fish, chips, and swan!

Stacie and I started off our day a bit later than usual, so we decided on having a healthy dose of fish and chips for brunch at Masters Super Fish. Oh man, nothing compares to the fish and chips here. The piece of fish was massive and fried perfectly. I don’t know why America even tries.

To burn of the calories consumed from our fried feast, we headed to Hyde Park--one of the largest parks in London. Along the walk we stumbled upon swans, squirrels, ducks, and more swans. But there was also a lovely rose garden and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. We also rented a paddle boat for fun. All went well in the beginning until one of the paddles accidentally hit my foot really hard, which caused me so much pain that I had to stop paddling. Poor Stacie had to do the rest of the work. But on the bright side: she burned more calories?

Near the end of the day, we went to Portobello Market in Notting Hill. Before you ask: No, I sadly haven’t seen the Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant film. I wonder why though, since I love them both. And now I love Notting Hill, so I have to see it. There are wonderful antique stores, boutiques, and restaurants everywhere. Portobello Market is also my favorite market we’ve been to so far. Some booths sold the cutest clothes and accessories, and others sold delicious looking food, collectibles, and plenty of artwork. I wanted to buy so many things.

London in cookie form!

Well, there’s nothing officially planned for tomorrow, so we’ll see how things go. I want to sleep in so bad, but there’s no time to waste! 

fine art and fine donuts

Today's highlights:

1. Crosstown Doughnuts at Leather Lane Market
I got the creme brûlée with a vanilla custard filling. Probably one of the best donuts I’ve ever had.

2. The British Museum
This place is massive. We could easily spend two days here because there’s just so much to see. There are artifacts from all over the world, and I’m still in awe at the level of detail that went into some of these projects. We’ll possibly return to explore some more. Favorite exhibit: MUMMIES!

3. Mussels and Fries at Belgo
I don’t think I’ve eaten this many mussels in one sitting, but they were so good. And the restaurant itself had a really cool atmosphere. Thank you to Stacie's uncle for the recommendation!

4. Borough Market
Food EVERYWHERE. I love how there are so many outdoor markets in London. This one did not disappoint.

5. Tower Bridge + The Shard
Took a moment to take in the lovely view among the hundreds of people rushing to get home from work. 

Also: I heard the word “cheers” (which means “thank you”) a total of 4 times today! The way they say it makes me really happy.

who's big ben, anyway?

Today was basically full of sightseeing, walking, and eating. We started our morning by going to Beigel Bakery for a quick breakfast. I had a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese. It was really good and I would go back again, but a) the walk to the bakery is kind of far from the hotel, and b) I’m slightly embarrassed to go back because I got confused between pounds and pence, so I paid the lady 2 pence (the bagel was 1.60) thinking it was a 2 pound coin, and she said, “What’s that?” in a rude voice. So obviously, not everyone is nice here. 

Then we rushed to Buckingham Palace in order to see the changing of the guards, which is supposedly a “must-see” event. We got there right on time, but the whole area was already surrounded with people in every corner. So sadly, we were only able to see the guards cross the streets to enter the gates. But we did see a duck with the most interesting feet at St. James Park.

Next, we went to Parliament Square to see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, and anything else that was in the area. Of course, we had to take touristy pictures at a red telephone booth with Big Ben in the background.

Our next stop was Trafalgar Square and the National Portrait Gallery. I love museums, and I’m glad most of them are free in London. The Gallery is huge, and the paintings were amazing to look at.  After the museum, we saw a group of guys break dancing near the center of the Square. They mainly drew in the crowd by taking off their shirts and not through their actual dance moves. But hey, I wasn’t complaining.

We then went to The Attendant to grab some iced lattes. Fun fact: this cafe was once a public restroom. But wanting some real food, we found Mother Mash in SoHo to eat some classic sausages and mashed potatoes, or what the British call “bangers and mash.” Indeed, they call their sausages “bangers.” My plate was smothered with gravy, giving me a comforting yet quite disgusting feeling. 

We ended our day at Harrods, the largest department store in Europe. Basically no one can afford anything at Harrods, so I just imagined myself owning a Celine handbag and Jimmy Choo shoes. But we mainly went there to see the Food Hall—fancy food everywhere!

Well, the Wi-Fi on my laptop is still only 30 minutes at the hotel, so I’ll just be writing my posts in a document and adding as many pictures as I can within that timespan. I’ll probably post more of my pictures elsewhere soon. I’m exhausted, but I can’t wait for tomorrow!

first stop: london

Just writing a quick post to let you guys know that I've arrived safely in London! The ten hour flight was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. I could barely sleep because there were so many movies to watch. Note: Don't watch Bad Neighbors on a flight, especially when there are children around.

So I'll be spending about a week here to visit popular tourist spots with Stacie, and on Tuesday we'll attend the University of California Education Abroad Program's (UCEAP) orientation with other UC students. My Wi-Fi (that I had to pay for) in the hotel room is limited to only two devices, and we've already used it for our cellphones. So now I'm using the free 30 minute Wi-Fi on my laptop, and I don't know how I'll blog/post pictures for the week since it's kind of hard to do so on my cellphone, but hopefully I'll find a way!

Well, my 30 minutes are almost up. I'm also tired again. Taking the Tube was literally a drag because we had to roll around our luggage all day. But at least the people I've talked to are really nice and helpful, and one kind gentleman even helped me bring my luggage up the steep stairs. He was my hero for the day. Then Stacie and I "napped" for 4 hours in our hotel room and didn't wake up until 9pm, so we had to eat Pizza Hut for dinner. Yes, my first meal in London was Pizza Hut. It was quite dissappointing.