Blimey! Bloody Brilliant Britain! [UPDATED!!]

After reading through my cousin Brittany's Tea and Crumpets blog about her experiences in Leeds, England, I feel it essential for me to point out how envious I am of her. If anybody has yet to visit England, I suggest you make it happen soon. I personally have not spent a whole lot of time in England and in fact, I have never been anywhere outside of London. But for me that has been enough to convince me that it would be an awesome place to live temporarily or even permanently. I traveled to London in April of 2008 with Sarah and her family and it served as our springboard to the rest of Western Europe.
We spent three days at a Youth Hostel on Euston Road... about a 5 minute walk from King's Cross station and platform 9 1/3. We spent three days seeing most of the major sights that quintessential London for tourists has to offer. The fantastic thing about London is that free admission is offered to many museums and other attractions. Now, I'm not one for museums usually, but there are some essentials that you wouldn't want to miss. I would recommend that an hour is spent in the British Museum which is found on Great Russell St. The atrium of the building is worth seeing on its own but as you walk into the atrium, head to the left side and pass through the doors to see directly in front of you the Rosetta Stone... Not the software, the actual stone which has been used to translate between ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic text and ancient Greek. This piece of granite is 2206 years old. It is also worth taking a look at the selection of Greek, Egyptian and Roman sculptures.
Another must in London, is the London Eye. The lineups may be long in the summer and it can also be a little bit pricey for some. The cost of admission is roughly £18 per person. HOWEVER... Most attractions in London can be had at half price!! WHAT!?! How?? Head on over to this site www.daysoutguide.co.uk and pick an attraction that you will visit and sign up for a 2 for 1 deal (There are also savings deals on some of the theater shows). You will need to provide a UK address, but simply pick any address at all in London and it will be satisfactory. Once you have signed up for the attraction you will receive an email with a printout ticket that has your name on it. Print it out and take it with you. Finally, you will need to pick up a rail pass at any of the rail stations in the city (I purchased a 3 pound day pass from Charing Cross Station which is located on The Strand [street running toward the Thames from Trafalgar Square]). This rail pass combined with your printed out ticket will be required when purchasing your admission ticket. Also, technically the rail pass can only be used on the day you purchase it, however, I bought my rail pass on Saturday to save money on the London Eye admission, but used it again at the Tower of London on Sunday without any problems.
Fortunately, we busted our behinds around for three days in order to get to all these sites. Reason being, the second time you visit the city you can really enjoy the greatest it has to offer. My favorite thing to do in London is simply walking through the squares and watching the people. The beauty of the streets and the architecture is spectacular. I would recommend you walk from Picadilly Circus to Oxford Circus and check out the buildings as they bend and wind around the corners with the streets. Below is a picture of Regent Street as viewed from Picadilly Circus at your back. Follow this street and you will be walking through London's best shopping district in about 10 minutes.

I've gotta run now, but I will be back to continue my advice on touring London. Until then, happy reading!