LETTER TO MY PARENTS FROM LONDON

Dear mum and dad,

I'm writing you because I want to tell you about my holiday in London. My holiday lasted one week, from the 5^th July to the 12^th July and I'm here in London with my best friend Sara. I I can't be without her because she is very fun, nice and we help each other. We decided to come in England because Sara has never been in this country.

We left from the airport of Ronchi dei Legionari on the 5^th July at 5 o'clock p.m. and we arrived in London at 7 o'clock p.m. Once time arrived at the airport we took a taxi that took us to our hotel.

We stay in a very nice hotel which is in a street near Piccadilly Circus, one of the most popular squares in London. This square is very famous because in its streets there are very fashion and expensive shops where you can buy lots of clothes, shoes, accessory and other things.

We visited this square and it is very big. The square is surrounded not only by streets with many shops also beautiful palaces. On the walls of some buildings there are screens where flow words and adverts. In Piccadilly Circus there are a lot of people all the time, in fact this is one of the most crowded place in London where people meet and do shopping. In the centre of the square there is a statue of the Angel Eros.

The first night we bought some dresses and shoes in this square and we went in a pub. At 11 o'clock in the evening we returned in the hotel and we drank a glass of water and we went to bed.

The second day we decided to go to the British Museum. We were at the museum throughout the day to see the largest number of historical relics, paintings and statues. We decided to visited the rooms of Greek and Egyptian art. We we could see some remnants of Greek buildings, incised tablets, shields, statues, helmets and more. With regard to the Egyptian art we could see tablets engraved with hieroglyphics, the Rosetta Stone and statues. I absolutely loved visiting this museum because we could see many ancient works that we have seen so far on our art books.

At 7 o'clock p.m. we went in a restaurant to have dinner. After the dinner, in the evening we went for a walk in Hyde Park. Here we went for a walk in Hyde Park, one of the largest parks of central London and is also one of the royal parks. We saw the artificial lake, the “Serpentine Lake”.

I loved very much to do this walk because we could saw one of the most beautiful parks in the world and because and because we like to spend time outdoors, even if we are in a place also sometimes polluted. At 11 o'clock we returned to the hotel and we watched TV for an hour.

During the morning of the third day we decided to go to visit St. Paul's Cathedral, one of the two Anglican cathedrals in London and is the second largest British religious building after the Cathedral of Liverpool. It is characterized by a huge dome. We visited the interior of the Cathedral with the aisles, paintings, frescoes and the decorations of the Baroque style. I loved this cathedral because I've never seen one so big in a foreign country and it is very beautiful.

In the afternoon we went to visit Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament. The Westminster Abbey is the most important place of Anglican worship after the Cathedral of St. Paul. In this Abbey are crowned kings of England and were buried important people. This abbey is in the Gothic style and has large windows and tall spires and we also visited the interior of the cathedral.

After visiting the cathedral and took some pictures, we moved to the House of Parliament, where we took some pictures at the Big Bang. During the period when we were in London you could not get to visit some of the rooms of the headquarters of the British Parliament and we are content to see the building from the outside. I really liked the Westminster Abbey because I had never visited a Gothic abbey and I particularly liked its colourful glass windows, while I enjoyed seeing the Houses of Parliament because it is one of the most famous buildings in London and my goal was a long-planned.

Today, the fourth day, we are going to visit the Crown Jewels in the 900 year old Tower of London, not so far from our hotel. The Tower of London is a complex built in the Middle Ages (1078) by William the Conqueror and consists of several fortified buildings that over time have been used as a fortress, powder, royal palace and a prison for prisoners of noble families.

This fortress was built to protect the city of London from enemies Normans and William ordered that he be built in white stone, imported from the North of France. After having built the massive walls around the fortress, in the twelfth century, King Richard the Lionheart surrounded the tower with the white walls and built a moat filled with water from the Thames. The fort was completed between 1275 and 1285 (end of the thirteenth century) by Edward I who built the walls of the outer walls, which completely encased the internal. The fortress is guarded by Beefeaters, during the English history had the task of controlling the prisoners, feed the crows and safeguard the jewels of the British Crown. In exchange for these services were paid for with the beef, hence their name. In this fortress were imprisoned several people including political opponents and kings. These include Anne Boleyn, Mary Stuart, John II of France and David I of Scotland. Today Beefeaters have the role of tourist guides within the fortress. We're going to see the Queen's Jewels that are inside of a room and today, for safety reasons, are closed in the glass cases.

Also visit the White Tower, the tower where you can see all the uniforms of the British generals to date and the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, the Medieval Palace where you can see a reconstruction of the interior of the building where he lived Henry VIII.

I'll be happy to visit these places mainly because I can see the Queen's Jewels.

In the afternoon we are going to take a walk along the river Thames and before going to dinner we go for a ride on the 'London eye of the city, this wheel you can see up to 40 km away. The tour is lasting about half an hour. After a ride on the London Eye we are coming back to the hotel where we are having dinner.

During the morning of the fifth day we are going to visit Buckingham Palace, the residence of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Besides being the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace is the place where numerous public ceremonies occur. We can see the changing of the guard which takes place once a day and it attracts a lot of tourists.

Surely we are making some photos of the Palace, the Changing of the Guard and the flower beds outside the building that we are in front of the palace.

In the afternoon we are going to regent's Park to see the London Zoo where we can see lots of different animal species. The London Zoo is the oldest scientific zoo in the world. It was inaugurated in the city of London in 1828 and its original purpose was to house animals for scientific purposes. This zoo is home to about 15 104 animals and 755 different species.

On the sixth day we are going to visit the museum Madame Tussauds. Madame Tussauds is one of the most famous wax museums in the world, present in different cities. Inside the museum you can admire the statues of the characters that have written the history such as historical figures, cultural icons and royalty. We decided to visit this museum because we could see some famous person or our idols almost real.

The the last day we will take the subway and we go to visit the Globe Theatre where performed Shakespeare. The original Globe Theatre was built in 1599 by the theatre company to which Shakespeare belonged, and destroyed by fire in 1613 after that the Globe Theatre, which was rebuilt in 1614 was closed in 1642 and demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction of the Globe, called 'Shakespeare's Globe Theatre', opened in 1999. Every year at this theatre are staged plays by some theatre companies. During the afternoon we are returning near the streets of Piccadilly Circus and we are going to do shopping. In the evening we are going to eat at a local restaurant where we can eat the typical English dishes in central London to spend the last day with a calm before departure. After dinner we are coming back to the hotel and we are packing our suitcases. The next morning we are taking a taxi and we are going to the airport where we are taking the air plane at 11 o'clock a.m. and we are arriving in Ronchi dei Legionaries at 1 o'clock p.m. Here are coming to take us home our parents.