Regent's Park

-

 So last night we got together with A to devise our walking tour for our two days here.  We also had to factor in the rail strike, though it didn't affect us too much.  We caught a train into the London, but all of the underground tube was closed so were on foot from there. Since the train station was a bit more deserted we did take pictures at platform 9 3/4.

We headed straight to Gail's Bakery, since Pedro had an online meeting for his canceled conference.  A's friend joined us for a delicious pastry-filled breakfast, then we left Pedro with the internet and went shopping.  I had never been to a Primark, but I'd heard plenty about it. And after today, I definitely need to find one in Glasgow.  Think of an even cheaper version of Target clothes...with 4 stories. I could definitely see it being a staple for when you want some comfy and stylish clothing. We left the store with several purchases (though mine small enough to shove in my carry on).  We swung back by the café to pick Pedro up and then headed to Regent's park. 

This park is huge.  I had to look it up, but it's 395 acres, and even A and her friend hadn't seen all of it, so we all did some exploring today. Bonus: the roses were in full bloom! 

Then we got up to Primerose Hill, which is connected to Regent's park. At the top of the hill, you can see the London skyline, very worth the trek. 

After a few minutes enjoying the hilltop views, and watching a local flight train his pet parrots, we headed to Camden Market. We walked along the canal, which gave us a break from the sun along with a unique view of the local houses. The theme today must have been big,  because I don't think we even saw half of the market.  There were stands, and hallways,  and stores everywhere with every food you can imagine with souvenirs galore.  There was even a point where we'd be walking through a hallway, and there were hands reaching out on both sides, giving out samples of food.  We all got something different, in fact, we all got food from different countries.  Enjoying our food along the cabal was a great way to end things.  Pedro and I were a bit shocked by just how much bigger London seemed. The market itself was just a wonder.  

We had to head back to A's a bit early because of the rail strikes, but we still had a full day, and got in a lot of steps. Tomorrow, we'll see the more touristy sights like Big Ben and the London Eye, but I think we're all excited for Chinatown. 

Popular posts from this blog

New Year, New Country

-
Image
In October, Pedro turned to me and said, "Pick a country and we'll go there for your birthday."  Immediate whirlwind of thoughts and ideas. Do we go somewhere with snow? Get warm? East? West?  At first I picked Iceland.  It's been on my list for awhile, and I figured January might have a greater chance for us to see some northern lights.  However, once we compiled a list of things we wanted to see and stuff we wanted to do, we realized winter was not going to be the best time for us to visit, so we pivoted.   Pedro's always wanted to visit Spain, see his roots.  And I thought it'd be great to visit a more Summery country when it's not so hot.  Barcelona it is!  And this trip was going to be different, as in an actually being a holiday. Relaxing, meandering, enjoying the sights instead of our usual GO GO GO.  We have a big habit of mapping out every second, and while it's great to cover so much ground in a short amount of time, we end up ...
Read more

Aeri de Montserrat

-
Image
 Today we had a late start, I was not feeling the best.  I had a pretty sore throat with a cough, so Pedro ran out to the nearest pharmacy to get me some cough syrup.  After some food, we made our way to Montserrat.  The metro sell all inclusive passes for the metro and train to Montserrat, with transport up the mountain to the abbey, along with all access to the basilica, museum and a meal. Not bad for a day trip!  There is a train or a cable car up to the mountain, which you must pre-book when buying the ticket.  We chose cable car for the views. It was about an hour train to the station just below the abbey, where we needed to wait for the cable car.  The ride was only 5 minutes to the top, though we didn't take into account it only fits about 20 people at a time.  So we were waiting for awhile, but at least we had a gorgeous view.  The view at the top felt larger than life.  The abbey built into the mountain looked perfectly nestled....
Read more

La Sagrada Familia

-
Image
We planned to revisit Montserrat to explore a bit more, but unfortunately I got worse overnight.  Fever, chills, and horrible coughing had us up have the night, with me having no energy to go anywhere the next morning.  Pedro went back to the pharmacy to get more medicine and cared for me all day, in the hopes I'd feel better for our tour today. Luckily, with my fever broken and strong foreign cough sweets, I was able to leave the hotel (walking slowly). But I was looking forward today, I was grateful he made me rest because I did not want to miss going back to La Sagrada Familia and see his reaction to it.   Our tour was guided through the church, with access one of the towers.  It being Three Kings Day, we had one of the last slots before the church closed early.  Three Kings Day is almost the equivalent of Christmas Eve, we saw many traveling with presents (as the Three Wise Men did).  I know this has been under construction since 1882, but last tim...
Read more