I loved London! Maybe it's because it felt 'safe' after 4 months in South America? Or, maybe it's because I'm a Sherwood, and my ancestors are British? Either way, I loved it and felt quite at home there. Sadly, I wasn't there much, as I did 3 weekend side trips (Wales, Paris, Edinburgh). But, the time I was there was lovely. So, here's a long overdue recap of some of the highlights!
Looking back, I did not do much sightseeing and the majority of my time in London was spent in the Tube (aka London’s public train system). I traveled during the weekends but during the week, I commuted into the RY co-working space: the Collective: Bedford.
The workspace was really cool, and I dug the vibe. It was right by the British Museum in a cool area of London, not far from SoHo. I would usually get off the Tube one stop early, (Oxford Street) because I liked the vibe of Ox St! It must have been the flags and banners.
Or, maybe it was the cool street performers doing my favorite Justin Bieber song?
The commute to the office was ~50 - 55 minutes. The London Tube is the most intricate train system I've seen, although probably not as crazy as NYC. Thank God for the CityMapper app! Here is a video of us walking the Tube hallways on my birthday:
And, us riding the Tube on my birthday:
Lots of time spent at Tube stations:
Lots of views like this:
And people like this:
One night, I was craving wings. I found a BBQ joint named Bodean's. Not only did they have fantastic wings, but the ribs, brisket, burnt tips, etc, were top notch! Great to find a strong BBQ place.
London has one of the best geotag filters on Snapchat. Love this teacup one:
I've already written about my experience at the Tate Modern Museum, but here is a video of the awesome views from the top floor:
My last night in London was amazing. Finally met up with one of my friends from LA, (formerly LA, she has been living in London for almost a year), Jena Mihalovic.
Jena picked the restaurant, this trendy spot called the "Sketch Gallery". Sketch has multiple rooms, and each one is decorated uniquely by the British artist David Shrigley. We dined in The Gallery, which was incredibly cool. Love the sketch drawings on the walls and the tall ceilings.
The food was fantastically weird. Most of the dishes had ice cream with it. But, it would be a small scoop of mushroom ice cream or some strange concoction. I loved everything!
One funny feature of Sketch is the uber-hip bathroom setup, featuring futuristic "pods" to do your business in. It's funny to see so many people taking photos in the bathroom. I was one of them.
That was a perfect final night for a fun month. Thanks to Jena for picking the perfect place and sending me off right!
I'd love to go back to London and spend more quality time there! I'm sure I'll be back.
Side note: I’m way behind on photos and blogging. I’ve been working hard all summer and have had a hard time keeping up with balancing work and sharing my travel experience! But I am trying to catch up. I just posted the best of my London pics to Facebook. Check em out here.
Stay tuned for more! I will catch up!