Mind the Gap

This post is veeeeeeery late, considering I visited London at the beginning of April! School has been fairly tiring recently, and I’ve lost track of time, but I’m determined to show you all some pictures from my trip to London! During Semana Santa (basically my Spring Break), I first went to Mallorca then later met my parents in London. I hadn’t seen them in 7 months, yet with the ability to Skype and text, it didn’t feel like it had been that long. It was my first time to this city, my dad’s first time to Europe, and a return to a place my mom visited 19 years ago! Unfortunately, my brother couldn’t make it, so I felt a bit like an only child. I’ve gotten to be quite the navigator, so my parents were happy to have me guide us around which fits my slightly bossy attitude. I think I’ve also reached an age where my parents look to me for what to do, which is a bit scary (they’re getting closer to retirement age, and I’m getting closer to being in debt and making major life choices age). So here are the pictures! Most of them are mine, but I’ve stolen a few from my mother in case you don’t have Facebook/don’t know her! Plus, she has a nice new DSLR camera thanks to my dad, and it takes 10x better photos than my old iPhone.

We stayed in a hotel a minute away from Victoria Station, which was pretty convenient.

I love a good pub. And of course they’re everywhere! (Except when you’re really hungry.)

I love going into grocery stores in other countries. This seemed very British.

As soon as you walk out of the Westminster tube station, there’s Big Ben! Fun fact though… Big Ben is the name of the bell not the clock!

A very typical gray day in London with the London Eye in the background. It’s very expensive to ride, but we did later get a good view of the city.

Hey, look who it is!

Westminster Abbey. The cropped version to get all the aimlessly wandering people out of the shot.

Across from Parliament and the Abbey was a park filled with statues of famous leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill as seen here.

This picture is pretty boring, but it’s actually a shot of 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives.

I’m always interested to see how cities design memorials. Happy to see one celebrating the women too!

Made our way to Trafalgar Square.

As it was Easter weekend, there was quite crowd there watching a live version of The Passion.

We weren’t able to make it to Harrod’s, but we did go to another department store called Fortnum & Mason. These baked goods were so tempting.

I stay true to my British heritage by loving Earl Grey tea. One floor in this store was completely dominated by coffee and tea tins.

Considered getting one of these teacups but was a little worried it would break on the travels back.

How do I get a job as a professional store window decorator?

Headed west and made a stop at Buckingham Palace.

I’m a sucker for symmetry, so this caught my eye. And then my mom’s, haha.

Then we decided to walk to the Marble Arch. Let’s just say that Hyde Park is huge, and it took a while to get there.

Definitely took the tube back after all that walking. I loved the signs at the stations.

The next day we went back to Buckingham Palace to watch Changing of the Guard. This is one of the better views I got, but usually some very tall men were in front of me. And we all know I’m soooo tall.

We also visited the Tower of London and got a tour from this Beefeater. He was very tall and very brash, so we got along well.

The White Tower in the background (and that woman giving me side-eye). A lot of interesting things have happened here. It had accommodation for the king, housed supplies, and at one point the bones of two boys were found, assumed to be those of the imprisoned princes who mysteriously disappeared in the tower.

Carvings by a prisoner held in another tower. Not exactly sure what a prisoner had to carve with, but I was impressed.

Tower Bridge is definitely my favorite bridge in London. London Bridge may have a song, but it’s pretty boring looking.

On the far left is the “Walkie Talkie” building, and on the far right is “The Gherkin” or the “Fabergé Egg” as we called it.

We did get to see the Crown Jewels, but couldn’t take any pictures. They sure were sparkly though!

Apparently, my dad has always wanted to cross this bridge. Well, we did it!

Another notable building in London, the Shard.

Had no idea King’s Cross Station had such a cool ceiling.

We took a boat to Greenwich. Here’s the Cutty Sark, a tea clipper that used to go between Britain and China.

Asked my dad exactly how boats get in the bottle, and of course, he knew.

After a climb to the Royal Observatory, I peered through the bars to see the Prime Meridian.

A view from the Royal Observatory.

Eventually, made it back to London city and walked through St. James Park. Still confused by this bird.

Beautiful St. James Park and Buckingham Palace in the background.

Such orderly and pristine white buildings! Pretty sure I asked, “I wonder how much these cost?” about 50 times around the city.

And here are some pics I nabbed from my mom!

Our last night we all got fish n’ chips. And of course a pint!

Pops and me.

Just made a very important call.

I’d say we can be pretty cute sometimes!

London is a great city with plenty to do, and it really does feel like an international city with all the tourists but also a lot of immigrants. After our visit there, I had to travel back to Madrid to get back to work, but my parents visited Paris then the last leg of their journey brought them to Madrid (after a very stressful flight situation). I obviously don’t have any Paris pictures, but I have a few from their time here in Madrid. I’ll share those with you for my next post and steal some more pictures from my mom.

P.S. ¡Feliz cumple, mamá! A very happy birthday to my wonderful mom who always supports me and inspires me to be adventurous. You’re the best!