Tuesday 15th Dec 2009
Our 1st day in London! The first thing we had to do was to get our bearings; work out how to
use the tube, find our accommodation in Paddington and do some shopping!
Mum and I didn’t really have proper winter clothing so we began the search. We caught the
tube to Oxford Circus and then wandered around the city from there. During the day we found
ourselves in places like Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, places only found on a
Monopoly board! While we were in Covent Garden we dropped into the Opera House to see what
was on. We bought tickets to the Royal Ballet’s performance of Les Patineurs and Tales of Beatrix
Potter as well as a Backstage Tour. By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted.

Wednesday 16th Dec 2009
After hardly sleeping on the plane we slept for nearly 14 hours and woke up to snow! Today
we went into the city and found out where Pineapple Dance Studios are, we then decided to go to
the National Art Gallery in Trafalgar Square. We saw paintings by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci,
Van Gough, Monet and Cézanne, a collection that you just wouldn’t find in Australia. Afterwards we
walked up Regent Street and went into the biggest toy store in Britain, Hamleys.
By the afternoon the snow had become quite heavy so Mum and caught the tube to
Knightsbridge to go and have a look at the famous department store, Harrods. After a long day of
walking we headed back to our hotel for the night.

Thursday 17th Dec 2009
Today we spent the day in Hyde Park, we walked through ‘Winter Wonderland’, an area of
Hyde Park with rides, ‘winter’ foods and an ice skating rink set up throughout winter each year. We
sat and ate our lunch surrounded by squirrels. It was absolutely FREEZING!
We caught the train to Westminster and walked around Westminster Abbey. We then
walked down the street to The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Here we walked through
the underground headquarters of the British government’s fight against the Nazis. I found it very
interesting, it showed us what life wound have been like living down there. We then walked around
seeing sights such as Big Ben and Houses of Parliament then headed back to Paddington.