Today I’m going on a trip down memory lane to recap our trip to London! We visited London in 2019 when we had flown to Scotland.
When we arrived to London, it was raining heavily for most of the day. But I still insisted on walking everywhere we went because I feel like it’s the best way to see a city. On our way to Buckingham Palace, we walked past a library, and they had a tree dedicated to Anne Frank.
When we got to Buckingham Palace, it was packed with tourists. We found out it’s because people were gathering to watch the Changing of the Guard, but I guess since it was raining they weren’t going to do the whole procedure, but were just going to do a quick change. We hadn’t arrived with the plan to see the Changing of the Guard, but I did feel bad for people who were looking forward to it!
I also felt kind of…underwhelmed by Buckingham Palace, to be honest. I mean I’ve seen pictures of it online so I guess I knew what it was going to look like, but I was expecting it to be a bit more grand in person. My parents did go for a tour when they visited though, and they said it was really good, so maybe I’ll have to go back one day and sign up for a tour!
This was on our way to the London Eye! I thought I wouldn’t fully enjoy the London Eye because I’m afraid of heights, but I really enjoyed it! I can’t remember if we went to Waterloo station to get to London Eye, but we were there frequently, and every time we were there I couldn’t help but hum the ABBA song. We also saw a classic red telephone booth on the way, so like a true tourist I had to get a photo next to it! That last photo is from a different day, but the weather was nicer for a photo with the London Eye in the background.
We went to see the Tower of London, but again we hadn’t booked a tour for it. It was still cool to see it from the outside, but I’d definitely like to go back for a tour one day! I found the sculptures of the lions, as well as the sculpture of the guard with the bow and arrow (fourth photo) to be really neat! The ice cream cones in the top photo aren’t from the Tower of London, of course, but we saw an ice cream truck nearby and enjoyed our treat while looking at the Tower!
After the Tower of London, we walked over to the London Bridge and walked across it. It was funny to think about how people driving or walking across probably do it as part of their daily commute and don’t really think of it as anything special. And then there’s tourists like me walking across and taking endless photos of this bridge!
Madame Tussauds – I’ve been to the one in Amsterdam, and the one in London felt like a totally different experience. It was a bit difficult to get photos with the wax figures without any other people in the shot since it was so crowded, but we still managed to get a few good photos. These were some of my favourites.
This section above is just a random collection of shots from wandering around London. I didn’t get a chance to see the real Big Ben in person (it was under construction), but I did get to see the lego version! We also went to the M&M store, which was on my list of places to visit. Ever since I found out you could get customized M&Ms at an M&M store, I’ve been desperate to go to one.
We took a stroll through the Leake Street graffiti tunnel, and took our time walking through and marvelling at the artwork. On our way out of the tunnel, we spotted this Banksy piece in the last photo. I’m still reluctant to believe it’s from the Banksy, even though Michael assured me that it must be since it has his signature, and it is a well-known piece of his. But I just don’t want to get all excited thinking I’ve seen a Banksy in the flesh, and then feel disappointed if it turns out to be from someone else imitating Banksy!
Carnaby Street and Daunt Books were some highlights for me! I think we walked along Carnaby Street a few times, and we did a bit of shopping down there as well. I absolutely loved it. There was a weird Shakespeare doll hanging out a window (third photo) which scared me, haha! There was also a wild store with crazy shoes (second photo) that I didn’t go into, but had to snap a photo of. Daunt Books was a massive bookstore, it felt like stepping into a different world. It was super quiet, like a library, and there were multiple floors filled with books. It was an absolute dream.
Inko Nito was our favourite restaurant in London, by far. We regularly talk about how much we miss it and want to go back just so we can eat there again. The broccoli, in the third photo, was out of this world. I think that dish, as well as the sweet potato, were my favourites. The dishes came out as they were ready, so we didn’t have them all at once, which I liked. It felt like we were able to fully enjoy each dish on its own without mixing flavours.
I definitely want to go back to London one day – I loved the energy there so much, and I never got tired of walking around looking at everything (although my feet definitely got tired). Looking through these photos makes me miss the excitement and adventure of traveling to new places. Hopefully we’ll be able to travel again soon!
Until next time,
Nadine
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