Holy smokes, it was already over a week ago! Last Saturday I was in what very quickly became one of my favorite cities: The beautiful city of London!!! I had gone on the perfect five days, it rained the day I flew in and the day I flew out and those three days in between were gorgeous! As I am going through these photos I'm still a bit baffled I was there! London is one of those cities I've dreamed of for... forever, and I've seen it now, and definitely didn't want to leave!
My hotel was right next to Tower Bridge, right on the ever busy Tower Bridge Road. The bridge quickly became my landmark as it marked where I could pick up the underground and overground that would take me anywhere I needed to go. I absolutely fell in love with this bridge!! After my flight with RyanAir (best and cheapest European airline, I so desperately wish we had something like it in the states!) I took a shuttle to Liverpool after someone at the airport told me it was just a hop and a skip to the bridge from there. "A short walk, he said," I remember thinking after an hour of wandering the rainy London streets. "Yeah right!" It wasn't until I hit Tower Bridge that I stopped and realized, wait a second, I'M IN LONDON!!! I think I had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to stop and gape for a good five minutes, ensuring my status as a tourist right then and there.
My hotel was... interesting. It has the very professional and not at all sketchy name of the London Budget Shortstay. After getting lost on Tower Bridge Road for much longer than I care to admit, I finally found the hotel, and all in all, it was pretty decent!! A kitchen and shared bathroom was on each floor, with free cereal, milk, and glassware to use. It was nice to not scramble in the morning for breakfast somewhere. And after I figured out the overground (my Oyster card is my best friend) the location was AWESOME! I'd hop the 42, just outside the building and off I could go, anywhere I wanted! It was perfect! I don't have any pictures of the shortstay, as whenever I got back to my hotel I'd practically crash, but it was pretty neat!
Anyway, enough details about where I stayed, let's get to the fun stuff!!!
Just by Tower Bridge, of course, is the Tower of London!! My first night there I stayed on the south side of the River Thames, pretty close to the Tower of London just so I didn't get too lost. I had gotten to my hotel around five which left me with little time to explore that night (not to mention I'd been up since 2:30, running on an hour of sleep and adrenaline!) I didn't go into the Tower, but the outside was spectacular. When I return, I'll definitely have to take a tour of the inside!
Really, one of my favorite parts of the city was simply the architecture. That first night I ran into so many amazing buildings and pubs and restaurants that looked incredible! I also made it a goal that night to find Shakespeare's Globe! Which, I have to say I'm a little disappointed I didn't see a play there. Yet another reason I need to return!
These two photos above are Shakespeare's Globe! I was very close to seeing As You Like It. 5£ to for the yard? Not a bad price! I decided against it at the last minute however.
My first night there, the sunset was stunning. I was walking back down Tower Bridge Road (I hadn't quite figured out the overground yet) and was in awe the entire time at how pink the sky was. In Italy, we have red and orange sunsets, nothing that takes up the entire sky however. Just bits and pieces of the sky flashing brilliant colors. The skies in London felt very different!
I have a final to finish up before tomorrow, so I'll end here! I'll post about my other four days there soon! Ciao!
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