more than waffles: london (calling)

Last weekend, my host family and I took a little voyage across the pond from Brussels, Belgium to London, England! We took the train and went underneath the sea in a tunnel. London is actually not far away from Belgium at all and the trip only took a little more than two hours. We arrived on Friday night and stayed until Sunday night. London is a big city, but I feel that we actually saw quite a bit in such a short period of time. It's good that my host family is organized, because that is unfortunately not my strongest suit! We stayed in a hotel near the Wembley Park underground station. It was a bit outside of the center city, but it was no problem. On Saturday, the weather was pretty unpredictable. At first, it was sunny and then the next minute, it was pouring rain and even hailing. Who knew? However, we still did a lot of things on Saturday regardless of the weather, from feeding squirrels in Hyde Park to seeing the famous Big Ben to even going up in the London Eye (my favorite part of the trip), which is basically this giant ferris wheel where you can see the whole city from above. If you've ever seen a postcard from London, the London Eye is probably on it. In the evening, we ate at this really cool restaurant with Nepal-style food. When in London, eat ethnic foods! On Sunday, we visited Tower Bridge and even walked across it. We also saw the Cornichon/Gherkin/30 Street Mary Axe building (there are too many names to handle), which is this skyscraper that looks like a cucumber. We also ate fish 'n chips with peas (the typical English dish), walked around Covent Garden, and saw Saint Paul's Cathedral. This trip definitely gave me a "bonne impression" of London, and I'm very thankful that my host family made it possible for me to visit the city!

Obligatory tea photo with obligatory Twinings tea.

(May 4, 2013)

Just outside the Wembley Park station.

(May 4, 2013)

CLEANEST METRO I HAVE EVER BEEN ON IN MY LIFE. It even smelled good underground! How is that possible? You're doing something right, London...

(May 4, 2013)

The map, a tourist's best friend.

(May 4, 2013)

If it weren't for a few rebellious guys who didn't want to pay taxes anymore, we Americans might all be waving this flag today! Weird.

(May 4, 2013)

This tree's situation is not looking good.

(May 4, 2013)

Trying to make a new squirrel friend in Hyde Park.

(May 4, 2013)

Success! Also, we learned that squirrels don't like bread, but they're big fans of almonds. Note taken for next time.

(May 4, 2013)

I actually think the squirrels in London are nicer and more tame than in the United States. I tried to feed a squirrel once in PA but it kept running away and making menacing noises, so I decided it would be a good idea to stop because of, you know, diseases and whatnot.

(May 4, 2013)

Some bikes in Hyde Park.

(May 4, 2013)

Hi, mom.

(May 4, 2013)

Ducks are great animals.

(May 4, 2013)

Well, that looks awesome.

(May 4, 2013)

Here's the phone booth picture that everyone needs to take when visiting London.

(May 4, 2013)

This building kind of reminded me of Paris. I guess a lot of the architecture in the two cities are similar because of the time periods they were developed in...who knows.

(May 4, 2013)