LONDON

The land of fish and chips. When I think of our experience in London, I think of right place at the right time.

It just so happened that we were there at the same time as our family friends from California. The Lee family was there to support and watch their eldest son, Rex, as he wrapped up his European tour with his high school choir group. We got to join in the fun and listen to his group’s wonderful performance. Rex even had a solo in the piece “minutes” which he nailed! It was great to spend time catching up with them while exploring the city!

Cameron and I had such a great experience with the free walking tour in Dublin that we thought we would go for round two in London. First try, we were too late. Second try, it was a downpour. Third try, we made it on time and found the group; 15 minutes in, we lost the group…nowhere to be found! Apparently we were not meant to partake in this tour!

Looking on the bright side, they do say that when one door closes, another one opens! These attempts led us unknowingly to be in the right place at the right time. Rained out attempt#2 led us to The National Gallery and Pride Festival in Trafalgar Square. Lost and confused attempt #3 led us to Buckingham palace unknowingly with perfect timing for changing of the guard.

Spending about a week in this city, we got to see all that we wanted to and more. From Finsbury Park to Elephant and Castle we covered some ground. Along with seeing all of the major monuments (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, Hyde Park, etc), we ventured through a few museums (British Museum, The National Gallery, Tate Modern, Somerset House) and shopped at some great spots (Harrods, Covent Garden, Portobello Road, Campden). We also got to see J Cole, Ellie Goulding, Outkast and Bruno Mars perform at Wireless Music Festival, which was a blast!

Unknowingly, we also happened to be in London during Wimbledon, the World Cup matches and when Stage 3 of Le Tour de France finished up at Buckingham Palace. More to come on these incredible experiences…stay tuned!

 

HELPFUL HINTS FOR PLANNING YOUR VISIT!

• BEST TIP– Spend a day in Oxford and an afternoon in Wimbledon…more to come on these soon!
• CURRENCY– London uses the Pound (GBP or £). Aside from the conversion rate, cost of living is pretty comparable to that of New York City in the US.
• DRESS– In the city center, there was no fashion trend or style that specially defined London. Most of the people in the city center seem to be tourists, so you see a bit of everything. As you move out into the various neighborhoods, the style seems to get a bit more dressy-casual with a hint of prep. Men were in tailored slacks, button ups, nice shoes, often paired with a blazer or sport coat. Women were in dresses, skirts or nice pants styled with fun blouses. Get London menswear inspiration HERE and womenswear inspiration HERE.
• SOCIAL NORMS– English is the native tongue but don’t be fooled, you will need some help translating!
  • A few vocabulary words that threw us for a loop at first…
    • boot – trunk of car
    • torch – flashlight
    • rubber – eraser
    • kitchen roll – paper towel
  • Brush up on your vocabulary with this British English/American English Vocabulary Sheet
  • Have some fun and play around with Cockney Rhyming Slang Vocabulary
    • According to cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk, Cockney Rhyming slang is said to be making a comeback with new slang expressions being added frequently!
• NATIVE DISH– Fish and Chips – Cameron and I had our fair share of this tasty pub food, so much in fact, that we were ready to move onto Spain just for a change in cuisine!
• UNDERGROUND MUST SEE – The Vaults…more to come on this soon!
• TOURIST TRAP– Changing of the Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace – Similar to The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen or the Mona Lisa in Paris, you feel the need to see it. Meanwhile lines form, people get pushy, cameras snap shots like crazy and you are left standing there feeling like “That’s it? …Really??” Though I respect the tradition and responsibility of guarding the Sovereign, something that dates back nearly 700 years to Henry VII, I don’t think marching to the theme song of Star Wars and tunes from ABBA are all that traditional.
  • My suggestion if you do wish to see it, is get there at 11:15am and no earlier. Though THOUSANDS of people gather to see this ceremony, many of which begin lining up 90 minutes before, you will still get a great place at 11:15. This way you can explore the surrounding area and won’t feel like you wasted a ton of time standing around.
  • The ceremony starts at 11:30am and finishes up by 12:00pm. This is every day during the summer and every other day during winter. See www.changing-the-guard.com for schedule information.
  • The Guards parade out of the gates of Buckingham Palace, down The Mall (road leading from the Palace to Trafalgar Square), and loop back around to the Palace gates.