London Tourist Day

To start off my summer trip, I flew to London to drop off my luggage at my amazing friend Billy’s house. I stayed at a hostel near Victoria station for roughly 30 pounds (~$45; everything is expensive in London) and woke up early due to the time difference. I thought it would be nice to see the sunrise, and walked outside, and then remembered I was in the UK, so no sun, like ever.

But I did get to go see some touristy stuff and marvel at the prettiness of London.

Here’s the 5AM view right in front of my hostel

And I headed over to Thames (pronounced tehms, which is really weird) to see the Lambeth bridge, which was the first Harry Potter filming location for me to visit!

It was definitely a good call to go way early in the morning when there weren’t a lot of tourists roaming around and ruining my photos. The amazing thing about European cities is that most of the time, the buildings are all old and are intricate, unlike American buildings, which tend to always be new and shiny.

London is full of things to see, so it is an ideal location for tourists. And the city, which really isn’t too huge (so super walkable) and all the big sightseeing points are near each other. Literally around the corner from Big Ben and Lambeth bridge (from which you can see the London Eye).

I didn’t go inside, because I’m pretty sure it wasn’t open, but it was enough for me to walk around and marvel at its grandeur.

And the iconic Big Ben was not a disappointment either. I stayed long enough to hear it ring for 7AM.

I’m sure Londoners and other Europeans think I’m weird for stopping to take photos of very normal looking alleyways and closes but streets like this just really make me want to live here..

And of course the red telephone booths are super exciting. I would have liked to get a photo with the one that Harry and Mr. Weasley used to get to the Ministry of Magic, but it was removed promptly after filming..

I stopped by the Buckingham Palace before I took a walk through St. James’s Park, from where you would have been able to see the Horse Guard’s parade, if it were the right time.

And this is just a good picture because London.

My first meal was in a pub near Victoria station with Billy, and I ordered overpriced fish and chips and it was just OK. I expected to be cooking a lot in London for the term anyway.. c: