London summer: postcards from London

It’s London…

… indeed! since this post contains the most quintessential London photo spots we re-visited during this summer trip. Let’s be tourists together, shall we?

I have already mentioned (sorry if I sound like a broken record!) that we went to London as my mom’s 60 birthday present because visiting the city was a dream for her. Her image of London included a red cabin & bus, the Buckingham palace, the Tower Bridge & London Eye and of course the Big Ben & Houses of Parliament. So, to be true to her depiction of the city, we tried to tick off as many iconic visits as possible while still having some unexpected surprises (like the Sky Garden or a cupcake at Primrose Bakery, to mention a couple).

I think I may have a biased image of London. The first time I visited (as a teen!) I stayed in one of these white houses with columns in the entrance & stairs, so that’s what I picture when I think about London. Also colored doors, wooden stores exteriors and gorgeous brick architecture like the one in the Soho neighborhood.

When someone mentions London which is the image that comes to your mind just right away?

This picture at the British Museum has a double meaning.
London was the first trip I took with Daniel abroad, we went with my room mate and a friend of hers as a group trip with tickets for Guys & Dolls (the musical), but decided that would split in groups of two (like casually, ha!) because we had different interests. We went to the British Museum and took exactly a picture like this (well, with a disposable camera!) in this same spot & pose. We couldn’t miss the chance to dwell into the good nostalgia and replicate it!

By chance we arrived at just the time of the change of guard at the Buckingham palace, which wasn’t in our plans at all, but turned out to be one of the favorite things for my mom (& a crazy crowds-hell for us, ha!). While crossing the Hyde Park we started to see lots of crowds which made us suspicious of some event going on, we can be pretty forgetful sometimes, I have to admit. How couldn’t I think about the famous change of guard?

Have you ever attended it? With the heat it was quite an experience and I didn’t know that there were so many police on horses controlling the crowds. We were quite lucky to reach one of the doors, so had one of the guards getting closer to say “hello”.

Another unexpected event was that we were precisely visiting just the same day of the London pride. It was awesome to see how involved everyone was, also all the stores showcasing flags and t-shirts to support (big yay). For sleeping purposes I would have avoided the Soho if I would have known before hand, the party just took place at the same street of our hotel (& surroundings) and was difficult to (just) walk towards our room in the evening, and was loud. Luckily neither of us have many issues to sleep when travelling and didn’t mind at all. Also it was incredible to see how clean the street was the morning after, considering the big (gigantic) mess we saw the night before, we couldn’t believe our eyes!

I usually have problems sleeping, I am a night owl, however my bio rhythm changes completely when travelling and I tend to fall sleep in a matter of minutes. Does anyone else experience something similar or maybe the opposite?

See you soon dearest London, hope you will welcome us as warmly next time! Next will be the last chapter of our London summer trip with a tiny foodie guide with the places we loved.

Bonus pic

Because you can’t never get enough pictures of greedy squirrels holding a nut very tight, ha!