my time in: London, England
a reunion weekend in the UK!
synopsis
best for: food, being a cringey tourist, Royal Family enthusiasts, lovers of art, history and culture
top things to do: stroll through the many parks, walk along the Thames River, visit Camden and Borough Market, ride a double decker bus
top restaurants: Dishoom, any local chicken shop (all the Peri Peri chicken i ate was fire), The Black Pig
costs: $/$ (because the pound to dollar conversion is FUCKED)
cultural overview: posh, international, big-city, very touristic
favorite memory: it was a quasi-Northwestern reunion weekend since so many people from the Class of ‘24 have moved to London and/or were visiting at the same time
Aviva and i planned to visit Alison in London for a weekend in November and it warmed my lonely, solo-traveler heart to be with old friends again. London is massive, which i was not expecting so i would’ve loved more time to explore all the neighborhoods, parks and attractions but i sadly only had four days there.
nov 7th
after taking a 20 hour bus ride from Amsterdam to London, i met Alison at her cute garden flat in West Kensington. we hopped on the Tube to Kensington, an adorable Victorian neighborhood with tons of cafes and chic boutiques to grab a coffee and do some work. later that night, we met up with Aviva, fresh off the plane from Sevilla, to grab dinner at Dishoom in King’s Cross. Dishoom, a chain of upscale of Indian restaurants, is renown in London for delicious food. there are no reservations, so we put our names down and waited outside—they gave us complimentary cups of delicious chai and mint tea to deal with the cold.
the King’s Cross location is swanky and huge. they first seated us at the bar while we waited for our actual table. the food was delicious, but pricey. Aviva and I split the monkfish curry and a chicken kathi roll. their drinks menu is expansive, with loads of Indian-inspired cocktails and beers. it was a top-tier meal, and fun to splurge on dinner with friends from home.
nov 8th
in the morning, Aviva and i accompanied Alison to campus to drop her off before her classes at Imperial. we then spent the day being the epitome of cringey tourists. we walked through Hyde Park, stopping by Princess Diana’s memorial, before going to Abbey Road and recreating the iconic Beatles photo. this was one of the most embarrassing and overwhelming moments of my life, because fellow tourists hoarded the crosswalk, waiting to do the same as us. cars, obviously very annoyed and accustomed to this tradition, kept honking. we hopped on the Tube to go to Borough Market, an immense indoor food court. it reminded me of Chelsea Market in Manhattan, as the sort of place that both locals and tourists would go to.
we hit a couple of spots: Pieminister, to get a chicken and mushroom mince pie; Shellminster for scallops in beurre-blanc, The Black Pig for the best sandwich i’ve ever eaten (slow roasted pork on ciabatta with an apple-fennel slaw, parmigiano and aioli), and Turnips, for the Instagram-famous chocolate-covered strawberries. from there, we walked west along the Thames, passing by grandiose churches and parliament buildings, stopping at Shakespeare Globe and chatted with a poet selling pay-as-you-wish poems. as we talked, he clicked away at a typewriter, fulfilling my prompt for a poem about the empty promise of travel “changing you.” i paid 5 pounds, and was quite impressed with his work, considering the distractions of both of conversation and the stimulus of people chatting and walking by. Aviva and i stopped by the Tate Modern, a huge art museum with free entry (though donations are suggested). we visited the pop art exhibit, seeing some of Andy Warhol’s works and other contemporary artists. after, we continued along the Thames and passed through a cute outdoor market on our way to see Big Ben, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace. we finished the day of by visiting one of Amelia Dimoldenberg’s “Chicken Shop Date” restaurants, Morley’s, for some wings and peri peri chicken. the food was comforting, cheap and incredibly well-seasoned. we need more peri peri spots in the US.
that night, we all went to a techno event at Fold, a nightclub in East London. we danced, smoked and socialized on the roof until the early morning. many memories were made, many jokes were had, and many Vodka Redbulls consumed. my favorite part of Fold tbh was the amount of food carts open at 5am outside the venue, and i scarfed down a delicious burger before i headed home.
nov 9th
saturday morning, i did some solo-sightseeing. i walked across Tower Bridge, a beautiful feat of architecture, to visit Maltby Market, a small food court under an above-ground train track. the food here was super intriguing, hosting tons of different cuisines. i then walked through the Bermondsey and Clapham neighborhoods, strolling through various parks and stopping to check out farmer’s markets.
that night, we met up with friends in Camden Town to visit Camden Market. the neighborhood is grungy, lively and oriented towards tourists. there are tons of artisanal shops, piercing studios, and souvenir places on the way to the market. unlike Borough, Camden Market is a mix of shopping and food, with lots of little alleys to explore.
after, a group of us met up at Seven Dials Market, an indoor food court that’s better for sitting, eating and chatting than Borough, Camden or Maltby. Aviva and i shared dumplings, sushi and an Indian rotti roll. the food was not as spectacular as Borough, but still good and a fun place to be given the breadth of vendors. then, we grabbed drinks at a nearby darts bar to spend the rest of the night.
nov 10th
the only thing interesting that i did was visit Buckingham Palace (again!) with Aviva. we wanted to see the ceremonial changing of the guards, but didn’t realize it was a national holiday—Remembrance Day for WWI veterans. we did catch a glimpse of King Charles and Princess Kate in a car, and Boris Johnson walked by us on the street. lol.
overall thoughts
London’s main charm, i believe, is its many markets and beautiful parks. it was nice to be in a city where the main language spoken was English, and the Tube was incredibly punctual and easy to figure out all the train lines. i would’ve loved to stay for longer and check out more of the nightlife scene, or honestly just go back to Borough Market for more food.
next stop
Reykjavik, Iceland! my last city in Europe :(
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