Weekend in London

Buckingham Palace
Me + Buckingham Palace

Last weekend, I went to London with a couple of friends. Originally, this trip started out with five people but then grew to around 11. Since it was a big group, we all did our own thing but we all had such a great time! I spent most of the time with Kimi, Katie, and Elaine. Mostly everyone going on this trip took the same flights and stayed at the same hostel.

On our way to Dublin airport, Kimi and I took the bus that left Galway at 4:15… It was not a good idea. According to our ticket, we were going to arrive at the airport at 7, giving us an hour at the airport before the gate to our flight closed. That was not what happened. We arrived at the airport at 7:30! At that point, I was freaking out. Once we got off that bus, we ran to our gate. The good news was that we made it! After this incident, I have decided to take earlier buses to get more than an hour early to the airport. We arrived at Stansted airport at around 10 p.m. and took a bus to get to the city. Once we arrived,  a couple of us decided to get food before going to the hostel. We went to a kebab place that was open until 3 a.m. It was great because it was late and we were hungry. Also, kebabs have kind of become our go-to food for late nights.

The next morning, we woke up early to go on an all-day walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was great! She knows her history and made it interesting for us. We learned about the monarchs, the city, and the history of the city. She also gave us recommendations for things to do over the weekend. Part of our city tour included looking at the changing of the guard. We were not in front of Buckingham palace because it gets crowded there, instead, we were more further away and were able to see at a good distance.

Ceremony with the guards marching at Buckingham Palace.

Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
Changing of the guard

We then had a little break for lunch. For lunch, our tour guide recommended us to go to a pub called the Princess of Wales. The girls got the pies and I ended up choosing a chicken dish. The food was amazing and if I go back, I would definitely go back here. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the food or else I would have posted one. After our lunch break, we finished the rest of our tour. We walked by St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower of London, and more.

Tower Bridge in the background
Tower Bridge
Friends with Tower Bridge in the background.
Elaine, Katie, Me, Kimi
Student standing in front of tall church in London.
random pic
Girl in red phone booth with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background.
St. Paul’s Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our tour, we were soaked and tired of walking around all day so we

Taxi ride with friends
Taxi ride around London

decided to take a taxi to Peggy Porschen. One of the reasons I wanted to go to London was because of the place called Peggy, which sells tea and pastries. After walking around ALL day, it was nice to sit down and enjoy the views from the windows.

 

Peggy Porschen cake and tea house with lots of flowers decorating the door.  Girl posing in front.
Me + my fave place in London

At Peggy Porschen, we got some cakes, cupcakes, and teas. It was a good place to relax and just talk. looking back at it now, I am so glad to have been able to spend time in London with this amazing group of friends. We spent that afternoon laughing, getting to know each other more, and enjoying the tea and pastries. We also talked about our future travel plans while studying abroad. After tea, Elaine went to go meet up and spend the night with one of her friends studying abroad in London.

Tea and cakes at Peggy Porschen's tea house.
Tea at Peggy’s

Later that night, Kimi and I decided to walk around the city and go to different pubs. On our walk, we ended up in a pub with karaoke. We also walked across many bridges and I took a pic on Tower Bridge. Walking around without any plans was so much fun. At one point, we did not know where we were but we had our maps on our phone to get back. We got to see the city at night and we were able to get some sick pictures!

People walking on the tower bridge with St. Paul's in the background.
Over the bridge towards St. Paul’s
Girl sitting on Tower Bridge at night with bridge lights in the background.
Tower Bridge at night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we did a Harry Potter tour (which was short) and we went to different museums.  We went to the National Gallery, Tate Modern, and another museum that I do not remember. It was also sunny throughout the day, so we tried spending time outside as much as we could. I did not charge my phone or portable charger before the day started, so I do not have as many pictures like the previous day. Overall this trip was amazing and I can’t wait to go back one day. After this trip, Kimi and I had to get ready for a trip to France with another group of friends.

Jessica Lopez

Blue Skies in London sailing down the Thames river.
Blue Skies in London
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Inside the National Gallery of Art.
National Gallery