London
I recently flew from JFK to LHR to meet my family for a weeklong vacation throughout Europe! This was my first time attempting travel photography, and I was honestly so intimidated by my fellow tourists and their enormous camera set-ups. Meanwhile, I was shooting with my tiny 50mm 1.8 lens, which is meant for portrait photography, not landscape. Regardless, I'm happy with how the photos turned out; the nonstop cloudiness provided pretty good lighting! Here's my guide to loving London:
London's Still a Looker on a Cloudy Day
To the left is the sole photo I attempted to take of the architecture in London. Similar architecture can be found in Manhattan and Brooklyn of New York City. When I shared the above opinion to my friends, they said, "Really? No way" . So maybe it's just me! The cars and roads are very different, however, and not just because the cars drive on the left side of the road. Thank goodness for whoever engineered the roads in the States because in London, you can only cross half a street at a time.
My Favorite Part of any Vacation
I love trying the local specialties at every new place I go. Pictured here is a "traditional pork + herb" scotch egg from the Borough Market. Sadly, I did not try it myself because I'm gluten-free (I know, bay area basic right?), but my sister said it was "meh". On the contrary, everything I did eat at the Borough Market was amazing!
The Highlight of our Europe Trip: The Borough Market As foreshadowed in the last block of text, you probably saw this one coming: to me, the Borough Market was hands down the highlight of our Europe trip because I'm all about trying food. I sampled a huge variety of aged cheeses, cured meats, and olives from many very generous vendors. I was also very pleased with the ethnically diverse street foods available at the market, but what gives the market its unique character are the many family farmers at the market selling fresh eggs, produce, and homemade products. For the rest of our time in London, I kept joking that I wanted to go to the market again (but I wasn't joking). I highly recommend stopping by the market for a quick, satisfying lunch or some fresh produce!
Click on an image to view!
Another Favorite: Monmouth Coffee
The line for this tiny coffee shop is comparable to the line for the Pike Place Starbucks in Seattle, WA; that's how you know it's good. Monmouth has pretty much conquered the coffee shop scene in London, most likely due to the unbeatable prices of both the piping hot coffee and the flaky, golden pastries. Such a small store, but if you get there early like we did, you might be able to snag a seat at the long table in the middle. There, you can sit alongside some locals and for £4 help yourself to an unlimited supply of freshly baked bread, assorted jams, and butter. What a smart business strategy, right? My sister had a single loaf and was already full, whoops. Good thing it's the experience that counts!
Honorable Mentions: a.k.a. I Forgot to Bring my Camera
No, I am not a food blogger, though it may seem like it from this post. I happened to forget my camera on the days we did more touristy things like visiting the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridges, etc. By the way, it is absolutely do-able to see everything in one day because all the popular sights are relatively near each other. We even had time left at the end of the day to ride a double-decker bus to King's Cross train station where the 9 & 3/4's platform from Harry Potter is located. I apologize for my stupidity, but my back was really happy to not have to support my camera's weight for a day. Enjoy this picture of a cute red poodle instead:
What I learned from my time in London is to be openminded. Traveling is all about trying new things, interacting with people and cultures you never would have imagined you'd get to know. London provided me this opportunity to taste the world without expecting to! Despite many seemingly divisive differences between London and the States, there were also many taken-for-granted similarities like the street names and the language. Thus, visiting London was a great transition into the European lifestyle. Stay tuned for upcoming posts about my adventures in Oxford, Italy, and Switzerland!
Cheers,
Jamie