LONDON!

Just over a month ago, I made a trip to London!  It was sort of a spontaneous trip because the flight was relatively inexpensive and I had friends studying there who I could visit.  So even though I came to Spain never planning to go to London, I am SOOOOOOO glad that I did.  I had a simply wonderful time there!

I flew with Ryanair (a REALLY cheap European airline - both in prices and service) to London-Stansted Airport and then took a bus to central London where I met my good friend Melissa (not until 2am since she had given me the wrong phone number...).  On my first day in London, we woke up to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, which was unfortunately not really worth it.  The ceremony was difficult to see since there were throngs of tourists packed in front of the palace gates and the ceremony was rather drawn out.  Melissa and I decided to leave before it was even over since we were so bored.  We then strolled through St. James's Park and down Whitehall to Trafalgar Square!  I love Trafalgar Square.  It's definitely my favorite spot in London and one of my favorite places in the world.  I don't know why.  It's just such a big, open, inviting space with great museums and great views of London, and of course the fun lions!  Currently, there is a countdown clock there for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games which was cool to see!  We briefly visited the National Gallery (all London museums are free so it's nice to not have to spend all day to get your money's worth) and saw some great works by Van Gogh and Monet!  Afterwards, we went out to lunch at a pub with our friend Luis for a great meal and then headed to Hyde Park, where we splashed around in the Princess Diana Memorial - England was experiencing record high temperatures during my weekend there...no escape from the Spanish heat for me!  After relaxing in the park, Melissa and I met up at a pub with some of her friends from her school for an afternoon pint.  I had Strongbow, which is perhaps my new favorite drink!  That night, we met up with Luis and his friend Carla at a really cool bar.  We kind of crashed the housewarming party of the friend of a guy Melissa met at a play.  It was all very random, but it was so fun!  It was so interesting to talk to British people and learn about their perspectives of their own country and of America.

The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace!

Melissa and me in St. James's Park

Countdown to 2012!

Inside the National Gallery

Trafalgar Square - my love :]

My first British pub!
(I had a delicious £5 burger - great deal!)

Enjoying the Princess Diana Memorial on a hot day!

Melissa, Luis and me in Hyde Park!

Autumn in Hyde Park!

My first Strongbow :]

Me and Melissa on the Tube heading out for the night!

The Miller - a really great bar!!!

During my second day in London, Melissa and I headed to the Portobello Road Market.  Due to construction for the Olympics, the major Tube lines were closed and getting to the market was nightmarish, not to mention extremely expensive for me with all the transfers!  The market was cool!  It had so many things - antiques, souvenirs, clothes, food!  We spent about an hour there before we went our separate ways.  I caught a bus to Trafalgar Square to meet up with my friend Melek from Turkey, who is in graduate school in London.  I hadn't seen her in almost 2 years, so it was nice to catch up in the park, go out to dinner and then walk around central London at night!  Then I took the Tube to Luis' apartment, which was once again nightmarish and left me wandering London for a half hour trying to find where he lived.  Once Melissa arrived, we headed out with his friends Carla and Jenn to another bar that was much less fun than the one the night before, but still enjoyable.

The Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill

Food vendors in the market

Melek and me in St. James's Park!

Regent Street at night!

Hanging around at Hamleys Toy Store

Day 3 in London was VERY busy!  Melissa and I met Luis in central London for our DIY Harry Potter walking tour!  We essentially walked all over the city to see sites with significance to the HP series.  Some were possible inspirations for locations like Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron and others were used as filming locations for the movies!  It was SO much fun to walk around the whole city with two of my good friends while walking in the real footsteps of our beloved Harry Potter series.  We may have even reenacted some scenes.  The night ended with an epic wand battle in Leadenhall Market.  Yes, we are nerdy fanatics!

Entrance to Goodwin's Court - a possible inspiration for Diagon Alley!

Knocking on the bricks to get into Diagon Alley!

Together with friends in Trafalgar Square - life really can't get much better!

Sliding down a lion!

Obligatory red telephone booth photo!

Keeping the lookout to sneak into the Ministry of Magic!

Oh hey, Big Ben!

The Houses of Parliament and the Thames!

Sunset on the Thames in Southwark!

Millennium Bridge - luckily no Death Eaters this time!

Leadenhall Market - filming location for Diagon Alley

Epic wand battle!

Expelliarmus!

My fourth and final day was also enjoyable.  Melissa had to work on homework, so I ventured out on my own to explore her area - the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.  It was a very ritzy, posh part of London where much of the wealthy people live, so it was cool to see a lot of the fancy houses and apartments!  I also stopped by Holland Park for a stroll through the trees and gardens.  It was a really nice morning walk!  After a quick lunch, Melissa dropped me off at my bus and I was on my way to the airport.  It was a lovely drive through the English countryside and a great ending to my trip!

St. Yeghiche Armenian Church in South Kenisngton

Fancy homes in South Kensington

I wouldn't mind living here...

Strolling through Holland Park

The gardens of Holland House, an 17th century mansion destroyed in WWII

A rose in the garden - I love yellow!

Driving to the airport through the English countryside

I love London.  I loved it before and I fell even more in love with it the second time!  It really is a world class city and has so much to offer.  It's so modern and international, yet somehow retains it's history and traditions and British character.  It's so huge (the largest city in Europe with roughly 8 million people) but it still feels very manageable and familiar.  I could go on and on, but I'll end here and just recommend that you all go to London at some point in your life and experience it for yourself!