Photo Essay: London by Motorcycle

During a weekend trip to London, I discovered a new favorite sightseeing technique. Never having been to the city before, the sprawling largeness of London made my tiny island home of New York seem quaint by comparison. With so many bridges, palaces, towers, abbeys, cathedrals, museums, clocktowers, and pubs to see, trying take it all in would require lots of careful planning and patient navigation through London's public transit system. The thought of spending my short time in London fighting droves of map-wielding visitors seemed tiresome. Why bother? Besides, as a New Yorker, I've got little tolerance for urban tourist destinations, so I generally prefer to ignore them completely. However, a friend offered to show me the entire city in one afternoon...from the back of his motorcycle. I knew it would be the rare type of guided tour that I would happily sign up for. Our speedy adventure began with the sights best seen in daylight: from Chinatown to the Tower Bridge and around the Piccadilly and Oxford Circuses. We caught a peek of Buckingham Palace as the sun set before streaking on to the see twinkling lights of Harrod's, the London Eye and Big Ben. I didn't explore every nook and cranny or read every plaque, but zooming past the major attractions while experiencing London at street-level gave me a unique sense of what the city is all about.