I am back from one of the best trips of my year abroad: London. It was the international trip included in my program this semester, so I have been looking forward to it for months. I knew I was going to like London--everything regal, lots of tea, the big, fast-paced city feel... But I was shocked at just how much I liked it. The only way I can describe it is that it was a lot more "special" than I thought it was going to be.
It felt a bit like home--not only because of the English everywhere (which was pretty hard to soak in, and I ended up responding with "si" a few times...), but because of some reason I can't quite put my finger on. It was a much faster-paced city than Sevilla, which was actually refreshing for my fast-walking self, but it was still more than just that. I just had a feeling like, wow, I could totally see myself here. The list of places where I want to live is really getting long, though. (But, hey, isn't it a good thing to be open to exploring and living in lots of different places?)
Thursday
We got to London in the late afternoon on Thursday. We were staying in the Paddington area on a cute street with lots of small hotels. My friend Caela and I decided to take the tube (London's subway) out to the well known shopping area of Regent Street and Oxford Street to do a bit of shopping before the stores closed. Among the highlights were Topshop and Liberty of London, where we both did some damage on presents for our families. Liberty of London is my new obsession- Thanks, Caela! ;)
We headed to dinner at a place called Jackson + Rye in the Soho area that Caela had read about on one of her favorite blogs, A Piece of Toast. There was a long wait, so we decided to have dinner at the bar. It was the greatest decision ever, because we ended up having an amazing night talking to all the people around us and the bartenders. We tried lots of new drinks (a few too many...), and ended up staying out much later than planned. It was definitely worth it, though, because we both talked about how we will remember that night for a long time. We loved Jackson + Rye so much that we ended up going back for dinner on our last night. I am going to write a separate post just about all of the food I ate this weekend, because it was all incredible.
Friday
On Friday, we woke up with an unpleasant combination of headaches and exhaustion, but we decided to push through and embark on a lovely day of sightseeing. Our first stop was St. Paul's Cathedral, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. (Fun Fact: the Seville Cathedral is actually bigger!)
We then walked across the super modern Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that, as goes the name, opened in the year 2000. We took a peak in Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and ended up having lunch at an adorable spot right next to the Globe Theater and the Thames River called Swan Bar. It was a very chic place fit with a perfectly stylish clientele. We enjoyed some delicious salads and guzzled water in attempts to get rid of our hangovers.
View walking down from the Millennium Bridge
After lunch, we went to the Tate Modern Museum. It is the most-visited modern art museum in the world, and had some pretty cool collections. It also had some really weird pieces of art, namely the sculpture pieces, but I suppose that's modern art for you! After the Tate, we met up with our group for a private tour of the British Museum. It should probably be called the "Everything the British stole from everyone else" museum, but it was pretty incredible nonetheless. The British Museum documents the creation and beginnings of civilization, so there were a ton of Grecian and Egyptian pieces. We even got to see the original Rosetta Stone!
Modern art or just some sheets of mirrored glass? You decide.
The British Museum
Then came the highlight of the whole weekend, and the moment I had been looking forward to all year: afternoon tea! After extensive research, we decided to book afternoon tea at The Orangery. It is located in the Kensington Gardens in a building that was built as Queen Anne's garden house in 1704. The history and building are amazing, and I will go into much more detail in my separate blog post about food! There is just too much to say, but I can tell you that it was a total dream come true.
When we finished our tea, we decided to continue living like royals and head over to Harrods, London's famous, high end department store. It was huge, so we ended up going back the next day to see more! We ended Friday night at another delicious restaurant in the Soho area called Cote.
Saturday
On Saturday, we did our best to wake up early and get moving. We started our day at Picadilly Circus, a road circle that is London's answer to the Times Square scene. From Picadilly circus, we walked to Fortnum & Mason, another famous department store that is known for their tea. It was pretty much tea shopping heaven inside, and I ended up getting a tin of a loose tea blend called "Jubilee" and a tin of Earl Grey tea bags. I'll definitely be keeping the beautiful tins once I finish the tea!
After grabbing some tea (and iced coffee for Caela!) at Pret (which seemed to be everywhere in London), we walked to Trafalgar Square to go to the National Portrait Gallery. This museum is home to many beautiful portraits, namely those of the royal family. We saw beautiful pictures of Kate Middleton, Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and more.
We hopped back on the tube and headed over to the Tower Bridge to catch some beautiful views of the city. We ended up getting lunch at a cute restaurant along the river with views of the bridge. It was a gorgeous day, so we were able to sit outside to take it all in and people watch.
View from lunch!
After we devoured some amazing burgers, we were back on the tube yet again heading to the Westminster area. We walked around a bit and saw Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey
Our last stop in the area was Buckingham Palace, which was enormous and more regal than I could've imagined. Just the gate itself was pretty freaking royal...
A pretty great travel buddy :)
Saturday ended with our second trip to Harrods, a bit more shopping, and then another night in Soho. We got a drink at a bar and then headed back to Jackson + Rye for our last dinner there. We had more great talks with the people around us, more delicious food, and more drinks (although we toned it down a little so we wouldn't feel like we did Friday morning...)
Sunday
I woke up on our last day in London with a bittersweet feeling. I love Sevilla, and it truly feels like home to me know, but I really would have loved about two more days in London. London is just huge, so there is no way to see everything you want to see in one weekend. Caela and I decided to make the most of our last few hours in London by going to Camden Market. Camden Market is a big area of different markets selling anything from clothing, souvenirs, and art prints to food and drinks. The Camden area seemed a bit more artsy and alternative, so it was interesting to see a different side of London.
We walked around Camden Market for about two hours until we realized we weren't quite hungry enough for lunch just yet. So, we decided to head back by our hotel to walk around more in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. We ended up getting lunch at a cute little cafeteria on the bottom floor of Kensington Palace, where we realized that we had lost track of time and had to rush back to meet our group at the hotel to leave a 3 pm. We ended up getting a quick telephone booth shot, since I had been looking for a good place to take a picture in one all weekend.
After a long wait in the airport and a less-than-smooth Ryanair flight, I got back home after midnight. Thus, it has taken me till today to recover and write this (now pretty long) post.
I set a 5 year time limit to go back to London. I think that's pretty reasonable, right? I would love to see more of the English/Scottish/Irish countryside like my parents did on their honeymoon, so I think I can make it happen. :)
Thanks for reading everyone. Cheerio!
A
Looks awesome! I can't wait to check London out!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Pret is everywhere in Chicago now, too! And New York! So you can get your Pret on when you're back home! :)
What a great trip. We are all jealous back here. Glad you had such a great trip and that you were able to pack in all the places you saw in a short time! Pretty awesome place! :)
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