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London, a city where you can see Sun, rain and Queen at the same time

14 November 2017 11:00 (UTC +04:00)

The rain drops are glowing on the fallen leaves on the ground as the first rays of the Sun begin to shine. Although the weather looks sunny, I can feel the cold of November in my hands as they’re beginning to freeze. I had just thought it was high time I wore gloves that I accidentally bumped into a woman who was passing by. I turned around and saw a middle-aged woman who apologized to me. I, too, apologized to her in my turn. After thanking each other, she went her way and I went mine…

It might be the first time you’re witnessing such a tradition, but after living in London for a time, you too—like everyone else—will eventually get used to the ‘culture of apology’, which is characteristic of the English. Or even you become part of the culture, let alone get accustomed to it.

Everyone has their own reason for visiting London, a city that is visited by millions of people annually. Some visit Albion as a tourist, while others come here for study or work. For whatever reason you come, London will soon make you fall in love with itself.

As a person who has been living here for 15 years, I would like to inform you about my favorite aspects of London. But first of all, I want to give you a reminder beforehand that London’s must-see places are innumerable to write about. Those in particular who come here for the first time are fascinated by every street, especially those two- or three-storey houses you might remember seeing in films. But since we have to start from a point anyway, I would like to start with parks. Hyde Park, Green Park, Regent’s Park, St James Park, Kensington Gardens are London’s major parks, even symbols. There are spectacular views in parks. There are spectacular views in parks. You can meet people doing sports, families with their children, animal lovers walking with their pets, or sitting and listening, sometimes sunbathing at any time of the day. Even in rainy weather, which is constantly prevalent in London...

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Museums are the second magnificent places in London that lead to an increase in tourist flows. You can see works of the world’s most famous artists at museums in London without any payment. The reason for this is that many museums and galleries are supported by the state. So you can admire free of charge, for example, the beauty of Monet’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery.

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Another symbol of London is, of course, Westminster's territory with the famous London Eye and Big Ben. You will see people on the Westminster Bridge posing for a picture at the best angle with these two famous symbols of London. If you had a chance to travel to London at least once before, the concrete barriers newly installed on entrances and exits of London bridges in order to protect pedestrians from terrorist attacks can be attractive for you. However, these barriers which remind the recent terrible terrorist attacks could not harm London’s beauty and hinder tourist arrivals in this city.

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Buckingham Palace, the home of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, is one of the symbols of London. Queen Elizabeth II, in turn, is the main symbol of Great Britain.

After walking slowly through St James Park and looking at and taking photos of squirrels, you can see the palace where people compete with one another to take photos in front of its gate. When I went to take photo in front of the palace, I could see the Queen in a car leaving the Palace. And as always, hundreds of locals and tourists gather in front of the Palace to be able to see the Queen just for a second at least. I should note that the English people have special love for the royal family. The Palace is open to visitors several times a year. If you, by chance, are in London on such days, you will have the chance to see certain parts of this magnificent building. However, it is recommended to buy tickets in advance.

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As I mentioned above, it's easy to start, but hard to put an end to writing about London. Noting that there are so many things to write about every part of the city and promising to further write about every place of London, that’s all for now!

Aytan Abbasli, APA London

Photos are copyrighted by the author.