London, UK

We arrived in London on New Years Eve, had a driver waiting (thank you Qantas Business Class) to take us to our accommodation for the next three nights at Chelsea Cloisters Sloane Avenue London SW3 3DW.  Being New Years Eve the price for accommodation in London which is typically high became close to exorbitant. Our accommodation was small for four adults, it boasted a two bedroom apartment, which it was but the bathroom was tiny, and the kitchen was a kitchenette at most. The bedrooms were decent. The complex was huge, and you walked quite a way along small corridors. I believe it's both holiday rental and residential. The best thing I can say is that its location is fabulous, pretty much between Chelsea & South Kensington. There are stores & restaurants in both directions of the apartment block, and Knightsbridge and Harrods are only a 20min walk away.

Harrods - Knightsbridge London

Getting used to the Winter hours, darkness arriving at 4:30 pm makes the day short and the night very long.  If you're going to be in London on New Years Eve like we were and you want to see the fireworks, you need to plan ahead. It's now a ticketed event and fenced off. You can still watch the fireworks from further along the river but for prime viewing, you need tickets and it's sold out in advance.
New Years Day brought on the 30th-anniversary parade that starts at Trafalgar Square and winds through the city streets. Getting around London's CBD also proves more difficult as the roads are fenced off and you can only cross at certain times & places. One of the major acts that parades are the American Cheerleaders, this year there were approximately 150 from all over the USA. I still am unsure of the relevance of the cheerleaders in this parade, but everyone loved them and, in turn, they loved being there.

Our group wanted to experience all things English in a couple of days we had in London. So the best way to get around is to walk or use the underground train system, which is quick and efficient. We chose to walk past Buckingham Palace and caught the changing of the Guards. Heard Big Ben Chime, took photos with the London bus & phone booth. Ate homemade steak pie in an English pub and went ice skating to Winter Wonderland. We watched the New Year' Eve fireworks and the New Year's Day parade and of course, we also walked a majority of the monopoly board; this filled our couple of days and nights quite adequately.

All things English

As we are returning to London at the end of the Austrian portion of our trip, we plan on discovering more of London.