KarenThompkins: Iconic London

During my 10-day visit to London, I took over 300 photos using my IPhone. Each night I would review the day's photos, marvel in my experiences and download the photos to my laptop.

In the spirit of travel and in celebration of good times, here are my favorite iconic photos of London.

The Rain. As if to protect me from a bad omen, I received many forewarnings of bad weather from friends and colleagues prior to my arrival. But the weather held up beautifully and there was only one day of relentless rain. So here's to the London rain!

The Tube. One must know the Way Out (of the station) and remember to Mind the Gap! The gap is a devious little space between the train track and the platform. Along with automated station recordings, transit personnel stand on the platform and holler out "Mind the Gap!"

Many tube stations were air-raid shelters during World War II. The deepest station in Central London is 41 meters (134 feet) below street level. Theatre and musicals are advertised extensively in tube stations.

Theatre. Whenever I get back to London, I will always set aside time for the theatre. I love the art form and nothing says London like a good ole British play. I went to the Criterion Theatre to see The 39 Steps.

Inside the Criterion Theatre

The Tower of London and the Tower Bridge in the background. I could have spent several days learning about the history of the Tower of London beyond the crown jewels, beefeaters and beheadings. The Tower encompasses over 1,000 years of documented history.

I was at the Tower of London during the commemoration to mark 100 years since Britain's first involvement in World War I. 888,246 ceramic poppies were installed from July to November to commemorate the loss of British soldiers during the war.

The London Eye. I have several photos of the Eye but this is my favorite.

The Thames River and a sightseeing cruise. Visible from the waterfront is the Shard of Glass, London's 87-story skyscraper.

The Millennium Bridge for pedestrians to walk across the Thames.

Although the cruise ended at Greenwich, I got off by the Houses of Parliament & Big Ben.

Westminster Abbey. Did you know that there are about 3,000 bodies inside and the last burial was an unknown soldier? Photos weren't allowed in most of Westminster Abbey except for the Cloisters.

These are from inside the Cloisters. Some clergy and staff live within the Cloisters.

The astounding design, artwork and architecture of Westminster Abbey.

Big Ben and The Houses of Parliament and a little construction.

The Houses of Parliament late afternoon

Inside the Houses of Parliament where photos were allowed.

Museums. The Charles Dickens Museum was once one of Dickens' London homes. On this day, I discovered that street names may change from one block to the next and that numbers on the buildings aren't always sequential.

The British Museum

Red telephone booths. These were just outside the British Museum.

Waterloo Station. I took the train from Waterloo Station to Windsor. Waterloo is big and busy but the mayhem was no different than Penn Station in New York City.