London for Fun

Two years ago Brian, my good friend from high school and college, moved to London and I told him, even before he left, that I'd be coming to visit him at some point before his visa expired. Well, he left London on August 5th. And I visited London from July 28th to August 4th! Nothing like getting it in under the wire. I saw some of my old haunts from when I studied there for a semester over a decade ago, and I squeezed in some new things, too. It's a great, beautiful, old, interesting city and I loved having a chance to really explore it.

The first night I was there Brian took me to Pub Quiz at a local pub.

We Won!

And for winning we got a round of drinks, which turned into 2 bottles of pink champagne. Here are Brian, Neal and Martin enjoying our winnings:

I went to tons of museums while I was there. I started out at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I had plans to meet up with my friend Allison after the museum and ended up running into her in the museum in front of the Arnolfini portrait by Van Eyck.

Here are Allison and I at lunch at a North African restaurant called Saharaween. It was so nice to catch up with her (she lives in Boston but was visiting London the same time I was) and the food was great!

This is a sign that was all over the Tube stations. The funny thing is, it wasn't hot at all. The highs while I was there were in low 70s.

This is the Sloane Square station, the one closest to Brian's flat. Good old "Mind the Gap":

Another thing that you see all over London is reminders to "Look Right" when you cross the street. The double-decker bus in the back is just another iconic London image.

I had a chance to visit the new Syracuse London Centre (known as Faraday House). It was nice to see where Brian works, and where the new crops of SU students are studying abroad. One of my favorite parts was getting to see an art installation made from the lockers that were in the basement photography area of the old London Centre. The insides of all the lockers are signed by years of photo students. I'm so glad they kept them around.

When I studied in London I had just become vegetarian and I remember really enjoying at least one lovely meal here. I'm glad that Brian and I had a chance to eat here this time around.

I took an afternoon stroll through Kensington Gardens. It was quite a windy day. I love these chairs near the Round Pond.

And I treated myself to afternoon tea at the Orangery. It's so lovely there. And the cheese scone was amazing.

I also took some time to stroll down Portabello Road. One of my favorite bookstores is the adorable Books for Cooks. They have a little test kitchen in the back and it always smells amazing. I made it here right before it started pouring rain, so I had a great excuse to hang out and browse for a while.

The little pub in Brian's neighborhood, the Fox and Hounds, was the perfect place for a post-dinner drink. Brian is a local there, so it was fun to meet some of the other locals, especially the bartender who was quite a character. That's Brian standing at the bar through the door:

Here's the cheesy touristy photo of me with a phone booth. Somehow I can't leave London without one of these:

And so many British things in one photo: Harry Potter, Hogarth and the Red phonebooth.

I was very impressed with the British Museum. There are so many treasures under one roof:

And so many people under one roof, too. It was pretty crowded. Here's a shot of the crowd headed toward the Elgin Marbles:

On our way through King's Cross Station, we went out of our way to find Platform 9 3/4, the secret entrance to the Hogwart's Express from Harry Potter. Brian and I waited in line for our chance to get this cheesy shot:

And yes, I went to a Ukulele open mic. It was called Ukey Love and it was brilliant! We didn't know what to expect, but it was really quite fun. The pub was really cute and the performers ranged from good to exceptional. It was a fun night out.

I spent an entire day at Kew Gardens. When I was studying in London I went out to Kew kind of on a whim and fell in love with it. I'm so happy I had a chance to go back and on such a beautiful day. Here is the Palm House:

One of the coolest features of the both the Palm House and Temperate House is that there is a walkway around the top where you can see the tops of the trees. Here is a fern from the top of the Palm House:

And the roof of the temperate house with big fluffy clounds:

A water lily in the Water Lily House:

Kew is celebrating it's 250th year and this new treetop walkway was built to help commemorate that. It's about 4 stories high and the views are spectacular. But it's just a metal walkway with a grated floor that you can see through. It's not at all for anyone afraid of heights.

Here I am with a view of the Temperate House behind me:

Here is a woman having lunch with a peacock. I found it to be such a funny sight:

After Kew I headed to the Borough Market to pick up some produce for dinner. It was a great market with tons of good produce. I'm glad I had a chance to go.

Here is Brian enjoying our night in with roasted golden beet and arugula salad with goat cheese, and pasta with basil, potatoes and peas. It was a delicious meal with all fresh ingredients, and so nice to just spend one night at home. Brian is an excellent host!

I went to the British Library for the first time! Again, so many treasures under one roof. One of the highlights for me was the original manuscript for Alice in Wonderland with the original drawings by Lewis Carrol.

I also got to visit the V&A and found it to be one of the most confusing museums I've ever been in. But it does house the National Art Library. Hear that? A NATIONAL Art Library. Pretty cool.

Brian and I ended up going to the Proms with my cousin Bill and his wife Naomi! It was such a fun night and the show was all music from classic MGM musicals. Yes, Singin' In the Rain was one of those musicals. Here are Brian and I with our umbrellas (it really was raining):

And here's a shot of Bill, Naomi and I after the show outside Royal Albert Hall:

Bill, Naomi and I spent a lovely day in Richmond. We walked past the Poppy Factory (where they make the Red Poppy pins for Remembrance Day). I did part of a photo story here while I was studying.

And you can't go to London and not get a shot of Big Ben. Here's mine. And Big Ben is actually the bell in the clock tower, not the clock tower itself.

And Buckingham Palace. The Queen is in!

This is the ridiculously huge cupcake I had at the cafe in St. James' Park. It was delicious, but made my teeth hurt it was so sweet.

St. James' Park also has pelicans.

Here's a view from the Millennium Bridge (aka Wobbly Bridge) looking from the Tate Modern across to St. Paul's. The Tate was amazing.

It was truly an amazing trip. I'm so glad I finally just bought the plane ticket and went. It had been way too long since I'd been across an ocean. Thanks to Brian and Bill and Naomi for being great hosts!