OUR GOOD, BAD AND UGLY OF ENGLAND - PART 2
London
In our previous post, I mentioned how expectation and companionship play a role in your experience of a place.
We are on our way to London now, and since this was my sister’s favorite destination she has been, I was looking forward to it quite a bit.
After traveling by train between Reading and London, we decided on an Uber to take us directly to our hotel. This was the Uber drive of hell, and we don’t know or understand how he got his license (and that comes from somebody who used to drive in Johannesburg, where rules are optional).
Once again we left Sonning early, so we could go do some sightseeing. I have always wanted a pair of Hunter boots and T agreed to take me to their flagship store to go have a look. Since it was so close to Hamley’s (on T’s must-see list) it was decided. We managed to master the underground by using the citymappers app (also available for other countries) and then hit the shops.
One of our first impressions of London while commuting was the number of beggars everywhere. So much so, just on the one bridge, we saw about 4 or 5 beggers. Never the less we were on a mission. Arriving at Oxford Circus it felt like the end of the world. It was as though the whole of England had all arrived there at the same time. We soon learned that’s just what it’s like in the streets of London. Busy all the time, no matter when and where you go.
H & H
Hamley’s was our first official stop, and what a treat that was. Although also way too busy for our liking we did manage to get through all seven floors of toys. I even managed to contain my inner child and left with only one bag of goodies. This, however, was only temporary.
Just across the street, the Hunter shop was awaiting. In there I nearly lost myself (ok, maybe I did lose myself a little). All the different shapes and colors were just overwhelming. With what started as an “I would like to go have a look”, ended up as an early Christmas for me. Since their medium length boots were on sale, I got to pick two pairs. T even spoiled me with a few of their wool socks to go with. The cherry on top was since this is their flagship store, they could personalize my boots.
The calm before my little storm
The Monday morning I woke up ready to head back home. We have been traveling for almost a month on end now, and I was ready to head back and sleep in my own bed. We did however still had four days to go. Feeling way too guilty to stay in the hotel when there’s so much to see, I packed my bag for a solo day of exploring London. I’ve read a few articles and blogs, marked the places I want to see, and off I went.
Daunt Books
When walking past Daunt Books, it would appear like any regular old little bookstore. But what’s inside could be straight from a Roald Dhal book. The Matilda in me got unleashed, and the store itself had a magical aspect that came to life. With several levels in the store and countless shelves full of books, I probably spent an hour or two in there. My favorite was the selection of travel books available.
Neal’s Yard
Having only read about Neal’s Yard, I did not really know what to expect. Still, I don’t really know how to describe it best. The only way I think I can try is as follows. Imagine a square back in the medieval times, but instead of dark and gloomy, it looked as though a unicorn came and spruced it up. With a few local businesses, there are also trees and seating for you to suck in the vibrant vibes. Although it was once again quite busy, you could not help but leave there with a smile. Unfortunately, I don’t have all the photos, but more on that in a sec.
My little storm.
On my way to my next destination, I made a stop at a Costa for something quick to eat and drink. As mentioned in our previous post, there was an unusual amount of beggars around. This part of town was no different. Just as I sat down to enjoy my juice and croissant, a beggar came by with a paper. Without me noticing, she left by taking my phone (which I presume was underneath her paper).
This left me without communication with T and no more navigation. To be honest I felt a bit panicky (how am I gonna get home) and stupid (for falling for that trick).
I made it back to the hotel, luckily without getting lost, and was able to block my phone. I did lose some of my Neal’s Yard photos but apart from that, I managed to recover everything else. As soon as T finished work, and I had calmed down, he took me to the nearest Vodafone, and got me the cheapest temp phone available.
The Turning Point
Once I was back online, we decided to go and explore the touristy part of London. This turned out to be my favorite time in London. With T available that evening to accompany me, I cheered up quickly.
The parks as always was a huge treat for us. Most of the people in and around the parks were active. Maybe I had to join them since I have been enjoying Greggs bakery department way too much. Even the squirrels were active by running to and from you to see if you have food. Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial was showing off in late afternoon sun.
Our last bit of disappointment came at the Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as the Big Ben. It was completely covered up as they were busy with restorations. I do think though that we were able to capture the Big Ben as nobody else has…
The night was ended with one of the most amazing sunsets I have seen in quite a while. It was as if this was a peace offer from London for my phone being stolen, the Big Ben being closed, and London not completely living up to our expectations.
English Pubs
At this point, I have to take a moment to talk about the famous English Pubs. I absolutely fell in love with them. Besides the yummy pub food and atmosphere, I found some of my all-time favorite ciders (Old Mout Cider).
Leicester Square
Leicester Square was another one of my favorites. They had so many street performances, artists, and once again the most interesting people hanging around.
The M&M World and Kingdom of Sweet will bring out the child in everybody, no matter your age, sex or nationality. The M&M world has 4 levels of colorful merchandise, sweets, and even the ability to find out what color M&M you are, as well as making personalized M&M’s.
The last stop at Leicester Square is the double story Lego Store. It has a Big Ben replica made entirely out of Lego with 200,000 bricks and has working faces. The other highlights in the store are the iconic telephone booth, as well as an underground carriage.
Our last Hoorah
We always prefer to travel on foot as much as possible. London was no different. I walked between 10 and 19km per day just exploring, but this lets you come across some hidden gems.
On our last morning before our flight, we had 2 main goals. We wanted to go to Marchesi (recommendation from a friend), and I wanted to go back to the Tower Bridge with T.
Tower Bridge
On the day I went to see the Tower Bridge, the weather was miserable. But nevertheless, you always see something. For me, it was a Japanese couple who clearly just got married. They had nobody with them, so the groom would set up his camera on a tripod, and then go take the most morbid looking wedding photo with his bride. This carried on for quite a while. I eventually gave up getting the spot to myself.
The following morning was the clearest day, and we managed to take some more photos.
Marchesi
Our very last stop was a recommendation by Mark, a good friend of ours. He works at Prada, and since Marchesi is owned by Prada’s owner he wanted us to go check it out and taste their chocolates. It turned out to be very pricy but at the same time very luxurious.
Our trip to England taught us two things. Manage your expectations, and that the company of a loved one always makes it so much better. The times I enjoyed the most were the times where T could share them with me.
We did not always have the best impression of London but we have to go back and make that better.
Next up, we will go hit cold as we have never felt before in Moscow.
Wandering off now…
T & Me
