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This last weekend I had the privilege of exploring London with my awesome boyfriend (who, might I add, spent all of Friday night on a bus so he could meet me in London)!
Somehow I was able to get up early enough to leave campus by 6:30 Saturday morning -- all in the name of love! I had planned on taking an Uber to town, but as there weren't any available at that ungodly hour (I don't blame them) I was forced to start walking the mile and a half to the train station. Thankfully, when I got about halfway I checked my app again and successfully called an Uber driver (bless his soul)! Finally, I was able to hop on a train to London!
An hour later, I met Chad at Victoria Station and our day together began! Starting with Buckingham Palace, we hit all the major landmarks (in passing), including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Houses of Parliament.
Buckingham Palace!
Victoria Tower
Big Ben is actually under renovation, but we still got to see it!
Next, we rented bikes to ride all over town-- SUCH a great deal! We paid £2 each for a 24-hour session, the only catch is that we had to switch out the bike within 30 minutes. This way we were able to take a bike for about half an hour, return it, and grab a different bike for another half hour. It was a little hectic riding on roads (especially on the opposite side), but it was such a sweet deal that it was worth the hectic navigation.
We biked along the river and over the London Bridge, and then we went to Borough Market for lunch! The Market is filled with little shops and stands selling enough bread, cheese, pastry, and fresh produce to feed all of London for a month. The best part is getting to sample everything!
After Borough Market, we biked across The Tower Bridge (slightly sketchy), walked back to take some pictures, and biked back into town. Then we hit another London staple, The National Gallery! This museum contains amazing artwork from all the famous artists, such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt, Monet, and Van Gogh.
Trafalgar Square
and Piccadilly Circus are really neat to see in person! Trafalgar is the giant square where the National Gallery is, and it branches off into a few streets that have lots of great restaurants and nice hotels. There aren't too many inexpensive food options in downtown London, but we managed to find a super cute little pizzeria right by the Gallery. Their wood fired pizza was delicious! Also, Piccadilly Circus has a lot of the theaters and good shopping, and is a happening place in the evenings!
After such a long day, it was nice to be able to stay in a nice place with Chad's family friends. Although it was a long train ride to Luton, it was worth it to see a new part of London and have a comfy (and free) place to stay.
The next morning, we hit up the British Museum (after sleeping in and having a great breakfast). This museum is unique because it is SO unbelievably HUGE, not to mention FREE. There is absolutely no way to thoroughly go through everything in one day, so we chose the sections that most interested us. We saw the Ancient Egypt/Greece/Mesopotamia rooms, Anglo-Saxon Britain (which is especially cool since I'm taking a class on history of Anglo-Saxon Britain this semester), 1800's Britain, and lots more. The coolest part is seeing artifacts that you've heard about in school, such as the Rosetta Stone and The Black Obelisk! I highly recommend this museum and will for sure be going back.
We were planning on going to Harrod's in the afternoon, but since we got such a late start we weren't able to make it before closing. So instead, we walked around town in the rain (so romantic!). Finally, it was time to say goodbye and head back to school.
Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. After saying goodbye to Chad, I walked down to the underground at Kings Cross and got on the tube. I don't remember where exactly, but I had been told to get off at a certain point and switch to a train. However, when I found the platforms for the trains, I had absolutely no idea which one to take, so I asked an employee. He told me which train to get on, but what he didn't tell me was that it didn't go directly to Bracknell. So when the conductor came around to check tickets, he rudely informed me that I should have gotten off about 20 minutes earlier. Thankfully, he told me exactly where to get off and which trains to take, so I got off at the next stop. In order to get back on track, I had to take three more trains. So instead of arriving in Bracknell at 9:15 pm as I had originally planned, I got there around 11:00 pm. Fortunately, there was an Uber available so I didn't have to walk a mile and a half alone in the dark.
Overall, this was such a great weekend! It was full of craziness, adventure, history, and great food. I am so lucky to live near such a fun city!
