I went to London this past weekend and can say that it was by far my favorite weekend of the year. I traveled with my friend Jessie who I met in Rome. Shes from California as well, so we have a few things in common (like how were both from the city-- She's from SF, I'm from LA). One random day at school I asked Jessie if she wanted to go to London and 5 minutes later we were booking a roundtrip flight from Rome. Talk about spontaneity. Everything from our departure flight to exploring the city and returning back to Rome went so perfectly and surprisingly so smoothly, which made me love this trip and this city even more.
1. The City - Rome and London are like night and day. It was pretty refreshing to leave Italy for a weekend and stay in a big city with Starbucks, efficient public transportation, and modern architecture!
Yes, double decker buses are actually used as buses and not operated by travel tour companies. I am so used to seeing these red double decker buses in L.A. that shuttle tourists around Sunset and Rodeo Drive. I had no idea that it was actually a mode of public transportation in London.
I've never been so happy to see this green mermaid. You know you're a little closer to somewhere like home when you see a Starbucks. I'm sad they didn't have my drink (Salted Caramel Mocha) but still had a really awesome White Chocolate Mocha.
The subway system in London is excellent and so easy to use. We got the hang of it so quickly. My favorite part is the announcements as you leave the tram to "Mind The Gap". Am I the only one that finds this hilarious? Thank you for the precaution.
Bridges, everywhere! Yes. The obligatory photo with the London Bridge, that actually wasn't impressive or noteworthy at all. In this huge city, there's a river (Thames) running from west to east separating the city from north and south. It makes the city much more interesting and traveling so much more fun.
The Millenium Bridge across the Thames River.
Street and wall art. Of course, who other than the one and only Kate Moss.
London at night.
London in the day.
2. Borough Market - One of my favorite parts about London was visiting the Borough Market. We came here on accident while looking for TATE Modern, but was one of the coolest things I've ever encountered. I've seen farmers markets all the time back home and even in Rome, but there was something about this market that featured a completely unique and authentic vibe. There were burger and hotdog vendors each offering a unique type of meat, sauces and condiments. There were jars of jam and cheese from the countryside. There were fresh fish and seafood...totally my type of place.
Farmer's Market Here every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Check it out if you're ever in London!
Homemade Cakes and Desserts
Fresh fish at Borough Market
"I love being at Borough. It's a real friendly and colourful place full of great people."
3. TATE Modern - This museum was really cool. TATE is London's modern art gallery and also houses some of London's oldest art pieces from 1500. I'm not an art fanatic, but I always love a trip to the museum. I really appreciate the entire set up of museums, from the curation to the architecture and of course the artwork itself. While we were there, an exhibition of the famous Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama was being held. Unfortunately the time slots were already filled and I didn't have the entire day to wait for the next viewing so I had to sadly miss out. I did have a chance however to check out some other really incredible pieces of art and had so much more fun than I'd expected.
Picasso's Bust of a Woman
The exhibition room that I never had a chance to enter.
The view of the Thames from the 4th floor of Tate.
3. The Food - My diet for the past 6 weeks have consisted of purely pasta and pizza. This is no exaggeration (all my roommates can attest to this). I was craving something zesty, flavorful, oriental, spicy... and the food in London did just the trick. Many people have told me that London is known to have really terrible food. I don't know where those sources have been, but they should definitely hit up places I went to this weekend. My favorite meal was Korean food in Soho.
Kimchi fried pancakes. I was so deprived of Korean food, I can't even explain how glorious this was.
Need I explain? For those who aren't familiar, this is a traditional bi bim bap. Rice with assorted vegetables, fried egg, beef and kimchi topped with chili sauce. Heavenly.
4. Entertainment - So everyone knows I am not a fan of EDM (electronic dance music). I feel like EDM has a really negative connotation and is associated with a really obnoxious rave/party scene in SoCal.. But coming here, I thought it would be cool to check out a show while I was in London and Skrillex was the only dj I was somewhat familiar with. Little did we know the show was going to be an absolutely amazing experience. He definitely rocked that venue and left an impression me. Electronic music isn't bad for what it is at face value.
Skrillex live at the O2 Academy Brixton. We walked in here with full hearing and eyesight; we walked out deaf and blind.
The venue was crazy. I hear the O2 Brixton Academy is a popular hosts to artists all around the world. Def glad I got to spend this experience here.
Skrillex, mad respect for the dude after this show. He's only 23 too!
Speaking of music, there was a guy playing the flute next to the Borough Market who really caught my attention. I used to play the flute so I know how difficult it is to have been playing that tune. It was such a beautiful & refreshing sound on the streets.
5. History - Excuse my ignorance, but I have absolutely no idea the significance behind these monuments and landmarks. I do know the Buckingham Palace is somewhat like the White House of England. Big Ben is a really really old grandfather clock. And Trafalgar Square.... I didn't know it existed until I got there. Best part of it all, History is actually one of my undergraduate majors. Major fail, no pun intended.
Buckingham Palace.
Big Ben.
Trafalgar Square.
The Globe Theatre
6. Accommodation - So this was my first real hostel experience. For some reason I was always under the impression that a hostel was a really scary and dreadful place to stay, mostly because of the horror movie "Hostel" that came out when I was younger. Thankfully my first hostel was nothing near dreadful. It was in such a nice area of London and was beautiful inside and out. The staff was so incredibly helpful and breakfast was included! I had such a good time. If you're ever in London, definitely stay at Equity Point in London!
Located on 100-102 Westbourne Terrace.
Possibly the cutest part of town in my opinion.
Lobby area with the Tube map.
Our hotel was about a 3 minute walk from Hyde Park in London which was such a nice area to walk past as we started our day each morning.
7. Travel buddy - I realized it's not all about where you go, it's also about who you're with. Jessie with such a great travel partner. Her strengths and my strengths worked really well together in terms of Getting Shit Done in an efficient manner! Jessie is really good at time management (which I'm terrible at) and I am really good with directions and organization (which she's not so great at). Even though there were so many things we wanted to do in one weekend, we did everything without ever feeling rushed for time or stressed about a thing. Definitely so glad I went with Jessie! We were such a good duo. :)
Jet setting to London!
So happy with my weekend trip to London.
Til next time! xoxo.
Hostels are my fave.
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