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Antigua, Guatemala

London, London, it's going down (Jan. 15 - 17, 2016)

Attractions:

7 Hour Walking Tour: Definitely would recommend this! You get to see basically the entire city and also learn a lot of history and tidbits about the city. It's called London All-In-One. I learned all about the royal monarchy and their scandalous lives, the Queen of England is not allowed in the City of London unless granted permission and she has to carry around a sword the entire time, what it means when the flag is flown, etc. 

We basically saw all of these places in the tour: 

Camden Market: Soooooo cute! It's an outdoor handmade goods market with food carts as well. It's a must! One of my favorite spots.

Portobello Market: It has a small flee market but tbh there's nothing on this street that was amazing. 

Covent Gardens: It's a square with shops and restaurants. The shops aren't anything special since they're all stores you can find anywhere. The best part is that there are often street performers. When I was there, there was a magic show and a live performance. 

Brick Lane: A very grungy, alternative, cool street with cheap Bangladesh food, vintage clothing, and a market every Sunday. I didn't get a chance to go to the market but I heard it's pretty neat. This is also home to a lot of great graffiti. 

Graffiti and Street Art Walking Tour: This was a super cool experience! I would also recommend this tour as you get to see a lot of amazing street art and learn the history about graffiti and also the back stories of the arts. 

Soho: It's a big area with a bunch of shopping stores. It's pretty touristy and always crowded but a good place to stroll and window shop.

Night Life:

Pub Crawl: I honestly can't tell you the names of any of the bars/pubs/clubs we went to. It was cool tho! 12lbs for discounted drinks and a free shot at each place. However, the shots weren't real shots. They were some sort of mixer of liquor and juice or something. 

The Blind Pig: Super cool speakeasy! The drinks were really unique. My friend got a drink that was in a juice box.  

Electric Ballroom: This club reminded me of my high school gym dances. Haha Everyone there were all super young, dancing in a big open area, kind of grinding, not really. It was a great place to people watch and laugh at people dancing, especially when this one girl fell and ate shit. Sorry it's mean to laugh but I just couldn't help myself. 

Food/Drinks:

Pret a Manager: the go-to coffee shop, it's literally in every corner. It's more popular than Starbucks.

Dishoom: Really DANK indian food. However, the wait is normally like 2 hours long but we were able to get a table in less than 45 minutes. I wasn't there for this but apparently when you wait in line (you have to be physically waiting), they have workers whose job is to keep you company and entertained in line. Their job is to talk to you during the entire wait time lol like what would you put on your resume, "Line Entertainer" lol

Orangery Restaurant for Afternoon Tea: This is definitely something you have to do while in London! The tea I had was delicious, it was berry flavored and had a huge assortment of finger food and sweets. All for 26lbs!

Tips:

  • Book Free Walking Tours: http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/london-tours
  • Oyster cards can be returned and you'll get 5lbs back. For the 3 days I was in London, I think 20lbs was good enough to get me around, which is pretty expensive but it's London. 
  • People in London dress VERY well! So up your style and bring your nice clothes.
  • You will need more than 3 days to get around! There's just so much to do in London. I didn't get to do any of the Free Museums );
  • SO EXPENSIVE!! Pound to Dollar is about 1.5 so some things may seem cheap but they are ridiculous. A coffee could be about 3-4 pounds but that about $6 for a cup of coffee. 

Next Time:

  • Borough Market: I heard it's the hub for amazing food!
  • Sketch Tea Room: expensive tea but it has bathroom pods and the key to every basic bitch's heart
  • Watch a show! 
  • Flower Market
  • Free Museums! I didn't get to go into any museums ); Definitely next time!

Overall Thoughts:

I honestly liked London waaaaay more than I thought I would. I thought it was overhyped and mainstream but the city is honestly incredible. There's so much to do and see! I wish I had more time in London. It's a nicer and cleaner version of New York City. I can definitely see myself living here! I want to work here in the future. The only thing is that everything is so ridiculously expensive. I better be making bank by then or else I won't be able to afford it. It is definitely one of my favorite cities!

When you actually have to study while abroad...

Drank my weight in Belgium beer this weekend