London: Parks, Palaces and Paintings

My three days in London went by so fast! I should have booked more time in London but that’s okay. It’ll always have a special place in my heart. 🙂 London was the first city I experienced outside of the US when I was in high school. I’ve been obsessed ever since. To be honest, I was worried that I hyped London up too much since being here (at 17 with little exposure to the world) but that’s not the case at all. It’s seriously the best! The rain would get old if I lived here but as a vacationer it’s not so bad. I came prepared with a rain jacket and boots!

Right now I’m keeping myself awake to catch a shuttle for the airport. You know me, the heavy sleeper who could sleep through a hurricane. I’m afraid that if I fall asleep I won’t wake up! Or my alarm would be too quiet because I don’t want to wake up the dozen girls who are sharing my hostel room with me. So, here I am rambling and writing a blog post! I’ll fall asleep once I get on the shuttle and once I’m on the plane to Greece. I can even sleep in a lawn chair at the beach tomorrow afternoon…

Anyways, the last two days in London have been awesome! Yesterday I walked 23K steps – a new record for me. I walked all over the place and took the tube around the city, too.

I started my day with a coffee and a raspberry almond muffin from Cafe Nero. Then I took the tube over to the Victoria & Albert museum. What a beaut! Seriously, I think I took 180 photos there. I loved all the fashion displays from the mid 1700s-today. It was unreal to see dresses and accessories from 180 years ago. As someone who appreciates decades fashion, this was right up my alley. I also walked through British history exhibits from the renaissance era up to the turn of this last century. Sculptures, paintings, glasswork, furniture… This place has it all! My description isn’t doing it justice. If you get to London, go there and you’ll know what I mean! The building alone is a work of art. Think grand entrances, marble staircases, extraordinarily high ceilings. I asked one of the workers how high the ceilings were and he looked at me like I was a complete weirdo. I guess that’s not a common question. (Dad, if you’re reading this, the ceilings were about 16+ feet high!!)

After the museum I took a stroll through Hyde Park. Oh my gosh it was beautiful. I walked along a gorgeous tree-lined path and the leaves were starting to turn golden. These trees were HUGE. Maybe the biggest trees I’ve ever seen. (Not sure how they compare to the redwoods since I’ve never been.) It was a lovely fall scene that could have been in a British rom com for sure. There was a stretch with a ridiculous downpour of rain so I hid under a tree with strangers. It was something. But then it cleared up and I walked by a pond with a variety of geese, swans and ducks. It’s the most wildlife I’ve seen since being here. I couldn’t help but hum “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins.

Then I ended up in front of Buckingham Palace. That place is just as grand as I remember! No royalty sightings for me but at least a kind stranger took my photo in front of the gates. That was so sweet! I passed beautiful gardens and walked through St Paul Park in rain. I arrived at Westminster Abbey. I took photos of the outside from all angles. I decided to forgo the tour. I’ve seen a lot of churches in my day.

I walked over to Big Ben which was under construction (bummer!!) and then over to the London Eye. The line for tickets was crazy long and the line for actually riding the Ferris wheel was even longer. I decided not to follow through. I’m afraid of heights anyways haha I was just trying to be brave!

After all of this I took the tube home. I’ll tell ya what, the dogs were barking! My poor feet were tired and I could use more water. I chilled for a bit and met a girl I went to high school with, Maddie, for drinks nearby. Our paths crossed when we worked a golf course during college summers and then again at my last PR job. I was so pumped to see that she’d be in London the same time as me. We had a few drinks at two different pubs. It was awesome! Time truly flew by!!

Then on my way home I stopped at a pizza place across the street from my hostel. Holy cow it was really good. I was striking out with good food on this trip and this pizza place, Pizza Sophia, really knocked it out of the park. I couldn’t help but giggle at a table of Denmark dads across from me. I had NO idea what they were saying but they were laughing so hard and having an absolute ball. They liked that I was from MN. Go Vikings!! They were all so nice and I had a nice time chatting with them in this super tiny restaurant.