Charlie, welcome to the thread!
Not sure if I posted about London. I see my google photos only go back to 2008, so I'll give a quick (from memory, picture-free) report.
It started off in kind of an interesting way. British Airways was just starting service direct to Gatwick from London, and I got a fare for some ridiculously cheap price (~$400?). I'd just moved to Denver in the spring, so didn't have a bunch of time off. Only went for a long weekend over our Thanksgiving (late November), maybe 4-5 days?
First time to Europe, and really the first time anywhere truly on my own. I'd taken a trip to the Caribbean a couple years earlier, but that was mostly just hanging out at a resort, not too much touring.
Got hold of our company's travel agent, who found a place near Paddington to stay, and got me a ticket for public transport so I could go around.
Fly overnight to Gatwick, arriving really tired. Got to see a little of the south of England. Found my way to Paddington, wandered around til I found the hotel. Much different than what I'm used to in USA #n, the room was barely bigger than the bed (that's all I needed, so not bad, just different). Remember going around the corner to a local pub, trying to stay up til ~normal bedtime. Nodding off in the pub, watching football with the locals. Went back to hotel in early evening.
Over the course of the few days, did a lot of the touristy things. Out to Greenwich to see the Royal Observatory and Prime Meridian. Wandered into the First Shop in the World (24 seconds west), where I learned about the difference between England and the UK from the shopkeeper.
Tower of London, where I got admonished for using flash to take a picture of the crown jewels. Walked around from Parliament/Downing Street/Buckingham. Have a decent picture of Parliament in my house, taken from the far side of the Thames. Did see the dressed-up guys on horses. Not sure if it was the changing of the guard or what.
One night I'm in the pub near my hotel, and somebody with an American accent asks me something about London. "I don't know, I'm an American too, and just got here." We got to talking, they were living around Atlanta. When I told them I lived in Westminster, they inquired further. Turns out they used to live a neighborhood or two over from where I was at the time. Small world; it's amazing how frequently I run into people in all parts of the world with some connection to a part of my past or present.
Being a fan, went out to Baker Street one day. Kind of disappointing museum of Sherlock Holmes, but had a nice time in a pub out there.
The only time I went out of town, connected with a day trip out to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was interesting to see after all those years; well-signed and informative, but you can't really get close, and ultimately it's some big rocks out in a field. Plus, the weather was foggy and cool.
Found Bath much more interesting than I thought I would. Not usually much of a student of history, but the tour guide did a really good job explaining how it was unearthed and what they'd discovered. Found a pub for lunch, and we piled back on the bus. Got to talking to an older couple from North Carolina on the way back, that was nice.
On the flight back, the we're going along in the dark and the guy in the aisle seat says, "there's a town down there." We figured we were flying over Greenland or some such at the time, and there were lights of a small fishing village down there, with
absolutely nothing around it as far as the eye could see.
I'd say, within the context of my limited experience, London is one of the great cities of the world. Expensive, but fun. Should go back, there's so much I didn't get a chance to experience.
Plus, the beer was
really good. First time I'd gotten to try London Pride, A+. Food worked for me, I'm a meat-and-potatoes guy, so going to the pub for dinner was just great.
Thanks for bringing back some nice memories, Charlie. I'll give a shout if I'm ever back; please do likewise if you're ever in the Denver area.
P.S. My Westminster and London's are both great, but in very different ways.