Between central London and Heathrow lie Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Palace, the rugby at Twickenham and the tennis at Wimbledon
The royal palace so nice Henry VIII honeymooned here twice—and then three times, and four, and five...
London tends to measure time by events of grand destruction.
The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed almost every last inch of the medieval city (thatched roofs catch fire pretty quickly). Luckily, a Renaissance genius named Christopher Wren was on hand to rebuild the city, raising over 50 churches and countless other buildings.
With World War II came the Blitz, German planes raining destruction again over the city, causing more rebuilding.
The result: the City of London is today an odd architectural mix of medieval houses, Renaissance churches, Victorian public buildings, and postmodern bank headquarters.
