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View The Royal, the Real, the Ritz and the Glitz in a larger map
View The Royal, the Real, the Ritz and the Glitz in a larger map
View The Royal, the Real, the Ritz and the Glitz in a larger map
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"Attractions one by one
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Katarina Stefanovic. .
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Curtis Cronn. .
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): ESTIOS2011. .
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Stuart Spicer. sadmafioso. Wintersun 24/7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ego61/3865975578/.
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Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Thorsten Becker. .
 | Afternoon Tea at the Ritz http://www.theritzlondon.com/tea/reservation-en.html
Afternoon tea in the exquisite setting of the Ritz, London. Get a slice of aristocratic English living at one of London's most celebrated hotels. Includes tea, cake and champagne. Its very popular. Sittings at 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm. Reserve your table 2 days in advance! Jeans and sports shoes are not permitted.+
Afternoon tea menu, Adult/Child 42 upwards, Green Park (Jubilee, Picadilly, Victoria)
150 Piccadilly
London, United Kingdom W1J 9BR; (0) 20 7493 2687 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Sayaka Toyokawa. courtesy of J Whitmarsh. courtesy of J Whitmarsh. .
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Wolfiewolf. .
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 | Abercrombie & Fitch http://www.abercrombie.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreLocator?storeId=12406&catalogId=10901&langId=-1
The most disturbing shopping experience in London. After you have worked your way past the two doormen, whose well defined pecks peek out of from their unzipped jacket of the owner, like a pair of Kangeroo babies, you will find yourself bombarded with music, darkness (no light is permitted in this establishment) and scented air. You will quickly notice that most of the staff are young beauties, selected for their looks and figure, and that up on the balcony on the first floor, there are two dancers whose job it seems is to dance nonchalantly, as if they are chilling out at their local disco. Then when you've finished on that take a look around at the customers - many of whom fit that A&F attractive athletic type - as they stare at their own angelic faces in the many mirrors dotted around. And you might whilst your there, even take a loot at the clothes!+
0, 0, Picadilly Circus (Picadilly, Bakerloo)
42 Savile Row, Greater London W1S 3QG; 0844 412 5750 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): M.J.S.. .
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Matt Sephton. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dharbord/4474392528/http://www.flickr.com/photos/dharbord/4474392528/http://www.flickr.com/photos/dharbord/4474392528/.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): dansette. .
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Filip Visnjic. .
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Thursday
Living it up in London's West End! - Start the day off at the British Museum.
- Be astounded by the sleaze, brothels, drama queens and celebration of homosexuality in Soho.
- Leicester Square for a taste of carnival and fun.
- Street performers and shopping in 'tourist central' also known as Covent Garden.
- Take High Tea at Fortnum and Mason's.
- Take in a West End musical!
In Pictures
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" | Tube to Goodge Street, Russel Stree, Holborn or Tottenham Court Road | Inspect the cultural wonders plundered by the British Empire at the The British Museum | Street acts and boutique shopping in Covent Garden. |
 | Sex shops, drag queens, gay bars and cafes in Soho. | Coffee and pastry at Maison Bertaux. | Peking Duck and all the rice you can eat in China Town. |
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 |  In Detail - Get the Northern Line to Goodge Street or Tottenham Court Road, Central Line or Picadilly Line to Holborn.
- Walk to The British Museum to view mummies, tombs, the Rosetta Stone and artefacts from around the world.
- Take a coffee break in the British Museum coffee, a beer at the Princess Louise.
- Browse the boutique stalls and watch the street performers in Covent Garden.
- Pass through Soho and get an eyeful of hypersexualised promiscuous London; gay, bi and straight all parade their stuff down here. Whilst you're there take a coffee and a pastry at Madam Bertaux.
- Next door to Soho is the colourful China Town - try cripsy Peking Duck!
- Then have a wander around the carnivalesque atmosphere of Leicester Square where young people like to meet to make passes at each other. Has several cinemas if you fancy watching a film.
- If you're feeling tired after all this walking, then head towards Fortnum and Mason for a traditional English High Tea (I.e. tea and cakes).
- Then go and see London's best musical, the Lion King at the Lyceum, just a short walk away.
- If you've still got the energy, round the night off with a beer in the Princess Louise or at London's upmarket jazz clubs Ronnie Scotts.
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 |  On a Map
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View Living it up in the West End! in a larger map
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"Attractions one by one
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Alessandro Morandi. Katarina Stefanovic.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Alessandro Morandi.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Stuart-Lee.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Ciao.UK.
 | China Town http://www.chinatownlondon.org/
Although its only been in existence since the 1970s, today China Town commands the attention of all those who pass through it. Although relatively small in size, China Town consists of several streets full of restaurants, herbal medicine shops and the like; and its principal stree, Gerrard Street, is now the site of several pretty pagodas. +
0, 0, Leicester Square
Gerrard St, London W1D 6JN; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Zebtan.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Constant Reader.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): incredible how. sista_tif.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Mairi Nolan.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Rudy Osorio. Matthew Black. chrskovgaard. kelpenhagen. GeoY5.
 | Ronnie Scotts http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/
Ronnie Scott's jazz club is over fifty years old, and has become an institution in Soho. The original owner died a while back, and in some sense the original spirit of the club too, but it is still very popular, people go to eat and drink, whilst listening to music.+
6-3, 27.5, Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road
47 Frith St, Westminster, London W1D 4HT; 020 7439 0747 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Mulia. Veronique Dubois. inkamack.
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Friday
Shopping in London! - Spend your whole day shopping!
- First visit Oxford Street, Britain's most famous shopping mile!
- For the British shopping experience try Selfridges, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, Urban Outfitters and Hamleys.
- For top fashions Diesel, Banana Republic, UNIQLO, Top Shop, GAP and Desigual.
- For bargains try Primark.
- And don't forget to check out the Apple Store on Regent Street.
- Then take the tube from Marble Arch to Portobello Market in Notting Hill.
In Pictures
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|   Photo Credit (top left clockwise): Kip. |
|   Photo Credit (top left clockwise): Nick D. |   Photo Credit (top left clockwise): SHOOTO. |   Photo Credit (top left clockwise): Ken Douglas. |
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 |  In Detail - Get the Bakerloo, Central or Victoria Line to Oxford Circus; or the Nothern Line to Tottenham Court Road, or the Jubliee Line to Bond Street.
- Take in all the big shops on Oxford Street including Primark, Marks and Spencer, Selfridges, T|op Shop, Diesel, Debenhams, UNIQLO, John Lewis, Urban Outfitters and GAP.
- Take in the shops on Regent Street including Apple Store, Banana Republic, Desigual and Hamleys.
- Exclusive shopping for rich people on Bond Street.
- Don't forget the crazy experience that is Abercrombie and Fitch.
- In the afternoon, take the tube from Marble Arch to Notting Hill, where you can visit Portobello Market.
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 |  On a Map
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Morning
Tube to Oxford Circus or Bond Street.
Oxford Street
Regent Street
Bond Street
Primark
Marks and Spencer
Selfridges
Top Shop
Diesel
Debenhams
UNIQLO
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Afternoon
John Lewis
Urban Outfitters
GAP
Apple Store
Banana Republic
Desigual
Hamleys
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Evening
Abercrombie and Fitch
Take tube to Marble Arch
Visit Portobello Market
Or visit Camden Market
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Shopping in London!
View Shopping in London in a larger map
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"Attractions one by one
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Ravish London
 | Regent Street http://www.regentstreetonline.com/
Regent Street, is in many respects, a sidestreet off London's premiere shopping street, Oxford Street. Its distinctive curve, which seems to taper to a point, is a sight to behold, designed for the ostentatious Prince George in the nineteenth century, as a processional way from Buckingham Palace to Regent Park. These days Regent Street is best known for the fact that it hosts the Apple Store flagship store - a strange blend of shop and community centre.+
0, 0, Oxford Circus, Picadilly Circus
Regent Street, London; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Paul Anthony.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Phil Wright.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): SHOOTO.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Nick D.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise):
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Nani Brunini.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise):
Photo Credits (top left clockwise):
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Fat Les.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise):
Photo Credits (top left clockwise):
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Joshua Willis.
 | Apple Store http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/regentstreet/
The Apple store was an an incredible innovation in IT store design when it first opened in 2006. The open plan layout, the way the store encouraged you to handle and use its products, the free lectures and demonstrations, the staff who walk around the store like foremen looking for problems to solve. The whole thing created a cult-like following overnight composed mainly of young people & adults. Whilst the novelty of this approach has since worn off somewhat, for first-timers and out-of-towners its well worth a visit.+
9-9; 12-6 (Sun), 0, Oxford Circus
235 Regent Street London, W1B 2EL ; 020 7153 9000 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Damian Ward.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Rusty Lindsay.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise):
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"Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Chris Dotson.
 | Abercrombie & Fitch http://www.abercrombie.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreLocator?storeId=12406&catalogId=10901&langId=-1
The most disturbing shopping experience in London. After you have worked your way past the two doormen, whose well defined pecks peek out of from their unzipped jacket of the owner, like a pair of Kangeroo babies, you will find yourself bombarded with music, darkness (no light is permitted in this establishment) and scented air. You will quickly notice that most of the staff are young beauties, selected for their looks and figure, and that up on the balcony on the first floor, there are two dancers whose job it seems is to dance nonchalantly, as if they are chilling out at their local disco. Then when you've finished on that take a look around at the customers - many of whom fit that A&F attractive athletic type - as they stare at their own angelic faces in the many mirrors dotted around. And you might whilst your there, even take a loot at the clothes!+
0, 0, Picadilly Circus (Picadilly, Bakerloo)
42 Savile Row, Greater London W1S 3QG; 0844 412 5750 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): M.J.S.. .
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Chris White; Michel Bo Petersen; Daniel Kasaj; Ravish London.
 | Camden Market http://www.camdenlock.net/
Camden Market is the place to go for alternative fashion. It hosts several markets, all of which are located along Camden High Road. The clothes are EMO, Goth, Punk, Rock and even Army Surplus, depending on your want. You can also find DM shops, hemp gear, and plenty of t-shirts with lewd and sexually suggestive messages on them. Its great fun, but beware, their are countless pickpockets ready to pounce on tourists who have been lulled into a false sense of security. To maximise safety, get out of this place before the sun goes down.+
11-6.00, 0, Camden
188 Camden High St, Camden Town, Greater London NW1 8; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Pete Zelewski; Dave Wilcox; Graham F Kerr; Graham F Kerr; Graham F Kerr.
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Saturday
Torture, Food and Drink! - Start the morning off with a gut churning visit to London Dungeons or the London Bridge Experience!
- Then onto the food experience of your life at Borough Market.
- Take a traditional pub lunch enjoying some of the high quality fare from Borough Market.
- Antiques, boutiques and an afternoon coffee in Angel.
- Then big night out in Camden the rock n roll centre of London!
In Pictures
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 | Antiques, furniture and fashio in Camden Passage | Boutiques, coffee bars and cake shops in Upper Street | After a rest in the hotel, tube to Camden |
|   Photo Credit (top left clockwise): pentaxhugh. |   Photo Credit (top left clockwise): 0 |   Photo Credit (top left clockwise): Jules 3000. |
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 |  On a Map
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Morning
Tube or train to London Bridge.
London Dungeon
London Bridge Experience
The Shard
Borough Market
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Afternoon
Angel Tube Station
Camden Passage Antiques
Upper Street
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Evening
Camden Tube Station
Dublin Castle
Hawley Arms
The Monarch
The World's End
The Elephant's Head
The Electric Ballroom
Camden Undeworld
Koko
Jazz Cafe
Barfly
Roundhouse
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Sunday
Flowers, Markets, Curry and Beer - Start your Sunday off with a stroll through Columbia Road Flower Market and a morning coffee!
- If you have children take them to Hackney City Farm.
- Then wander south into Spitalfields, whose architecture is inspired by the French immigrants who arrived here in the 18th Century, which has hosted French, Jewish and Asian communities down the years.
- Rummage through Sunday markets located in Spitalfields, Brick Lane and Petticoat Lane.
- Visit Dennis Severs House and find yourself transported back to the 17th Century, to the age of the French Hugeunot weaver.
- Visit London's coolest record shop, Rough Trade East, which regularly hosts bands, sells plenty of vinyl and boasts a café.
- Visit Whitechapel Gallery for the art.
- Finally, go Asian, Jewish or Cool, by taking a curry, beigel or barbecue at Truman's Yard down Brick Lane.
In Pictures
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 | Bangladesh meets urban cool down the legendary Brick Lane. | Stolen bikes, single shoes and broken phone chargers - you can find it all down Brick Lane Market | Get a beigel from the legendary 24 hour Beigel bakery a remant from when Jews made Brick Lane their own. |
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 |  In Detail - Take the Underground to Liverpool Street or Old Street, or the London Overground to Shoreditch High Street.
- Rise and shine for Columbia Road Flower Market an explosion of colour, smell and Cockney Banter.
- If you have children, or if you are a child at heart take a walk to Hackney City Farm and be as happy as a pig in mud.
- If you don't have children you may want to take a wander up and down Broadway Market a microcosm of trendiness set deep in the heart of grim Hackney.
- Otherwise take a stroll down into Spitalfields where you can visit Spitalfields market, Brick Lane market and Petticoat Lane market all a stones throw from each other.
- At the same time you can take in the atmosphere of the legendary Brick Lane and Truman Yard, where urban cool and street art meet Bengalis, curry and Islam. Or take in the French architecture and tranquility of Spitalfields back streets and visit Dennis Severs House a mock-up of a French Hugenot weaver's house from the 18th century.
- Art lovers may care to take a trip down to Whitechapel Art Gallery.
- You have to have a very good reason not to have a curry in one of the many Brick Lane curry houses.
- Finally, finish off your night idling the hours away in one of the many Brick Lane bars, including Vibe Bar, 93 Feet East and The Big Chill.
- Whatever activities you choose, this has got to be the best way to spend a Sunday in London!
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View London Sunday: Flowers, Markets, Curries and Beer in a larger map
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"Attractions one by one
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Anastasia_A.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): spektograph.
 | Broadway Market http://www.broadwaymarket.co.uk/
Broadway Market is the name of a street and the market on the street. It is a microcosm of trendy bohemian London living, buried into the otherwise urban & industrial wilderness of Hackney. To those who known London, it almost seems like a colony of the types that live in Shoreditch. You will find uber-trendies, organic shops, cafes and bars, street art and even a fish and chip shop. The market, specialising in food, is open Saturday, but if you are in the area it is still worth passing through, just to see the shops and absorb the atmosphere.+
Market Sat; 9-5; Shops open all week, 0, Haggerston (London Overground); Bethnal Green (Central Line)
Broadway Market, Hackney, E8; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Jeremy Walker.
 | Petticoat Lane Market http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petticoat_Lane_Market
Petticoat Lane Market is a down to earth clothing market, manned mostly by Asian-turned-Cockneys, where you can buy cheap clothes and beautiful African and Indian fabrics. It has a real history, originally being a Jewish market. The banter is still the same, you'll still here, "Alright darling?' everywhere, but now its more likely to be a Bengali than a Jewish barrowboy.+
10-2pm Sun-Fri, 0, Aldgate East
Middlesex Street, Poplar, London E16BD; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): 2create.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): _foxy_.
 | Brick Lane http://www.visitbricklane.org/
Brick Lane is a cross roads of Bengali culture, working class bric-a-brac and urban cool, although the first two seem to be giving away to the latter. The north end of Brick Lane features bars, beigel shops, restaurants and vintage clothing. Tthe southern end is exclusively curry houses, a mosque and a Bengali supermarket. Enjoy a curry in sometimes less than salubrious surroundings and fend off the incessant attentions from restaurant salesmen speaking the least intelligible English you are likely to find in London. Brick Lane is also a site for street art.+
0, 0, Shoreditch High Street, Liverpool Street
Brick Lane, London; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Aleina.
 | Brick Lane Market http://www.sundayupmarket.co.uk/
Brick Lane market takes place on a Sunday. It is a curious affair, combining trendy and vintage clothes stores, with second hand furniture and bric-a-brac. Sometimes you will find a person pawning their worldly goods, which could include old trainers and mobile phone chargers which don't appear to have much hope of working. There's also a brisk trade in cycles and cycle parts, which rumour has it, are mostly stolen. There are also two indoor markets The Backyard Market (Sat, Sun) and Sunday Up Marketboth focussed on fashion and design.+
Sunday, 9-5, 0, Shoreditch High Street, Liverpool Street
Brick Lane, London; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Simona Tonna.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): bellaphon.
 | Spitalfields http://www.ravishlondon.com/Spitalfields/
Spitalfields has one of the richest histories in London, and is well worth a look around. Of special note is the French architecture; Spitalfields was once home to a commnity of French weavers, who fled Catholic persecutors, in the 18th Century. The weavers' houses still survive today, and form some of the most picturesque and oddly continental style streets that you will find in London. Try Folgate Street (with its brick surface), Dennis Severs House, Fournier Street, Princelet Street and Fashion Street. For a few minutes you find yourself away from the hubbub and in a sea of tranquility.+
0, 0, Liverpool Street
Spitalfields, London, E1; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): _foxy_.
 | Dennis Severs House http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/
In the 17th Century French Protestants fled France for fear of persecution by the French Catholics. Some ended up in the East End of London and settled in Spitalfields. Dennis Severs' house, an old weaver's house, stands testament to this time. The interior is arranged exactly as one would expect it in the 17th Century. But beware, this is not so much a museum, as an opportunity to nourish your imagination. The aim of visiting this place is not to understand, but instead to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of another world and time, to see if you can, for just an hour, transport yourself from contemporary life and dive into the world that Severs’ house offers up to you. Book in advance and strictly no talking allowed! +
Mondays and Sundays, 5-8 per person, Liverpool Street
18 Folgate St, City of London E1 6BX; 020 7247 4013 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Keira Vallejo Photography.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): smieczk.
 | Dray Walk 0
Truman Yard is a side road of Brick Lane, which hosts a number of designer clothes shops, bars and Rough Trade East, London's best record shop. It is particularly renowned for the big barbecue that it puts on every afternoon and evening, where you can take a hot dog and a beer, sit down and people watch.+
0, 0, Shoreditch High Street, Liverpool Street
Truman Yard, Brick Lane, E1; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Lars Bortfeldt.
 | Rough Trade East http://www.roughtrade.com/site/about.lasso
Rough Trade East was an ostentatious attempt to revive the flagging fortune of record stores, which took off in 2007. It combines cafe, internet surfing, t-shirts and fashion with gigs and vinyl and CDs everywhere. It has a real feel good factor, it feels like a hub, a place where things happen, take for example the notice board crammed with requests for vocalists, drummers and guitarists. The spirit of the record shop lives on here.+
11-7 Mon-Sun, 0, Shoreditch High Street, Liverpool Street; Aldgate East
Rough Trade East, 'Dray Walk', Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Nine Inch Nilina.
 | Brick Lane Curry 0
Curry, like tea, is one of those Asian commodities, which is now every bit as British as it is Indian or Bengali. And Brick Lane is arguably the place to come to get the ultimate London curry experience. No-one can walk down Brick Lane without being harassed by one of the several vendors eager to get you inside, with a version of English, which is barely comprehensible. The only problem you have is which restaurant to choose. Most of the places serve good stuff, so everything else being equal, the question is what type of table you get and what the interior is like. If you like barterting this is the place to do it, you can usually get a good twenty to thirty per cent off, if you've got a reasonable number of people. +
0, 0, Shoreditch High Street, Liverpool Street
Brick Lane, London; 0 | Photo Credits (top left clockwise): roboppy.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): fsm vpggru.
Photo Credits (top left clockwise): Dean Ayres.
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