Londres

Got off my train between Platforms 9 and 10...

Could not have been more perfect!

 Oh look! That's a crown that I know

 Big Ben

 Westminister Abbey

 Scott's photography skills

 Egg number 1 of the great London Egg Hunt

 Egg Number 2

 Trafalgar Square

 Big Ben as seen from Trafalgar Square:

Olympic countdown clock!

We are clearly both headed to the Olympics (in 147 days, 2 hours, 32 minutes, and 1 second...and counting)

Merman.

Fish n' chips!

I understand why this is such a popular British meal - sitting down in a pub to take shelter from the London drizzle to nosh on a giant plate of warm, fried fish with with tartar sauce and fries with ketchup, , washed down with a pint, of course, with a football game playing in the background.

Deeeeee-rish.

Reflections on my first evening in London:

• "I need to remember that people speak English here...I don't need to be offended when they reply to me in English, it is their mother tongue as well, and I can also stop with the weird pointing and pausing routine to cover up the fact that I don't know how to pronounce whatever it is I am trying to order off the menu, because, yes, I am reading it correctly. Also, it might not be necessary to take note of every single word I can read and have seen in Harry Potter. I am in ENGLAND, where they speak ENGLISH."
• Stand-up showers!!! France, really, what are you doing? Gravity is your friend.
• Again, I felt like everything I saw was from Harry Potter. I'm pretty sure London ins not just about Harry Potter...it might have something to do with the fact that I am reading Harry Potter (in french, to learn) right now, and can't get it out of my head. 
• London seems really chill... why don't I feel confused and frustrated??? (note, upon reflection: probably the difference between living somewhere and visiting somewhere has something to do with this phenomenon)
• Whirlwind tour, courtesy of Ana and Scott: Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross station, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminister Abbey, Trafalgar Square, and fish n' chips. Not bad for a first night in a city. 
• Wait, I'm in London? I've wanted to come here for as long as I can remember!!! Sweet. I wonder what I'll do tomorrow?

Day 2, Saturday:

Starting with a little quote from Oscar Wilde

And Egg number 3!

More Westminister Abbey:

St. Margaret's Church:

My exact thought, "ohhhh this must be someone important...(upon viewing the name) nope, don't know who that is."

Sir Walter Raleigh (I know that guy!)

And inside Westminister Abbey: 

Elizabeth and Mary 

Queen Elizabeth

Poets' Corner:

Lewis Carroll

"Is all our life, then, but a dream?"

Jane Austen

Wordsworth

Shakespeare

The founders of the Royal Ballet

(I saw the name Margot Fonteyn and thought..."hey, she wasn't a writer...what is this..."

The backyard:

WWII memorial

20th Century Martyrs: 

Whenever I see the name Peter, I am always reminded of my little doggie Petie boy

Flower boxes!!!! If I didn't already think London was adorable, this did it.

Abolition memorial

The Thames 

I took a nice stroll along this, just to say I've walked along the Thames, the Seine, and the Hudson (and the St. Lucie, but we don't need to include that one).

If you look closely here, you can see a sad little daffodil floating by itself...

Parliament

Oh hey, I've heard of this school!

Soleil!

Victoria & Albert Museum: 

Poseidon's Trident!

Apollo flaying Marsyas

The entrance

Eurydice

Pete! 

Though the context here is a little off, since the Peter being referred to was being given keys to heaven, while for my Peter the best gift he could ever receive from Jesus would be his frisbee. 

Sleep of Sorrow, Dream of Joy

London in the sun...I am told this does not happen very often. 

(Maybe I should profiter...)

By taking a sunny stroll, seeing:

A street bagpipe player! Did not think it got any better than street accordion players in Paris, then I went to London and saw a street bagpipe player.

And Hyde Park! I did not think that an early-March weekend in London would be the time for a stroll in the park, but I had to profiter from the sun

Princess Diana memorial fountain: 

Daffodils!

Peter Pan!

You again...

Ah, spring is in the air...

Achilles, watching over the city

My grandma's last name just happened to catch my eye, weirdly enough:

And back home, to Buckingham: 

Window in Harrod's:

A moment of maturity on my way back to Ana and Scott's apartment building:

Day 3, Portobello Market:

Banksy! This actually was quite exciting. 

Hard to read, but Scott and Ana live right down the street from this plaque (outside of a hospital), which says that penicillin was discovered in the room just above: 

Reflections on London: 

• It seems like a really cool city, I'd love to come back (and since my train the next morning would be delayed, prompting a discount on my next ticket, I will!)
• It was weird to be a tourist in a new city that I only had a couple of days to see. I haven't had that feeling in years, since the last time I visited New York before moving there probably. With Paris, it was different, because I knew I would have months to explore, and New York is just home to me, no matter how many new things I find. 
• English is great.
• It was also wonderful to see Scott and Ana - it's so strange that we haven't seen each other in so long, and so much fun to hang out again.
• London, cheers. I'll see you again soon!