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| Colorful houses in Notting Hill |
Last week I arrived in London, and it’s been a whirlwind of
sightseeing and limited wi-fi ever since.
Upon dropping our bags off at the hostel, we decided to take
advantage of the beautiful weather and do some exploring in the neighborhood.
We walked up Portobello Road taking in the sunshine and colorful houses. We
spotted Louis Tomlinson’s ex-GF taking a cig break with her dog so mini-celeb
sighting. After grabbing some Nando’s, we headed back to Ealing (where I lived
my semester abroad). It was surreal to walk through the streets that I called
my home for four months. I’m a cheese so naturally I made J head up the hill to
the flats where I stayed to get a picture but I didn’t even cry so that’s good.
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| Too creepy or just creepy enough? |
Later on, we went out to O’Neill’s in Soho. The crowd was
mostly post-happy hour professionals, but we met some interesting people and
the live band was l i v e l y. We were craving Chinese food after the bar so it
was convenient we were in Chinatown; however, I asked for “shrimp lo mein” and
the guy responded with “English, please?” We then tried for General Tso’s and
it seemed we were in luck… but we received this flavorless, partially uncooked
chicken on a bed of rice – more like General Sads, amirite?
Day 2 kicked off in East London with a street art tour
through Alternative London. Our guide was a guy called Ben, and he did a
fantastic job incorporating history and current events with their significance
in street art. For example, this piece by stick highlights the “old-meets-new”
that’s been occurring on Brick Lane – how half of the street has maintained its
Bengali beginnings while the other half has transformed into a young, urban,
hipster playground. It was also eye-opening to see how gentrification is
impacting not just the area but all of London.
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| Stik's work on Princelet Street |
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| A Clet Abraham on Brick Lane |
Following the tour, we made our way to Borough Market, which
is a personal favorite of mine. I love how you can eat your way through the
market with less than £10 in your pocket. I committed to chicken dumplings
(amazing) and a spinach and feta Borek (also good). Afterwards, we visited Tate
Modern, crossed Millennium bridge, and got some ice cream at Covent Garden. We
ended day two with a night out at DSTRKT – it was a questionable night but fun
nonetheless.
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| View from Millennium bridge |
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| St. Paul's via Ludgate Hill |
So far, London has been great weather and great fun. I hope it keeps up this way!
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