July 2018

A short solo mini 4th of July vacation for me..even though they don’t celebrate it here; I had a GREAT time!!

Day 1: 

Took an evening flight and had a 1.5 hour layover in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was first time taking WOW airlines and it was not that bad. I was so scared it was going to be similar to Spirit Airlines. Luckily, I sat to someone super chill and the flight did not feel like it was 8 hours. It felt a lot shorter.

I liked the trashcans and the restrooms at the Reykjavik International Airport haha.

I landed in Stansted airport and took a train to London. I was impressed with the train, it was super clean and efficient. Then I got off and took the Underground and WOW, I was so shocked of how crowded it was and how QUICK each underground took to come. Literally within 1-3 minutes! It was definitely hot in most of the underground trains. It lowkey reminded me of Rome, Italy. It definitely took me a few moments to learn the different colors of the underground trains and routes. I got off Edgware Road Station, and walked past by St. Mary’s Hospital and checked into my stay. I went to Churchill Arm (Thank you Catherine from Visa, for the recommendation!) It was Thai food mixed with a pub. Isn’t the outside pretty?! This was about a 15-20 minute away underground ride from my stay.

There were a lot of people outside the pub, so I thought there was a line, so I went inside to check if there was a waitlist. I saw a girl who sat near the door and asked her and she said, “No, there’s no list. But there might be a line for the Thai food in the back. Right here is the pub.” Then we both asked each other if we were here solo. She was there alone for a bit while her boyfriend was at work. She was kind enough to invite me to join her. I got my food, beer, and enjoyed the dinner. Her boyfriend joined later too.

The inside of the pub was just as pretty! There were a lot of decorations all over the wall and ceiling. There were a bunch of flags, pots and pans hanging all over with dim lights. The ambience was nice. Then her boyfriend got us two bottles of wines and that was so kind! What a way to start off my solo vacation in London! Thank you to both!

The pub closed pretty early, so I was going to take the underground back, but those two were so kind and dropped me off home via the black taxi cab. (Cool! I rode one of those haha)!

Day 2:

Woke up, got ready, and took the underground train to Buckingham Palace. From there, I walked to the Sky Garden, Tower Bridge, & Borough Market.

I was shocked to see all of this Harry & Meghan items at the gift shop. So beautiful!! Don’t we all want to be a part of Royalty? I do! Haha.

When I was on my way over to the underground, I saw this mailbox and thought it was cool and different! It was almost, if not, as tall as me.

Then I went grab salad for lunch and went to the Sky Garden. It was beautiful!! There’s a bar and a restaurant up at top, the view was gorgeous, and the garden itself was nice. You have to book your tickets in advanced. They are free. I believe the dates to book to go to the Sky Tower opens up 1-2 week ahead of time, and when they do, it gets sold out quick! So be on top of it, if you want to go here.

Then I walked past the Tower of London castle to go to the bridge. I walked across it and ended up on the other side.

This Ford Focus was super cool! It flashes and did different affects and asked, “What is your focus?” or “Focus on…”

I sat down, enjoyed the view, and rested my feet. It was tired…from walking and wearing sandals all day! Haha

Then I walked by a shopping area and ended up at Borough Market and got pasta. It was chill!

Day 3:

I took the train from Paddington Station to Windor Castle. It was a short train ride, about less than an hour. I liked that the train had charging outlets as well.

I bought my ticket online so that made it a lot easier. If not, I would have to stand in the lone line.

We couldn’t take pictures inside the castle or the chapel, but let me tell you, it was beautiful. I was in awe. It felt so surreal to be in the same room where Harry & Meghan got married. It feel so surreal to be able to experience going inside the castle. It was filled with such history. There were outfits, weapons, the king’s bed, the ballroom, etc. They also had ice-cream, because it was definitely warm out there.

Then I head back and walked passed by the shops.

I headed back to my stay and change to a tank top and shorts, because it was so hot! Then I visited a friend at Visa. I wished I took more photos because the office was so nice.

Then I went to the HP 9 3/4 Platform at King Station. I waited 30 minutes in line…but it was so worth it, because I love my photo that the stranger took! Haha

Next, I went to see Big Ben (even though he’s under construction until 2020), Wesminister Abbey, and the London Eye.

Phew* Can you believe I did that all in Day 3? My feet was pooped!

Day 4:

My college friend, Alex and I met up. We walked through Hyde Park, passed through Kensington Palace, saw Exhibition Road, visited his University, got on a red double decker bus, and went to the Pride Parade at Trafalgar Square!

I felt so safe at the Pride Parade. Everyone partied classy and had fun! It was so good that they had a lot of security too. We had to get our bags checked before entering Trafalgar Square. Everyone was so spirited!

Then we browse through Covent Garden and went to a bar to watch the futbol game. Every bar we went to was super crowded, skin to skin touching, and I couldn’t really see the screens, because I’m short. Most bars had their TV above the door entrance or at a corner, so you couldn’t see it from the outside. What a good way to reel people into the bar/restaurant to make business.

Then, it was halftime of the futbol game, so some people left, and Alex and I were able to squeeze in a got an okay view of the screen in between people’s shoulders haha. Then, England won!! Woo hoo!! The spirit from the crowd was awesome: “It’s coming home!!”

After the game, we met up with one of Alex’s classmates and we went to Camden market. I like this market a lot more than Borough market. There were a lot more shops and food selections, but I went with pizza LOL.

Then we went to a juice shop, relaxed, charged my phone, and talked about the different British slang. We then headed to Chinatown, passed through SOHO, and ended the night at the London Eye.

After this, we said bye and I took the underground back around midnight and I felt safe. I didn’t feel scared being out so late, because there was so many people out. Thank you for your company, Alex. Thanks for showing me around London. It was great to catch up with your and to have met your classmate. It was a super fun-filled day venturing through London! 🙂

Day 5:

As you can see, I’ve done A LOT in London within the past few days. I jammed packed my day, but nothing was rushed. I was out 10-12 hours of the day. I have to make it worth it in a 4 day trip haha. So this day, I went to Hyde Park and relaxed.

Then at the end of the day, I went to the bar downstairs at my stay and enjoyed a beer.

Thank you London, you were amazing. The only thing that I didn’t like was that there was no AC at my stay! I learned that London barely has AC because it’s cold 85% of the time haha. Other than that the weather was great, everyone was friendly, the transportation was awesome, etc. There were so many events going on: Pride, the futbol game, and more. London is so full of spirit. I can’t wait to be back, maybe when Big Ben is fixed and in the winter time so I can experience Christmas. #viviansventures

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to London? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section of your experience. What should I do there if I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know. Let’s chat!