While I was waiting to board the plane yesterday I was anxiously waiting for my friend Lauren to show up. Luckily she made it just as we were boarding. Close call. As soon as we got on the plane, our flight was delayed by 30 mins because France was doing something. Not cool. We made it to London about 2 hours later, took the tube to our hostel and met up with our friends who took an earlier flight. By this time, we were all starving and ventured out to find some food. Of course, London isn't Spain and at 11pm not much is open still. After quite a bit of walking we found a cafe that was still open and I ordered some rice and steamed veggies. It was amazing!!! And only 2 pounds. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see veggies! After our very late dinner, we walked back to our hostel and went to bed to get ready for today's packed day! Today was packed with all the emotions of traveling in a new city. We woke up bright and early to visit Buckingham Palace and grab some breakfast. Like I said the other day, I researched the heck out of the places we wanted to go and where we could eat. The plan was to take the tube to the Buckingham Palace and grab breakfast around there before we stopped by the palace. While we were walking underground, a familiar scent filled my lungs. Fresh bread. At first I thought it was weird because we were underground but I was certain. After about 2 mins of walking we turned the corner and there was a little shop that sold pastries and paninis. Moments like these make me think I'm destined to be a chef! :) We went to breakfast at a place near Buckingham Palace called Cafe Bella Maria, a small family owned business that uses local suppliers. It was amazing! So cute, so perfect! In fact, even before I walked in I knew it was the perfect place just because of what they had written on their window. It says " You can't buy happiness but you can buy cake!" The actual food was amazing as well! As much as I wanted to get the traditional full English breakfast (fried egg, baked beans, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, toast and a grilled tomato) I don't like half of the things on the plate so I decided against it and ordered Mediterranean style scrambled eggs. Great food! Buckingham palace was awesome and even though we didn't get to see the changing of the guards we got some really awesome pictures! Then, we went to Borough Market (an absolutely amazing food market). It was like a playground for food lovers. I could have stayed there for hours. I stopped by a stand and bought walnut baklava and chocolate covered almonds. They were heavenly. As you can tell from the photo. After the market we stopped by London Bridge and I sang the famous song London Bridge is falling down. Now I get to check that off my bucket list! To be honest, I have no idea why there is a song about this bridge. It was just a bridge. In the picture in the background you can see another bridge with 2 towers called Tower Bridge. Most people think that bridge is London Bridge because that bridge is way cooler! Our next stop was Tower of London, a famous castle that not surprisingly has a ton of towers. It was awesome to walk around and explore at our own pace! It also had great history too! I was 2 feet away from the exact place where Henry VI died. Kind of creepy but also cool at the same time! It also great to touch buildings that are over 1,000 years old and still standing. It was kind of surreal actually. There were some towers that were used to hold prisoners and then engraved things in the walls. Most of their engravings were religious but just imagining someone engraving that is crazy. There was also a story of the murder of 2 young boys by their uncle Richard because he wanted to become king. Many years later they found their bodies in a chest under rumble when they destroyed one of the towers. Creepy. Before we went up Tower Bridge we stopped at a food truck for burgers. Not the greatest but the quickest and cheapest thing around the touristy area. The views on top of the bridge were amazing! Once you get up there, there's a museum of sorts and glass in the floor so you can see below you. We were lucky enough to get to see the drawbridge lifting while we were up there. After you go down you follow the blue line on the road to engine room. Before, they used to use coal to power the lifting of the bridge, now they use hydraulics. My dad would have been giddy. It was really cool! After Tower Bridge we took the tube to King's Cross so the Harry Potter fans could take their pictures. They finished around 6pm and were hoping to go to Regent's Park but realized when we got out of the tube station at 6:30pm the sun had set. WHAT? I COULD NOT LIVE LIKE THAT. The sun setting at 6:30pm? GET OUT. So unfortunately, I couldn't see Regents Park but we got to see Abbey Road and take the iconic Beatles photo. Note: this crosswalk does not have a light so we were trying to do this without getting hit by cars. Definitely worth it. Dinner at an old fashion pub was next on our checklist. We stopped at a place around the corner from our hostel called the Queens Arms. I ordered Southern Fried Chicken and Caramel Sticky Toffee pudding. It was heavenly. You would think after all that we'd be done for the day right? Wrong. We relaxed at the hotel for 30 mins and I took a (unintentional) 20 min power nap before we headed out again to go to one of the best clubs in London called Ministry of Sound. The cover charge alone was 35 pounds but Adriana's friend got us on the guest list for free with VIP access. We were super special. It was definitely an interesting experience. I never thought I would step foot in an EDM club but there I was and too be honest, I really don't understand it. It was nice to see but I don't think that's my jazz. We didn't stay for too long because we had to get up early the next day. Of course, the tube stopped running at 12:30 and we had no idea. We ended up walking for about an hour and finally taking a cab home for the last 2.5 miles. I think that was the most I've ever done in one day. And despite all I wrote, I still didn't write everything we did! By the end of the first day we learned how to use the tube without referring to the map every 5 seconds, and had seen ALOT of London, both day and night.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About MeHello! Categories
All
Archives
December 2015
|