Tags
Buckingham palace, concerts, friends, globe theatre, harrods, john mayer, london, O2, Queen, royals, shakespeare, top 5, travel
Even though I live a quick two-hour train ride from London, this past weekend was only the second time I visited. I come from quite a big city…but London is huge. The city, which spans over 1,572 square kilometers, can be quite daunting to see as a tourist. I also suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) syndrome so naturally I wanted to see everything that London had to offer. Well, I definitely didn’t get to see everything, but here are my top five highlights from the weekend:
- Chlo Bear! The very best part of my weekend was that my friend, Chloe, from back home had stopped over in London for a visit on her way to Paris. We had lived together for almost a year before I moved so it was so great to catch up, drink some wine and experience everything together.
- The Shakespeare Globe Theatre. It was SO cool. I definitely nerded out a bit. Even though the theatre isn’t the original (it was burnt down in 1613, rebuilt and then demolished again in 1644) it is an almost exact replica of the one built in 1599 and only 200ft from its original standing site. Unfortunately the theatre only hosts plays in the spring and summer months so we didn’t get to see anything. However, our guide did tell us the plays are performed just as they would have been back in the 1500s: no spotlights, microphones or amplification, all music is performed live and the ‘special effects’ are still done as they were in the old days – by trap doors, ropes and mirrors! “Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou, Romeo?” Pretty neat huh?
- Harrods. Now, this department store was more like going to a museum for me since I couldn’t actually afford anything in it…but the elegance was radiated everywhere. I felt like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s… Just happy to be around such pretty things!
- Hanging out with the Queen. Well, not quite. But we did check out Buckingham Palace, and the Queen was home. You can tell because the British flag doesn’t fly while she’s there… Just in case you were wondering. It may seem silly, because you only get to see the outside of a ‘building’, but just seeing a place that has so much royal history is enchanting. Also, Queen Victoria was the first royal to live there and she was my fav!
- John Freakin’ Mayer! (Emma Stone, Friends with Benefits reference… common people!) Of course the weekend wouldn’t have been complete without a champagne cruise down the Thames River to see John Mayer at the O2 Arena. It was my second time seeing him in concert and he did not disappoint. He was amazing. And I fell in love all over again. Sigh.
Clearly I still have a lot of London to see… and the London Tower, Victoria and Alberta Museum and National Gallery are at the top of my list! What are your favourite spots in London?
Much Love,
CW