London Calling

Last Saturday, my friends S and L and I took a day trip to London. It was my first time in London proper, which is kind of shameful seeing how I've been living in the UK for 2 months now. (I had been physically in London before and taken the Tube many times to get to various train stations, but actually visited the city. I know I know.)

(Reminder:every picture posted can be clicked for a bigger version!)

Getting out of Oxford for the day was relaxing beyond imagination. I honestly had no idea that I was under so much stress! As we walked across Green Park I could feel the tension melting off my back....aaaaah.

Across Green Park lies...the Queen! Well, if she's in Buckingham Palace, that is. 

The highlight of our trip was an excursion to Borough Market, which is: a) huge; and b) FULL OF SO MANY DELICIOUS FOODS. (No pictures I'm afraid, I was too busy eating.) I also managed to run into a friend of mine who is studying in London and whom I hadn't told that I was coming to town. I figured, hey, it's a huge city, what are the odds of running into her? (Pretty damn good, actually. Her first words after spotting me? "You!! You didn't tell me you were coming to London!!!" Oops.)

Behold, a food mecca. I walked around with an insane grin for the rest of the day.

London had an interesting vibe. It screamed "big city!" and "international", yet there are barely any tall buildings and it's not very crowded. (That might just be the Asian-North American metropolis bias speaking, though.) And I think that it's a sign of having been at Oxford for too long when you start thinking that 300 year-old buildings look so new!

A few more of my favorite shots from that day under the cut:

The Victoria Memorial, opposite Buckingham Palace.

The London Eye as seen from St-James' Park.

 On the way to Parliament Square, there's a whole bunch of red
telephone boxes lined up for touristy photo op convenience. 

Also joining the traffic that day in Parliament Square: the Tweed Run!

Westminster Abbey.

The seriously most beautiful Parliament building in the world.

Parliament overlooking the Thames.

Millenium Bridge and St-Paul's. 

Oh yeah, L and I went there. Elementary, my dear Watson!