Taking the Tube (and gondola, and DLR, and bus, and ferry)

I've settled into Walthamstow and have enjoyed having an actual house to live in, with a bathroom where I don't need to wear flip flops in the shower and actual drawers for my clothes! This post is about my and Megan's day yesterday, in which we took every single form of public transportation that London has to offer: bus, DLR, gondola (seriously), ferry, and underground. For anyone looking to see London on a budget, it's actually a great way to see the city for only 15 pounds! (That's cheaper than the price of a single ride on the Eye).

We took a bus to the Elizabeth Olympic Park, where most of it was closed off for construction. It was strangely empty and eerie, but we did see this funny shiny globe art things:

We then headed over to the Fly Emirates Air Line, which is a Gondola that goes over the Thames River. If you have either a day pass or an Oyster Card (a pay-as-you-go card for the London public transit), then you get a discounted fare of 3.20

Gondolas

Heading up!

Gorgeous clouds that day.

The Thames. That funny looking white dome is the O2 Arena.

Proof that the Thames does NOT simply run east to west.

Me and Megan

We then boarded the ferry, which discounts your ticket from 6.50 to 4.30 if you have the day pass.

The ferry went directly underneath the Tower Bridge!

And we went right past the Tower of London and Traitors Gate

St Paul's Cathedral from the river.

St Paul's Cathedral and the Millenium Bridge.

We then took the tube and walked to Primrose Hill, which is just north of Regents Park and has some of the best panoramic views of London.

The view from the top

It was blustery.

I don't have the panorama feature on my phone, so just click through these and mentally piece them together...

Just below Primrose Hill is Regents Park, which is one of the royal parks. It's much more formal than the other parks I've visited, with well-groomed flower beds and many fountains.

 

Fall is pretty.

So there you have it! If you want a cheap sight-seeing tour of London, purchase a day pass for the Underground (on weekends they don't differentiate between peak and off-peak hours so it's cheaper), head over to the Fly Emirates Air Line, get right on the Ferry from where the Air Line lets off, and take it all the way to Embankment or The Eye. Then hop on the tube or a bus and take it to the vantage point of your choice!

Two more days in London and then it's off to Hamburg!