The first stop was the Big Ben and the Parliament House.We wanted to try the London Eye but were suggested that we rather try it at day light. Then we headed along the Thames shore up to the Tower Bridge. 
It was freezing cold and even though I knew that it is even breeze near the water, this was the forth time I made the same mistake: did not consider wearing warming clothes. So we've just quickly took some pictures and decided to head to Leicester Square and Covent Gardens.
In this area of London, it is so crowded and busy, lots of shops open till late, restaurants and pubs, clubs, cinemas and theatres.. it was very difficult to decide where should we go. Because we still felt cold, we entered a nice English pub, where we both had our first tranditional English dish (yeah, i know, blame me, I am here for so long and I only taste the English food now!) Surprisingly, it was not curry :) as once of my colleagues said when I asked what characterizes English food - it was some beef with mushrooms and vegetables dish that was covered by some tasty pastry like bread. Oh I loved that food especially with the wine they served. Pub was not that crowded as we expected and it didn't smell like alcohol as I was used to here in UK. So I gave it a good mark and left me with a good memory.
Then just walked to Soho, traversing China Town.
Beautiful decorations from the Chinese New Year were hanging on the streets and the Tuk-tuk was giving an oriental flavor to the whole place. I love walking to nowhere on the streets of London! When we arrived in Soho it was like the whole city was concentrated there - everything seemed so much alive even though it was around midnight- I've only experienced this in Madrid some years ago.
I saw something funny in Soho: a gay couple - one wearing some fancy pink leggings and the other one some silver shorts - it was almost impossible not to notice them :)
However, something I like here in UK - people are not at all concerned of what might other think or say about them - they simply enjoy who they are and live their lives the way they want to. For this, again they have a full mark from me.
The night ended returning to the Central Park hotel, which is situated quite central and just minutes walking from Kensington Gardens and cross Hyde Park. I wouldn't recommend the hotel to those fancying a trip to London, as despite the acceptable price, they would have to also bear the noise and voices that could be heard from the surrounding rooms. That was quite unpleasant and annoying.
The next day - Valentine's Day - Love was already in the air - so we decided to have a morning walk in the Hyde Park. Among the park attractions are the swans and ducks that you can feed. For those who want a real experience, I would suggest they take some meal for the birds, they actually come to eat from the peoples' hands. Everything seemed so calm and quiet there - it was even hard to believe that place is still in the center of such a big metropolis. We continued our journey from Kensington Gardens (where I was impressed with the garden dedicated to princess Diana and also regretted there wasn't enough time for visiting the beautiful palace) down to the St. James Park. There I everything was so colorful! 
Trees and flowers and squirrels and the birds - all were warming up the place even outside was still soooo cold.
We arrived in front of the Buckingham Palace but were not lucky to see the Changing of the Guards as in the winter time is only held every second day and we arrived the bad day. But the scenery was really nice and enjoyed the walk around the palace and then hot coffee and muffin we had sitting on a bench in the nearby St. James Park. from here we headed to the Trafalgar Square with the imposing Nelson's column, then took the underground in order to go to the Tower of London. Cost of the entrance was nearly 17 pounds if I remember correctly, with a discount for me being a student.
I was very impressed of this place - is like an old citadelle in a new crowded city. Not only that the place transposes tourists into those old times but here you can actually see the crown's jewelry - nowhere else in the world exposed. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures in there as the whole building housing this is very very secured - maybe more secured than a bank - but I managed to take some pictures on the alleys between the towers. However, if you ever get to London, don't hesitate and put this on your To See list as it is worthed all the effort and the money.
Next stop was the Westminster Abbey but in winter time this has very short visiting hours - again we missed those but could admire its splendor from outside. However, people are allowed to get in for ceremonies - but I would assume they'd have to stay for the whole duration of it - so we did not give it a try - to cite Hone, we had to leave some things behind so that we'd have a reason to return to the Big City :) And I agreed to that. This was the last major attraction during our journey - from here we headed to the 'city center' area again, for a last walk in Soho.
Off topic: I walked in Pepe's Jeans London but they did not have any transparent umbrellas in stock - still miss the one that I have bought from Barcelona and that was lost or stolen in the Hairdressing Saloon in Bucharest, then I got a very nice present from Zara - a spring coat.
In Leicester Square we had the romantic Valentine's dinner in a quiet Indian restaurant. Everything in there was perfect - background music, atmosphere, lights, flowers on the table, fantastic food, tasty wine - what could someone ask more for a romantic evening near the loved one. This trip left me with sweet sweet memories that I would always cherish - London is now among my favorites destinations and I would recommend it to anyone.
It was freezing cold and even though I knew that it is even breeze near the water, this was the forth time I made the same mistake: did not consider wearing warming clothes. So we've just quickly took some pictures and decided to head to Leicester Square and Covent Gardens.In this area of London, it is so crowded and busy, lots of shops open till late, restaurants and pubs, clubs, cinemas and theatres.. it was very difficult to decide where should we go. Because we still felt cold, we entered a nice English pub, where we both had our first tranditional English dish (yeah, i know, blame me, I am here for so long and I only taste the English food now!) Surprisingly, it was not curry :) as once of my colleagues said when I asked what characterizes English food - it was some beef with mushrooms and vegetables dish that was covered by some tasty pastry like bread. Oh I loved that food especially with the wine they served. Pub was not that crowded as we expected and it didn't smell like alcohol as I was used to here in UK. So I gave it a good mark and left me with a good memory.
Then just walked to Soho, traversing China Town.
Beautiful decorations from the Chinese New Year were hanging on the streets and the Tuk-tuk was giving an oriental flavor to the whole place. I love walking to nowhere on the streets of London! When we arrived in Soho it was like the whole city was concentrated there - everything seemed so much alive even though it was around midnight- I've only experienced this in Madrid some years ago.I saw something funny in Soho: a gay couple - one wearing some fancy pink leggings and the other one some silver shorts - it was almost impossible not to notice them :)
However, something I like here in UK - people are not at all concerned of what might other think or say about them - they simply enjoy who they are and live their lives the way they want to. For this, again they have a full mark from me.
The night ended returning to the Central Park hotel, which is situated quite central and just minutes walking from Kensington Gardens and cross Hyde Park. I wouldn't recommend the hotel to those fancying a trip to London, as despite the acceptable price, they would have to also bear the noise and voices that could be heard from the surrounding rooms. That was quite unpleasant and annoying.
The next day - Valentine's Day - Love was already in the air - so we decided to have a morning walk in the Hyde Park. Among the park attractions are the swans and ducks that you can feed. For those who want a real experience, I would suggest they take some meal for the birds, they actually come to eat from the peoples' hands. Everything seemed so calm and quiet there - it was even hard to believe that place is still in the center of such a big metropolis. We continued our journey from Kensington Gardens (where I was impressed with the garden dedicated to princess Diana and also regretted there wasn't enough time for visiting the beautiful palace) down to the St. James Park. There I everything was so colorful! 
Trees and flowers and squirrels and the birds - all were warming up the place even outside was still soooo cold.We arrived in front of the Buckingham Palace but were not lucky to see the Changing of the Guards as in the winter time is only held every second day and we arrived the bad day. But the scenery was really nice and enjoyed the walk around the palace and then hot coffee and muffin we had sitting on a bench in the nearby St. James Park. from here we headed to the Trafalgar Square with the imposing Nelson's column, then took the underground in order to go to the Tower of London. Cost of the entrance was nearly 17 pounds if I remember correctly, with a discount for me being a student.
I was very impressed of this place - is like an old citadelle in a new crowded city. Not only that the place transposes tourists into those old times but here you can actually see the crown's jewelry - nowhere else in the world exposed. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures in there as the whole building housing this is very very secured - maybe more secured than a bank - but I managed to take some pictures on the alleys between the towers. However, if you ever get to London, don't hesitate and put this on your To See list as it is worthed all the effort and the money.
Next stop was the Westminster Abbey but in winter time this has very short visiting hours - again we missed those but could admire its splendor from outside. However, people are allowed to get in for ceremonies - but I would assume they'd have to stay for the whole duration of it - so we did not give it a try - to cite Hone, we had to leave some things behind so that we'd have a reason to return to the Big City :) And I agreed to that. This was the last major attraction during our journey - from here we headed to the 'city center' area again, for a last walk in Soho.Off topic: I walked in Pepe's Jeans London but they did not have any transparent umbrellas in stock - still miss the one that I have bought from Barcelona and that was lost or stolen in the Hairdressing Saloon in Bucharest, then I got a very nice present from Zara - a spring coat.
In Leicester Square we had the romantic Valentine's dinner in a quiet Indian restaurant. Everything in there was perfect - background music, atmosphere, lights, flowers on the table, fantastic food, tasty wine - what could someone ask more for a romantic evening near the loved one. This trip left me with sweet sweet memories that I would always cherish - London is now among my favorites destinations and I would recommend it to anyone.
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