London Recap: Day 1
March 16, 2010 § Leave a comment
We got into London on the red eye on Saturday, March 6th at about 8 in the morning. After figuring out Underground cancellations and substitutions, Jia and I finally got to Tower Bridge with our good friend Melissa waiting for us. Like us, she’s a Georgetown student but she’s spending her year at the London School of Economics, which worked out perfectly for us because we got a free place to stay during our trip!
After recuperating and taking short naps, we got our asses to Soho and Covent Garden areas to meet up with another Georgetown classmate, Amy Parks. She’s been studying in France for the semester but managed to plan a trip to London that perfectly coincided with our first weekend there.
We stopped at a delicious little bakery called Maison Bertaux and ate heavenly desserts while sitting next to a gaggle of adorable old ladies catching up on the latest gossip.
After saying goodbye to Amy and still craving something savory, we stumbled on a Korean place in London’s Chinatown called Corean Chilli that wasn’t too expensive and helped ourselves to spicy pork belly, udon, and of course, ddukbokgi.
The rest of our afternoon was just spent wandering around Piccadilly Circus and trying to find somewhere to get temporary mobile phones (Vodaphone worked out in the end). It gave us a chance to look inside Fortnum and Mason, a classic English grocer that still serves the Queen. Everything was beautiful displayed, including large porcelain jars of loose tea leaves and coffee beans, wedding cakes, and biscuit tins in every imaginable color. It was everything that I’d picture an English store to be.
Finally, in the evening and still fighting jetlag, we headed to a pub near Melissa’s dorm for a drink. It was so nice to be able to order Stella again and in a classic English bar setting, we got to catch up on boys, school gossip, and living in London. Once we got back to the room, I passed out like a rock.
It was the beginning to 9 great days of wandering, shopping, eating, checking out British boys, and absorbing English culture that I won’t forget. With any luck, I’ll be back before long.
Notes on Food 
Leave a Reply