We step into the map and decide to cut through the park to get to Big Ben. Westminster Abbey is pretty much across the street from parliament so we head there first. The cool thing about London is that many of the attractions are actually free to get into. Well, they advertise as "free" but do suggest a donation to help keep it free. I operate on the principle that I will tour around it first and then if I like it make a donation. Of course I have a change of heart when it comes time to do so. I figure they can go talk to the sandwich shop that charged me seven bucks for a tuna on white. THERE'S my donation.
Westminster Abbey is not one of the free attractions. It's a neat looking building and I would like to go look around but the place is packed and it is 10 GBP ($20 CDN) to go in. Normally I wouldn't mind paying that but considering the giant crowd and all I decide not to.
I am starting to recognize what London is all about and why a lot of Londoners are whinging about it. The tourism is based on telling people what they should be seeing and steering them there. The tourists' presence is so overwhelming that they actually become part of the culture they are traveling to see. There isn't as much immersion as I have experienced in other cities like Berlin and New York. By no means did I behave like a local in either of those locations but there is opportunity to blend in to the surroundings a little more than London.
We snap some pictures and cross over to Big Ben.
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