * Driving by  Lord of the Rings-esque   landscapes  on the way to the castle. I'm pretty sure that there are orcs / barbarians / vikings hiding in that forest.

The second stop on our whiskey tour was the   Glenlivet Distillery , producer of the renowned Glenlivet single-malt (duh!). Known as the  "single malt that started it all,"  Glenlivet is currently the  biggest selling single malt brand in the US   and is personally my favorite single-malt scotch. * This sign goes to show how all of our beloved scotch whiskey brands are just literally,  neighbors .

For  my profession , I find that I am extremely lucky to be able to call myself a  salesman   of some of the  world's finest brands of spirits and liqueurs . It's one thing to care about what it is you sell, may it be a service, smartphone, shoes, food, but  to actually LOVE what you sell   (and I do love my booze)  is an entirely different thing. It is in this spirit that I, along with my officemates, was very fortunate to have been sent on an   educational trip to Scotland , where our beloved scotch whiskey brands are produced. * On the road, we passed by  warehouses full of Chivas Regal , definitely  my preferred blended scotch  due to its  sweetness  and  smooth finish  as compared with other scotch brands. It was surreal to realize that a bottle of scotch that I will enjoy years from now, is currently in one of these warehouses. 

In between the company scheduled tours, dinners and activities, I found some time to walk around and explore the area our hotel was located in. To my surprise, I found out that  Elgin  was a former  cathedral city   (town built around a medieval cathedral)  created as a  Royal Burgh   (official royal town)  in the  12th century   by  King David I of Scotland . So historically, there are a lot of places here to whet one's appetite. On a pop culture note,  the Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd and The Kinks  all performed in a  d ance hall  here back in the  60's ; so, add extra points for coolness!! * The view of the town from my  attic-style hotel room's window !

After 13 hours, 3 movies, 5 TV shows, 2 full meals, 1 in-flight magazine (read from cover-to-cover) and numerous conversations with my colleagues, we finally arrived in London.. just in time to catch our connecting flight to Scotland! * Thank God for the gift of   aisle seating  as I had the chance to stretch every few hours. I could have happily walked for miles upon arriving in Heathrow after that grueling flight duration.