You know, the whole Noah’s Ark thing? Well, that’s what it felt like in London. Only minus 38 days, and the ark thing.
Kimmy and I took the train down from Edinburgh to see the sights and visit some of my friends from Elon who are studying there. And I’m only slightly exaggerating when I say that I have never seen it rain that heavily and consistently anywhere in my life. And that includes the month that I spent in Ireland, and that time when Hurricane Isabel came through North Carolina. Seriously.
“Let’s go to the beach, each…” or the River Thames
With that said, I had a great 5-day visit to “the world’s most visited city” also known as a cultural capital to the world. It was an amazing experience being one of the millions of people who walk through the streets of London each and every day. Studying abroad sometimes makes the world feel incredibly small, yet being in such a large and expansive city sort of readjusted my perspective. It also tested my navigational skills. Thankfully Kim, being used to New York and big cities, was able to read the maps and do most of the navigating, while I handled how to cross the streets (and with the whole driving on the left side of the road, one way street thing it’s tougher than you’d think).
Thankfully, considering I am writing this post over two weeks later, you assumed correctly that we did, in fact, come out relatively unscathed. We also managed to do a TON of sight seeing.
On our first night out we reunited with an old friend, Erin, and her friend Michelle for dinner near where we were staying in South Kensington. Kim and I walked briefly through Hyde Park on the way, which was very spooky yet beautiful in the drizzle, fog, and darkness.
Hyde Park
It was so great to see Erin and also be in yet another new city. We all had a drink and then headed to meet my friends and go to a pub in South Kensington. Erin and Michelle then caught the tube home, and my friends all had internships the next day, but Kim and I decided that the night was young, so we hit the town. We decided that for the rest of the trip, especially since Kim only had a few days, we would hit the ground running. What’s the point of sleeping when you’re twenty-something and in London?
Kim and I managed to see:
China Town
Picadilly
The V&A Museum
Buckingham Palace
Horsemen going to the palace
Trafalgar Square
Me in front of the lion statue in Trafalgar Square. Have lost all hope of possibly having nice hair in the rain.
Westminster Abbey and a Nelson Mandela statue. p.s. Americans, this is where William and Kate were married.
Big Ben
Parliament
The Globe Theatre a.k.a. the English nerd’s mecca
The Tate Modern museum
The Millennium Bridge
The Portobello Market at Nottinghill
The Spice Girls Musical, Viva Forever at Leicester Square
and so much more! We saw so many neat things that it’s really tough to pick a favorite. It’s also hard to imagine that all of this was in one city. With each borough of London being so different it almost feels like 10 small cities pushed together, rather than one massive one.
With that said, I think that my favorite areas were Notting Hill, South Kensingtion, and Picadilly Circus. I love how colorful Notting Hill is and I could have spent days in the market. Again, I love vintage things and it was so neat browsing through all of the little shops and stands there. I found so many neat antique trinkets, and I found myself imagining decorating a little English country home. Alas, that did not happen, but check out some of my favorite things:
someone please buy me these soap dishes?
or buy me this house?
I’ll also settle for doughnuts. Let me tell ya, I did not feel like I was settling when I ate one…
And are these not the coolest street performers ever? So cute!
Anyways, I could go on for days but I don’t want to bore you too much. Now on to South Kensington. I don’t have too much to say other than it’s a very swanky, posh, and quiet residential area that happens to be right smack in the middle of London, and just off of Hyde Park. I’m not sure if there is some invisible barrier to prevent too many tourists from coming in or something, but it was a lovely escape from the hustle and bustle that you experience in the rest of London, including Picadilly. But Picadilly is super cool because it has all of the best shops and so many nice restaurants. My college budget would have stretched about 5 minutes if I had stayed too long. However, Erin, Kim, and I managed to find a restaurant that served PANCAKES. All day. That may seem like a silly thing to search for but none of us had found them since the good ol’ USA. Nor had we found Chipotle–and by the way, there are two in London. I ate at both of them. Sorry not sorry. They gave me free chips because I’m awesome.
PANCAKES
Kim, Erin, my Elon friends and I also had a great time with the London nightlife. Like I said, Kim and I were sticking to our guns with the no sleep thing. That is, until Kim’s last night when I was gradually dying. I officially could not make it out again, so Kim and I decided to see The Great and Powerful Oz, which is actually a great film. I’d recommend it, and even more so when you’re not fighting off three days and nights with almost no sleep.
Jeff and I out on the town
Kimmy with my purse full of smuggled Chipotle loot.
The next morning after a bit of rest Kim and I also went to the Camden Market to meet a friend. This market was super cool, but more food-oriented than Portobello. It was a fun, laid back morning. Kim and I then parted ways as she left to catch her train back to Edinburgh. It was strange to say good bye after almost two weeks together, but not too sad because we were only separated until Dublin the following weekend. Pretty awesome, huh?
I spent the end of my trip relaxing with friends and soaking everything in until I flew back to France for a few days (and another midterm). Over all it was a great experience and I can’t wait to go back. You could honestly spend years sight-seeing in London and still not see everything. But, I can say that I saw almost every big tourist sight, had lots of loving reunions, and so many cool cultural experiences.
One of the most famous paintings in the world–Picasso.
Until next time, London. Next up: Dublin.
xoxo,
Claire
The Adventures of an American Expatriate 