This year for Easter we decided to explore another large city in Europe, so we set our sights on London. We had a great time there -- walking to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Eye; exploring the National Gallery and the Tower of London; having lots of great food (although we somehow completely failed at eating Indian food -- oops!); and enjoying being in a country where people spoke English! We even coincidentally met my aunt and uncle there and hung out with them and their friends for an evening.
In the end, while we did enjoy it, we have to say we were kind of disappointed with London. A lot of the main attractions were in a small-ish area so there wasn't as much to explore, the parks were not well kept, and the Tube was ridiculously dirty with a thick layer of dust everywhere. We had a much better impression of Paris when we went there last year, so that also clouded our judgement a bit. The weather was not great as it rained most of the time we were there (not shocking, I know). Interestingly, we found the prices on par or cheaper with Switzerland, so that was a nice surprise. It's definitely more expensive than the US and the pound is deceiving due to the exchange rate, but we spent less money than we were expecting to spend.
In the end, while we did enjoy it, we have to say we were kind of disappointed with London. A lot of the main attractions were in a small-ish area so there wasn't as much to explore, the parks were not well kept, and the Tube was ridiculously dirty with a thick layer of dust everywhere. We had a much better impression of Paris when we went there last year, so that also clouded our judgement a bit. The weather was not great as it rained most of the time we were there (not shocking, I know). Interestingly, we found the prices on par or cheaper with Switzerland, so that was a nice surprise. It's definitely more expensive than the US and the pound is deceiving due to the exchange rate, but we spent less money than we were expecting to spend.
Some selfies in front of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.
Chase and Nate across the river from the London Eye; Chase and I at the bottom of Big Ben.
Our hotel was in Leicaster Square, right next to a small China town-area (I totally got boba and some red bean paste sesame seed buns almost every night - so yummy!); Chase and I at the London Tower -- with the Tower Bridge to our left.
We ran into Anton and Lyuba who were in London for business; Chase and their goddaughter, Shay, hanging out with some dogs in a pub.
It's too bad that London was rainy and damp - I really lucked out on my trip there, it was beautiful!
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