London in a day

This guy was chilling on the garden.
I wish I could take naps like him.

Today, we got the full Monty. That is, we saw all of the sights and landmarks of the city in a day.

I've also been singing this song all day.

The city is so relaxed. The people are always cool and extremely well-dressed (I have yet to work up the courage to photograph Londoners and their awesome sense of fashion), and the architecture isn’t cramped, tall, and reflective like New York City.

Best friends at Buckingham
Palace!

We began our day by taking the Tube for the first time, London’s version of the subway. It will be my main source of transportation to my internship, and I’ll have to navigate it alone on Tuesday.

We happened to catch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was a lot of pomp and circumstance, but nonetheless a great ceremony.

Twinsies getting international
Starbucks!

We then walked to the National Portrait Gallery. There was some sort of Indian celebration going on there. We didn’t actually explore the museum, as we were starving and ready for lunch.

As I stood on the steps of the museum overlooking the plaza, I had never felt more global. I know that sounds terribly hippie, but Big Ben was in view, sounds and smells of Indian cuisine and the sheer number of people and languages and cultures was so…harmonious.

For lunch we went to a pub, and I had steak and ale pie with chips. That is, a delicious meat pie and french fries. I had one of those moments where my food was so good that I didn’t want it to end. Also, I am eating meat in London, because the regulations are stricter. While not perfect, Brits are way more in tune to recycling and better quality food than Americans.

If you look closely, the British flag
is made of cupcakes. So cute!

From there, we walked to Picadilly Circus (“Circus” basically just means “Circle”). It reminded me of a less crowded Times Square. I did get Starbucks, which tasted different than back home. The food and some of the drinks were fancier too. I think it tasted different because of the fresh milk.

H&M Shades and Big Ben

We then walked to Covent Gardens, an awesome place. It’s a square with shops and outlets. It was so full of life: street performers, the smell of fresh pastries and good food, designer shops, music. I loved it. Some friends and I went into H&M. I felt bad going to an American shop, but it was a great idea.

I bought some clothes (by the way, it is cold here. Think weather for March or early October). I bought really cool John Lennon-esque sunglasses, my first crazy London accessory. 

I’ve pretty much figured out British fashion: you just pile on many layers of dark-ish clothing and some accessories, and it ends up looking wildly hip somehow.

Big Ben!

We then saw the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, the front of Westminster Abbey, and the Millenium bridge (it was the bridge the Death Eaters destroyed in a Harry Potter movie).

From there, we went back to Maida Vale (our neighborhood) and had dinner at an Indian Restaurant with Dr. Stewart, a friend of Hillar’s and an English professor at WVU. The food was so flavorful- I love Indian food! I had Kashmir chicken curry, which had spices and bananas in it. Such a cool experience.

Tomorrow, we scope out where our internships are. I am beyond excited to poke around Shoreditch; I’ve heard such great things about it! 

But alas, time for bed.

This wasn't photoshopped, but it looks like a postcard.