Monday, December 7, 2015

Mind the Gap: Experiencing London


“The best bribe which London offers to-day to the imagination, is, that, in such a vast variety of people and conditions, one can believe there is room for persons of romantic character to exist, and that the poet, the mystic, and the hero may hope to confront their counterparts.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Big Ben and the Iconic Red Buses

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit London! Lena’s brother (Ben) has lived in London for the past five years and when she planned to visit him, she invited me along. I am so grateful, too, because I feel my study abroad experience would not be the same without a trip to London!
Lena and I with our Winter Pimm's

Day 1
Friday evening we flew out of Eindhoven and then got a bus from the airport to Ben’s apartment. International travel would not be complete without its hiccups. At the Eindhoven airport, I waltzed up to passport check with my passport and my boarding pass, just like I did when I was on vacation at the beginning of my trip with my parents, not realizing that traveling while living abroad is different than traveling on a week vacation. The customs agent flipped through my passport about 5 times, looking very concerned. He then asked what I was doing in the country for so long, seeing that my passport stamps claimed I entered the Netherlands in August. I explained that I was studying abroad and he asked for my residence permit (which is basically a VISA). Of course I didn’t even realize I would need that and left it at home. I had to spend some time convincing him and he eventually let me through by looking at my student ID. Speaking with customs is always one of the scariest things, especially the next 3 times I had to on that trip, knowing I didn’t have the proper documents. I ended up getting home though!

The London Eye
Day 2
Saturday was a full day of sightseeing! We went all throughout the city via foot, the DLR (Driver-less Rail), the Tube (the Underground), the Overground, buses and Uber. We saw so many sights including the Olympic Park, Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the Shard. London is a beautiful city full of history. Of course I needed a photo near the infamous telephone booths but to our surprise, there were queue’s to get a photo with most of them. We ended up finding one hidden somewhere that luckily didn’t have many people around. 

 Westminster Abbey

Christmas Market 

For lunch we ate at a coffee shop called Notes and we walked through a Christmas Market. There we found a fancy truck that served warm cocktails and wines. We each drank a warm Pimm’s which is typically a summery drink in England but these were made especially for the winter. That evening we went to another Christmas Market near the Eye before heading to The George Inn for an English supper. I had the spinach and sweet potato pie and we all shared Christmas pudding for dessert. I had never had either of those dishes so it was perfect while in London. 

The Deco Bar at the Christmas Market
To cap off the evening, Ben treated us to cocktails at the Aqua bar on the 32nd floor of the Shard. This tower stands 1,016 feet and has 95 floors. Even on the 32nd floor, we were still higher than the arch! The view of London at night from that high was breathtaking. Part of you wants to walk right up to the glass and stare for hours, and part of you wants to take the elevator back down as fast as possible. We enjoyed our cocktails and the view for about an hour before heading home.

The Shard

Day 3
Sunday was our shopping day. We began at the Camden market which is the largest market I have ever seen. It had endless amounts of stalls with handcrafted trinkets, vintage clothes, real leather and gifts. We spent all morning shopping around the crowded alleys. We then had coffee at another cute coffee shop before heading to the Stratford mall. There, we were able to do some more luxurious shopping. We didn’t get too carried away, though, because it was completely packed with Christmas shoppers. Once we had finally had enough shopping for the day, we went to a nice Indian Restaurant for some Curry! I also had never been to an Indian Restaurant so all of this food was new to me. Of course we had Curry, but we also ordered Nan and Mango Lassi. I don’t really like spicy food so the Curry was not my favorite but the rest was delicious! That night we had an early night in to get ready for our alarm at 5:30 to catch the bus back to the airport today.

 Camden Panoramic View

Overall, it was a very successful trip. I got to see many sights and experience a lot of things I had never done before. Ralf Waldo Emerson was right, the city is so international and eclectic, one could meet people from all walks of life. We saw the colorful shabby sides of London as well as the sleek high class and everything in between. My favorite part of the trip was, by far, the company I shared it with. Lena is a friend that really means a lot to me and her brother was such a great host. With only 2 weeks left and one trip to Germany planned, my study abroad experience is coming to a close. I have to say, this is a really nice way to wrap it all up.

London Bridge

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