London 2013 in pictures

Beware the picspam! Rather than telling you what I did when I was in London, I figured I’d simply post a chuckload of pictures so you get an idea of the trip. I did almost everything I had planned I wanted to do, so read my plans for London post if you don’t know. The only thing I didn’t get round to doing was dancing at Pineapple dance studios as I was so tired from walking across London for 3 days straight that I couldn’t bring myself to dance. To give you an idea: I walked from my hotel in Paddington to the Victoria & Albert Museum and from there to Charing Cross Road (at least 6.5 km in total), after which I went on a 2 hour walking tour which took me from Bank subway station to St. Paul’s Cathedral. And that was just day one…

And if you already saw these pics on my Facebook, then don’t fret. I have included a few new ones in this post.

Defunct red telephone box in Hyde Park

Greek gardens in Hyde Park

Cute street near my hotel

My favorite dress in the fashion exhibition in the V&A museum

Lovely architecture of the V&A museum

Pretty autumnal day in Hyde Park. I had never seen London in the fall yet and this time was excellent. I had a bit of rain on day 2, but especially days 1 and 4 were great weather wise. I even got to feed some squirrels in Hyde Park. They are so tame they pick nuts straight from your hand.

Light sculpture in the entrance of the V&A

During my walk on day 1 I ventured past Buckingham Palace too. And then you might as well snap a picture not?

And I passed more quintessential British streets

As well as this Ferrari *dream on*

London by night: Laedenhall market

Alleyway in the City of London

St. Paul’s & Southwark Bridge

London skyline by night – I didn’t have any pictures of London by night yet, so when darkness fell as I made my way to Bank tube station to start my Harry Potter tour I was very pleased. When I found my camera does an excellent job at taking night pictures too, I was pleased even more so.

St. Paul’s & Millennium Bridge

Tower Bridge by night

St Paul’s Cathedral always looks so spooky in the night time

Royal Opera House – main entrance. Day 2 meant tours and a ballet performance. I took my first tour at the Royal Opera House, where later that night I saw a performance by the Royal Ballet of Romeo & Juliet. Highlight of the trip (both the tour, but most definitely the performance too), definitely worth shelling out the money for.

Royal Opera House – auditorium 

Waterlow park in Camden/ Highgate

Another highlight was Highgate cemetery. This gem is well-hidden and off the beaten path but definitely worth a visit. This Victorian burial place was abandoned and vandalized after the company that owned it went bankrupt. Nature ran its course for decades and so the graveyard is now a picturesque place filled with green trees and reminiscent of Victorian burial practices. If you don’t mind a hike, then make sure you go here and see graves of the likes of Karl Marx, Douglas Adams, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Beryl Bainbridge.

T-rex or Tea rex? @ Jamie’s Diner

Green salad @ Pret-a-manger. Food was of course also to begotten. I tried to stick to my diet as much as possible, but since this was vacation I also thought: screw this, plenty of times. I had the most delicious burger and fries at Jamie Oliver’s pop up restaurant/ diner and had a great diet-proof salad with quinoa and avocado one night as well. I also found a sushi place with one of those conveyer belts.

Big Ben

Tate modern with the Shard

London Eye – one attraction I have never attended on my London trips. My fear of heights does not agree with glass capsules on a ferris wheel.

A little bit more skyline.

Tower bridge & warship (of which I always forget the name)

Tower of London with traitor’s gate

No pictures for day 3, as I spent that shopping on Oxford Street. I have not yet decided whether I want to do a shoplog yes or no. I simply haven’t had the time yet to take pictures, so let me know in a comment below if you’re interested in seeing my purchases and I will see what I can do. Day 4 was spent going across London again: from Covent Garden, to Westminster, to Tower Hill to Camden and back to the hotel and back home :-(. It was a great trip and I can’t wait to go again.