On Monday, Lizzie and I left Munich on a direct flight to London Gatwick, one of the many airports in London! London is a place I have really been trying to go to all semester, so I could not have been more excited. The weather was just as beautiful in London as it was in Munich, 60s and 70s all days. We arrived in London at 10 am and took the ‘tube’ to our hotel in Knightsbridge, the Knightsbridge Hotel! Our hotel was lovely and upon leaving the underground tube I was immediately captivated by how beautiful the buildings and streets are of London. London has a ‘New York’ feel, but is very ‘girly’ and proper; I absolutely loved it!

 

We couldn’t check into our hotel right away, so Lizzie and I enjoyed some fish and chips right around the corner. Our plan for the day was to go to Abbey Road and Abbey Road studies, King’s Cross station, and then Oxford Circus for some shopping. Hopefully everyone reading this knows that Abbey road is famous for The Beatles, and I took multiple pictures walking across the street! Just like I was on the album. What was funny is that there is actual traffic on the road, so when cars are not coming people run quickly to get their photo. I bet the locals get very annoyed going through there daily.

 

After Abbey Road, we went to King’s Cross Station which is famous for Harry Potter’s journey on platform 9 and �. I got my picture going to Hogwarts! The movie was actually filmed in one of the platforms in the station.

 

 

Lizzie and I took the tube to Oxford Circus for some serious shopping, she said it was her favorite place in the world and I can see why! Think 8^th Avenue in NYC, but then with a London feel! It was fantastic. I immediately went to Top Shop, H & M, Zara, and Mango, my favorite stores in Europe. Shopping for a few hours was followed by a nice dinner at a funky place called ‘Sketch’ which was very artsy and different. Their toilets were ‘alien pads’ that were shaped like eggs and each individual pad was a toilet! When you closed the door to the pad, it talked to you. Too funny!

 

The next day, Lizzie and I were determined to do some serious sightseeing. Our day began at Buckingham Palace gate for the changing of the guard, again- 70 and sunny! The changing of the guard was impressive and after we were so lucky to see the FABULOUS flowers outside of Buckingham, it was a postcard picture day. The pictures speak for themselves! The queen is very lucky this time of year. The queen was in Buckingham too!

 

After Buckingham, Lizzie and I walked around town and over the millennium bridge which was also filmed in Harry Potter. From the bridge we saw the ‘Eye’ or London Farris Wheel and made our way to Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminister Abbey. The London Eye would have been fun to go on, but we had to prioritize because we only had 2 days in London. Big Ben was looking radiant as ever, and Westminister Abbey was fabulous- where the royal wedding just took place! I cannot imagine getting married in a place that big, full of all the royal funerals and weddings throughout history. Note my illegal pictures! They wanted to throw me out.

 

 

After Westminister, Lizzie and I went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels and Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is not actually ‘London Bridge’ although everyone mistakes it to be. The Crown Jewels are located in a historic fort used during times of war in London. In the Tower of London I REALLY almost got thrown out for taking illegal pictures… the lady asked to confiscate my phone and I told her no that my phone was my property, the lady told me that the crown jewels were her property! Lizzie told me I could have been deported. That would not have been good nor funny to think about now…

 

Lizzie and I had a fabulous dinner at a place called ‘De Marios’ in Kensington which was advertized as Princess Diana’s favorite restaurant and there were pictures of her all over it. After dinner, we got tickets to see the show “Thriller Live” which was all about Michael Jackson and his music. It was AWESOME! Everyone that likes Michael Jackson should go see it, awesome music and dancing! The show was in Piccadilly Square, the ‘Times Square’ of London, so it was perfect.

 

After a very busy day, I had to say goodbye to Lizzie who was leaving for the US at 6 am on Wednesday. I booked my flight back to Ireland at 9 pm on Wednesday so I could spend one more day in London, even if it was by myself. On Wednesday, I traveled out to Harry Potter Studios, the Making of Harry Potter, and enjoyed a day of shopping at Harrods in Knightsbridge. Harry Potter deserves a separate blog!

 

 

Location: London, United Kingdom