London, I’ll see you in four years.
Four years — long enough to make it seem exciting and close enough for me to not forget where my footprints lie.
What’s on the to-do list: How are we logging travels this year?
Pretty much everyone I meet up with when I come home links me to the inexplicable way that I travel pretty much all the time. It’s plentiful but not excessive. It’s full of awesome adventures and the best part is just simply being away from home and exploring with the lingering thought of home in your mind. It’s constantly there because you do miss the subtle parts of routine — the spontaneous hangouts, the trips to Home Depot, the family dinners. And that’s what brings you home, twice a year at minimum.
That was a prolonged story that became reminiscent a tad too fast but I’m trying to say that I don’t know how to log my travels well. I’ve tried frequent Instagramming, itinerary-based blog posts, and journaling but in May, I started writing love letter-esque posts to the cities — I’m still testing.
Is London Bridge falling down? Well, I can’t tell you even with my engineering (although irrelevant) knowledge. Also because I didn’t see it on this trip. It’s a particularly different experience when returning to a city the second time — as noted as a theme for these city love letters.
Back in 2014, the trip to London (and other parts of England) was almost like a grad trip, with friends and a strong sense of freedom, but it was for the International Air Cadet Exchange, a three-week exchange with at least ten-ish countries. It was the perfect way to see all the sights in London, travel through the countryside, into Southwest England for some surfing, and meet others who had a very similar internal drive. The most unique part of the experience was staying on military bases, having quasi mess dinners, and a country-specific formal uniform, something that I never thought I would miss. Yet amid these components that I remember so vividly, I was reminded of the week we spent in London exploring museums, finding gelato, and seeing the coveted Crown Jewels. (Wow, I didn’t know that needed to be auto-capitalized.)
This time around, exactly four years later, I came back to London for a scaled-back visit for just the best of the best (minus the Tower of London). From Covent Garden, to Big Ben (under construction), and Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, we covered all the bases. And managed to slip in two musicals as well.
Tip Tip Tip | There are so many musicals in the West End and all of it is cheaper than Broadway. The cheapest deal of them all though? 20 Pounds for same-day matinee tickets for select musicals! Theatres open at around 10am!
We scored Aladdin tickets using this exact method and were less than 10 rows from the stage and two seats from the left-most edge but what else do you expect when they’re 20 pounds a seat??? The stage presence of Genie makes it the show to see and makes you feel more like an insider in the story than the audience. Honestly, Genie could be the main character with a few easy tweaks to the plot. The effects were also phenomenal with the flying magic carpet showing no overhanging wires and ample amount of pyrotechnics to make you jolt. Oh, and the sweet musical soundtrack cannot be forgotten. Remember how magical it was to see Aladdin as a child? It gets better with the musical experience.
With TKTS, we saw School of Rock in the evening, the next day. More of a teenage show with hilarious inside jokes to keep the older folks entertained. But the talent of the kids, both acting and musically, were phenomenal and kept you rooting for them in the storyline.
Here’s my list of miscellaneous observations:
- Receipts. Sometimes, tip is included. Sometimes, it says that it’s optional. Sometimes, there are other optional charges. It’s all confusing. Help.
- People use scooters as a reliable mode of transport.
- Smokers, lots of them.
- Pret de Manger, also lots of them.
- Free Museums! If I had more time, this is what I would spend it on.
Restaurant recommendations are always a bit iffy. Like all cities have to have good food somewhere but it’s not the good food I’m looking for, it’s the one-of-a-kind experience I’m looking for with the atmosphere of a local and the regulars of the city. Flat Iron, though, fit all of this. Their steak for £10 and specials priced not too much higher is the classy yet reasonable vibe I wanted to feel in London. Pay an extra pound for the sauce, it’s worth. But what makes you really feel pampered is the unexpected free ice cream you get on your way out with their daily flavour dipped in a generous amount of chocolate shavings, with their block of chocolate sitting on the marble slab counter. E x p e r i e n c e. They win all of it.
But one thing really caught me off guard and that was the coffee. It wasn’t bad — definitely wasn’t but it was just so difficult to order. Costa is the largest coffee chain you’ll probably see there but when you go in, you can’t just go in and ask for a “large coffee.” Because then they ask you if you meant an Americano and the answer is usually, no. Their Americanos also come in large latte mugs which confused me because I’d only ever one in a to-go cup. Your best bet? Go for a Cortado — it’s a smaller portion but ever so lovely. And it doesn’t seem like anything at the coffee shop can be less than 2 pounds?
London, oh London. You’re so full of tourists in all the right places (away from the truly good stuff). It was such a throwback to take some of the same photos in the same spots I remember walking by to the coach bus and following the big herd in front of me. There’s something about London that makes me feel like I haven’t covered it all yet. Maybe it’s because I haven’t taken a stroll though Hyde Park or I haven’t eaten at Borough Market but those are on the top of my list for next time. I’ll see you in four years, long enough to make it seem exciting and close enough for me to not forget where my footprints lie. I’ll see you in another four years when I might be able to score tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
