A Few Days in London, England

 Like I said in my last post, I visited my friend in London for a few days after Porto. Thanks to her because London is expensive!!

Transport

I arrived in London Gatwick and took the tube to my friend’s apartment. We used the tube for all travel. If you’re staying for a couple days, it’s probably best to just buy an Oyster card. I believe you can return it and get your money back, but I just kept it as a souvenir. The tube is expensive but so is everything in London. I left via a Ryanair flight out of Stansted Airport. The Stansted Express is the best budget option for getting there, which I used and was happy with.

Food

I tried several places for food in London and most were overpriced but decent. London is expensive so I recommend staying somewhere you can cook and then doing research on where you want to eat.

1. Duke of Somerset was a typical pub where I got pizza and drinks. It was fine; the Singapore Sling was our favorite. Going to a pub is a must do in England!
2. Chiquito Tacos near Trafalgar Square was tasty and priced as London food goes. Not a cheap eat but a standard place to eat. It doesn’t stand out a lot so there’s probably a better option, but not a bad idea if you want tacos. The restaurant itself is also fun to sit in as it’s in the basement and has a cool vibe.
3. Serpentine Bar and Kitchen in Hyde Park was a nice place to get coffee or hot chocolate on a cold day. I probably wouldn’t have spent the money, but it was just so cold!
4. Pizza Union was a good cheap pizza spot that I would recommend as a cheap eat.
5. Tortilla was sort of like the Chipotle of London (although Chipotle also exists). It was not as good as Chipotle. Food was soggy.
6. Creperie Hampstead was a very authentic (I think) crepe place that was delicious and not too expensive. The area is very cute and easily access by the Tube. I highly recommend it! The crepe itself was the best I have ever had, the only complaint I have is they didn’t have my normal orders on the menu, but that’s a personal problem…
7. Cereal Killer Café is a very hyped-up restaurant that is not the hype in my opinion. The food was good, but the portions were small for the price. If you still want to go, I recommend going when they have an event like trivia to make it more worth it.

Attractions

There’s so much to do in London and considering the size and prices of the city, I definitely did not plan well. This was fine since I was more there to visit my friend than to have the ultimate London Experience. This is definitely a place to plan in advance for instead of just showing up, especially if there’s something in particular you want to do.

1. Glossier had a popup in London at the time which was fun to go to. Since Glossier is mainly online it was fun to go and try the stuff and take pictures with the cute wallpaper.
2. Afternoon Tea is a must when visiting London. We went to the Wallace (19.50 sterling) and it was pretty good. The building is beautiful and there’s also an art collection to see which is nice. Do your research on cheap options for tea or if you have the money try a fancier one!
3. Knotting Hill is a great place to get Instagram pictures. Make sure to do research on how to find the most famous buildings and consider that car will be parked along the streets most of the time and the lighting on the buildings will change during the day.
4. Shakespeare’s Globe Theater is a cool attraction since most people are familiar with Shakespeare’s works. I didn’t pay to go inside but I did take pictures outside and it’s on the river so it’s a nice place to chill.
5. Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace is something you must do in London. It’s free so don’t miss out. You will have to get up early and get there before you think you must because it’s much more worth it when you can see what’s going on. When I was there the band played Lady Gage which was fun.
6. Big Ben is a must see but it was under scaffolding when I went so not very exciting.
7. Parliament is another must see in the same area.
8. Westminster Abbey is a must see in the same area.
9. Hyde Park is nice to walk through but I couldn’t find the soap box which was disappointing.
10. Piccadilly Circus is a nice area to walk through and maybe get a bite to eat.
11. Leicester Square is another place to walk through.
12. The British Museum is a museum that’s worth it. Normally I hate museums, but the Rosetta Stone was exciting to see, and they have other cool exhibits too, plus the architecture is lovely. I didn’t like that the Rosetta Stone was right at the entrance on the first floor. That made it very crowded, and I felt like it deserved more respect (haha).
13. Trafalgar square is a nice area to walk through.
14. Oxford Street Shopping had some good stores which was nice since I needed to up my style in Europe and I hate most winter clothes. For tall girls, I recommend stopping by Monki in addition to the other typical stores.

What I would have done differently

There’re so many things to do in London that you spend weeks there and not do everything you would find interesting. Some things that I missed that I would have liked to do were the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, Easter Island, and Windsor Castle.