Scotland: Edinburgh's Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is the main street in Edinburgh's Old Town.  It runs from the Edinburgh Castle on one end to Holyrood Palace at the other end.   Below are two photos from the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.  The top photo of a Whiskey Merchant. 

London: Tube life

Despite what Londoners say, the Tube network in London is absolutely amazing.  It connects almost all points of the city, is efficiently run and seems like the safest transport network I've ever been on.  Additionally, there are fun names and phrases used that us Americans find humorous such as "Mind the Gap" shown here.  

London: Pubs!

London is known for its pubs, and there are pubs everywhere, boasting of beers that are made locally as well as big brands.  Below are the taps from The Sherlock Holmes pub in Charing Cross.  

London: Bayswater

West London is filled with Georgian-style white-stucco fronted homes and buildings.  They go on for street after street, square after square.  They are beautiful buildings.  

London: More Flowers!

More flowers in London.  These are from a flower pot in Westbourne Grove in West London.   They were super colorful considering its February in London.  

London: Street Art in Westbourne Grove

Some cool street art on the high street in Westbourne Grove in West London.

London: Portobello Road in Notting Hill

This is one of the many shops on the Portobello Road in Notting Hill.  The street is filled with colorful store-fronts and unique boutiques and antique shops.  I like this photo because of the motorcycle parked out from the furniture store-front that needs to be painted.  

London: Cherry Trees

Its only the end of February, but already the Cherry Trees are looking pretty and like they are on the path to blossom.   These photos are from the cherry trees in Notting Hill in West London.  

London: Notting Hill

This is one of the beautiful and colorful homes (with a pink door) in Notting Hill in London, with a cherry tree in front.  

London: On Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge in London on a cloudy day with a double-decker red bus crossing.   The top and bottom shots both have different sections in black-and-white to emphasize the bus and the bridge, with the middle shot being in full-color.

London: The City from Tower Bridge

Above is the view of the city of London, including the famous Gherkin building and London Tower, from walking across Tower Bridge.  

London: Tower Bridge

The top of London Tower Bridge into the bright blue sky. 

London: Tower Bridge from North Bank

The famous London Tower Bridge from the north side of the Thames, next to London Tower, where the UK's crown jewels are kept.

London: Tower Bridge

The above shots are from just before climbing up onto the bridge.  In the top shot, you can see London Tower on the left, where the Queen's crown jewels are stored.  

London: Prosecco at Borough Market

These are shots of the Prosecco stand in Borough Market and the stall-girl who sells the Processco.  

London: Borough Market

Lee Brother Potato Merchants sign in Borough Market, established in 1875.  

London: Borough Market characters

Below are some street-style photos of people visiting Borough Market.  The girl in the red coat as well as the couple kissing caught my eye as being the stars of these shots.  

London: Borough Market

Borough Market in London is probably my favorite location to visit in London and spend an afternoon.  It is a gourmet food market, underneath some of rail-lines and enclaves in South East London.  Below are some photos of the Borough Market signs.  

London: South Kensington

The above photo is the flower-stall outside the South Kensington tube station in London.  

Dublin: Georgian South Dublin

This is a photo of a Georgian street in South Dublin.  I like the laneway that runs through the home and the bicycles that are also parked out front on the footpath.  

Below is another photo from Georgian Dublin, which a Dublin bus in the foreground next to Merrion Square.

Dublin: Pubs of Lower Baggot Street

The photos below are from the pubs Foley's and O'Donoghue's (respectively) on Lower Baggot Street in Dublin.  O'Donoghue's is still a regular stomping ground of the band, The Dubliners.  

Dublin: Forty Shades of Green

Johnny Cash wrote about the "Forty Shades of Green" after he visited Ireland in 1959 (according to wikipedia), and anyone who has visited Ireland knows that there are at least forty different shades of green.  The green in Ireland is striking, which a small subset of the greens are shown in the photo below, from the greenery next to the Grand Canal in Dublin.  

London: Trafalgar Square

Wikipedia says: Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, built around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. It is in the borough of the City of Westminster.

The top photo is one of the four bears, which tourists incessantly try to climb up, that surround Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.  The bottom photo is the view of Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and then Big Ben from the steps of the National Portrait Gallery on the edge of Trafalgar Square.

London: More in Westminster

The top photo is a taxi waiting at a traffic light at the foot of Big Ben.  The bottom photo is of a phone box with Big Ben in the background.

London: The Thames

The view of London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament from Embankment Bridge for walking over the Thames River.

London: Westminster Tube Station

When you come out of the Westminster Underground Station, you come up right at the foot of Big Ben.   As you walk up the stairs, you instantly realize that you are in one of the most iconic places in the world.  Below are two cool shots I got of the Westminster Underground sign.

London: Big Ben with buses and taxis

The iconic Big Ben with the famous red double-decker buses and black taxis.  All but the last shot are taken on Waterloo Bridge in Westminster.