For me London doesn’t feel like vacation. Every time I visit London, I feel like I am going somewhere I know very well. After all, I used to live there for 2 years and completed my first year of university at Queen Mary’s University of London around the East-end part of the city. This area has been revamped significantly ever since the 2012 Olympics was held in this part of the city.
Typical double decker!
London is just beautiful, I want to say it’s the New York of Europe but although that might be true in a sense, it still feels very different. The whole vibe and culture, the things you come across and the food you eat is just different - and in a very good way! From double decker buses to red mailboxes, telephone booths, roundabouts and more, they are all iconic.
St. Paul's Cathedral
O2 Arena from Canary Wharf
You don’t need a reason to visit this city but for my fiancé and I, we were there for a very big reason - to see my few months old nephew, Nami. He is just wonderful, we would wake up to his gibberish sounds and go to sleep with his harmonic cries. It was amazing, he truly is a bundle of joy.
I usually try to catch a football game every time I am here since I am a huge Manchester United fan but it was the International Break and hence no club matches that weekend. We still managed to visit a lot of places, from Camden town to Convent Garden, Oxford Street (duh!!!), Hyde Park, Harrods, Selfridges and many more touristy locations since it was my fiancé’s first time visiting the city. Weather was amazing and I can tell you it only rained for maybe 2 hours during our entire 8 days stay.
Bloomberg Building in London - Greenest office building in the world!
Tate Modern was an interesting place we visited this time. I’ve been to MoMA in NY but Tate Modern was definitely up there in terms of unique pieces and amazing exhibitions they had. It was my first time here and we managed to go up on the 8th floor for the amazing 360 degrees view of the city
Inside Tate Modern
Tate Modern
After our museum visit we headed to Le Relais de Venise l'Entrecôte around Soho. This steakhouse has been my favourite place to visit in London and it never disappoints. The signature salad, steak and fries and their original sauce is truly a work of an artist. It just melts in your mouth!
l'Entrecôte London at Soho
World famous l'Entrecôte Steak and Fries and their delicious house-made sauce!
We walked quite a lot in this trip, literally the entire zone 1 of London from north to south, east to west. Watched the change of guards behind the palace and glanced through the luxury brands in Sloan Sq. We even went up the Walkie talkie and enjoyed the view at the Sky Garden.
From Walkie-Talkie's Sky Garden, looking at Shard and southern Thames river
Walk at the Mall
This city is always full of surprise and you never have a dull moment here. I highly recommend it for everyone to visit at least once in their lifetime. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. Till next time Big Smoke!