Landing Across the Pond: London Day 1 and 2

All packed and ready to go. Yes, I wanted to take a cool Instagram photo so I laid everything out including the Js.

I left Minneapolis at 925p and made the 8.5 hour flight to London. Overall the flight was pretty uneventful. Food was nothing to write home about (gggrrrr), and I dozed in and out of a snooze the whole time. I didn’t even crack my Kindle open once (sorry book club). Upon arriving into Heathrow, I saw some of my cousins in the customs line, so I cut in line =).

Heathrow is a good 1.5 hrs via the Tube and needless to say the time difference was getting to me.

After checking into the hostel, we ate a late lunch at a chain called Nando’s specializing in African grilled chicken. Definitely saw a few around town. I hear there’s a few locations in the US.

We took a stroll thru Hyde Park, London’s large urban green space. Emerging out of the Marble Arch Tube station has me remembering my trip for the Olympics that was just a year ago.

A trip to Harrod’s was next on the list. None of us really wanted to shop for expensive clothes, but we’ve all heard great things about Harrod’s prepared foods, snacks, and confectionary floors. It was pretty awesome!!! I couldn’t leave without buying some truffles, salted caramel fudge, and English biscuits! Super packed but the service and the treats were a luxurious treat! Loved this place.

Here’s a special note from Harrod’s to the new prince, mom, and dad.

We closed the night getting some fish and chips! Super yummy. Actually I didn’t get chips but rather pickled onion rings. Pretty good. I just stole my cousins’ chips (fries).

The next day was a whirlwind. We left the hostel early (830a) and headed for some of the central London sights. We visited London Bridge then walked along the Thames to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Last year, Tower Bridge was definitely cooler with the Olympic rings hanging down.

We didn’t stay long because we wanted to catch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Big mistake. Way way way too many people. I could barely see anything. We didn’t stay long. We were hungry and soon left.

Lunch was Indian food! I’ve eaten my fair share of Indian food but this place featured a style called ‘Balti’ that was new to me. Aside from being slightly sweeter, it still tasted yummy to me. I got the lamb.

We swung by Westminster’s Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Bend. Definitely one of my favorite spots in London.

One highlight of the area was seeing the 3 Card Monte scammers working the crowds. Definitely waves of Eastern Europeans working unsuspecting impressionable tourists. Sad to say… my cousin was one of them. One we heard her throw in 50 GBPs we said ‘NO!’ but it was too late =/ Needless to say, she didn’t win.

The last tourist monument for the day was Trafalgar Square. An interesting art installation had a huge blue chicken nearby. Apparently it was installed just a few days earlier.

We ended the night in North London at a place called Camden Town. Full of hipsters and open markets, we ended up at a Cuban joint. A good meal and a bottle of Sol later, we headed back to the hostel and hung out in the commons before calling it a close to day 2 of London.