As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, one of the best parts about studying abroad is the ability to explore beyond your host country when time allows. This past weekend we had Thursday and Friday off for prospective students to visit University of Limerick, so I was able to take a 4 day trip to London. It was incredible. Here are the highlights:
London is very much a city of history and culture. From roman times, to medieval, Victorian, and industrial, London has always been at the forefront of the worlds civilizations. London has provided the world with unparalleled works of literature, music, and science from citizens such as William Shakespeare, The Rolling Stones, and Issac Newton just to name a few. Walking around the city with these legends in mind inspires a sense of awe. During my time in London this weekend I saw Newton’s and Darwin’s tombs, the recreation of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and heard The Clash’s London Calling drift through more than one outdoor market.
But I only scratched the surface. In four days, I traversed the city on foot as much as possible, walking with the exception of only a few late-night Ubers home. Walking 10-14 miles a day for 4 days, there were still parts of the city left unexplored! London is interesting because of how spread out the landmarks and districts are. There is no London “downtown” just many different, sprawling areas which could be impressive cities in their own right, all packed with incredible architecture, shopping, and food. We set out with a rough list of major tourist attractions and sights to see, including: Tower Bridge, Sky Garden, Great Fire Memorial, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and even a couple of iconic Harry Potter locations. But the best part of setting out to see all these sights on foot was the surprises that were waiting in between.
Upon arrival at Liverpool Street Station, we happened to stumble into Leadenhall Market (which we would later find out was both the inspiration for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, and the former center of Roman London). Following that, we accidentally found the Great Fire Memorial and met a friendly and incredibly enthusiastic man named Jeremy working at the memorial entrance. He proceeded to send us on short quests around the area that took us to places we never would have found without his help, just for fun. After such a warm welcome from our new friend, we made our way across the River Thames and meandered along the river walk before settling into our Airbnb in a residential area east of downtown.
The following two days proceeded with much the same pattern of stumbling into more than we had hoped for. These stumbling’s included everything from free pizza and coffee at a new restaurant, to an ancient crypt museum that contained church registries from John Quincy Adams wedding, and William Penn’s baptism, underneath the oldest church in London. We also managed to find the world’s largest candy store (M&M store London), and the world’s largest Lego store, which happens to contain a 6-meter-tall, 200,000 brick model of Big Ben (which happened to be under construction during our visit, so it was fortunate that we had the Lego model to compensate).
Our wanderings also meant that we were too late to enter Westminster Abbey for a visit. So instead of paying to do a touristy walk through, we ended up sitting for a 3:00 evensong service. Not only did spontaneously deciding to go to the service save us 18 pounds, but it provided a wholly different perspective of the beauty of a church that is often overcrowded with camera wielding tourists. Despite not being a member of the church, I was struck with awe at the sounds of the choir resonating through this huge and ancient building which has served as the coronation, wedding, and resting place for countless monarchs.
Another part of London that I found interesting is the way it blends the old and new. While parts take you back in time as I described above, others feature giant screens and lights on buildings, and luxury cars. Monuments that are hundreds of years old hold both their own history, and often damage from The Blitz bombings during World War II. Many of London’s most modern buildings were built on the site of damaged or felled buildings from the Blitz, while still standing next to buildings with medieval or even Roman roots. One new art museum for example has an underground exhibit housing the foundations for a Roman amphitheatre that featured gladiator battles.
In case I hadn’t already made the history nerd in me apparent, I also made sure to visit The British Museum, and the London Museum of Natural History. The British Museum holds an incredible array of Egyptian and Greek artifacts and structures, including the Rosetta Stone and statues and building pieces from the Parthenon. And the Natural History Museum holds an impressive array of exhibits, artifacts, and fossils with historical significance, in particular specimens collected by Charles Darwin.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the beauty of London as a city was spectacular. Despite how painfully aware of how much I looked like a tourist, my jaw literally dropped coming around every other corner and seeing a new building fit for a queen. After staying in front of one particularly impressive building on our way to Kings Cross Station, we speculated what it could be; a palace for a former duke or high level governmental office? Nope, just a hotel and train station. By the time we finally made it to Buckingham Palace, the palace that is literally designed to be fit for a queen, we merely yawned unimpressed, as would blend in as just another building in some parts of the city.
One thing the British aren’t particularly known for as a people is their food, but nonetheless London delivered. The large Indian population in London left us no shortage of quality and authentic Indian food, and street and pub food we also found to be quite tasty, sampling everything from British steak pies, to dinner in Chinatown, to street grilled cheese.
By now it should be obvious that I loved London, and I hope I get the chance to go back. Spending a long weekend in the heart of the city made me realize how much I miss living in an urban area, but for now, I’ll be sleeping in peace and quiet on the Emerald Isle.
