Episode 8 - London π¬π§
OH BRITTANIA, BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES!!
βA life that is rich in all other regards but deficient in relationships is hollow at best, and depressing at worst. What's the point of having the world if you have no one to share it with? Do you really want to be king if it means residing in a castle of one?β
-Jack Raines
Visited Tatiana (one of my bestest friends) in London this weekend and it was an amazing time. Tatiana, thank you for your hospitality and friendship, I appreciate you more than you know!
Very grateful for all my supportive relationships recently. Yβall are the best!
Letβs dive in π
Saturday 10/14/2023
I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to take the Eurostar. London calls! I left Joeβs apartment with just a backpack and lots and lots of excitement.
Iβve wanted to take the Eurostar train for years now. Itβs the bullet train that goes from Paris to London in just 2 hours, and the Channel tunnel (also Chunnel, the tunnel that goes underneath the English Channel) was the first tunnel to be built under a sea and is currently the third longest tunnel in the world. We even learned about it in my geology class, since new boring machines were invented to carve the tunnel through a layer of clay that goes underneath the entire Channel. Ever since I heard of this train, Iβve wanted to take a trip on it.
Needless to say, I was super excited to get on the Eurostar!
Got to the station on time, and the station itself was gorgeous (Gare du Nord). I got a coffee with a pain au chocolat, and bordered the train after passing through border control. My passport has so many stamps already! Unfortunately, my war relic was confiscated at customs. That was quite unfortunate.
Just kidding. I donβt have any war relics. Maybe I should get some?
It was still pitch black the first hour of the ride since the train left at 7 a.m. I finished watching The King (what a great movie) and read for a little bit. Going through the tunnel was quite uneventful, since it was basically dark for 15 minutes (thatβs exactly what everyone told me to expect). I was hoping to see a fish or something. Or maybe a British shark.
It was still very exciting! The train was extremely smooth, and the countryside was absolutely FLYING by. Our cruising speed was 200 km/hour. Insane
On my bucket list is to take the bullet train from Japan to Osaka. That train goes 600 km/hr and passes by Mt. Fuji.
I arrived in London at 8:30 a.m. local time and immediately blasted βRule Brittaniaβ.
OH BRITANNIA, BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES.
Iβm in London. The former capital of the world! It was all so exciting :)
I called Tatiana (my super close friend I was visiting for the weekend) a couple of times but she didnβt pick up. Either her phone was dead or she was lol.
No worries! I walked over to Kingβs Cross (right next to St. Pancras, the Eurostar station) to check out the famous station. They even had a Harry Potter section where you could see Platform 9 3/4 (how to get to the Hogwarts Express). I ran into the wall with no luck.
Looks like Iβm not a wizard.
While waiting in line, I practiced my British accent.
It was quite lovely, innit?
To my British friends, I apologize in advance.
The person next to me was Japanese, so I told her it was nice to meet her in Japanese. That dinner I had weeks ago with the Japanese guy has paid many dividends already. She was very impressed!
I walked over from Kingβs Cross to Tatianaβs apartment, and loved the walk! London is such a beautiful city. I love how every building is so different and unique. All the apartments and buildings in Paris look the same, but London has everything different. The streets are so pretty.
I also almost got hit by a bus because I was looking in the wrong direction when crossing the street.
Brits drive on the left side of the road. What are you doing, mates??
I met Tatiana outside her apartment and it was like a movie reunion at the airport. It was SO GOOD to see her!! I had only seen her in person twice before for a grand total of less than an hour, even though we texted and called each other probs 250 hours over the course of the summer. The people walking on the street mustβve been so confused as to what was happening :)
We walked over to her apartment (it was so nice oh my, like a hotel), she made DELICIOUS omelets, I quickly unpacked (one backpack can be unpacked in about 20 seconds), and then I tried to make coffee.
When the coffee machine in her apartment wouldnβt open, I spent about 10 minutes trying to force it open with no luck.
Fortunately, Tatiana has a subscription to Pret, which is basically the British Starbucks. For just 30 pounds a month, she gets 5 free drinks per day and 20% off all food.
Now that is a sweet deal!
She got me a free coffee, then we walked to LSE to check out her uni. The London School of Economics is an extremely strong and quite prestigious social science university, and about a quarter of all Nobel Prize winners in economics come from that school. Pretty sick if you ask me!
The university was so cute! Nice modern buildings, with pretty courtyards and cozy pubs scattered around. It reminded me of Hogsmeade from Harry Potter. We even walked into the classroom, and it was very different than anything at Sciences Po or UCLA.
We headed over to Covent Garden afterward, and we took the tube! The first underground metro in the world. It was quite nice (I went on in flying into Paris so it wasnβt my first time) and Covent Garden was BEAUTIFUL!! So many shops and people walking around. I love it when people walk around, itβs such a nice feeling. I think I inherited that from my mom.
We bought some cute signs at Tatianaβs favorite vendor, checked out the Apple Store (of course) and The North Face, then headed over to the transportation museum!
Basically, it was a museum about the entire history of Londonβs transportation, from horse-drawn carriages to modern times. They talked about how they built the tube system, the machines that bore the tunnels, and all the different vehicles that are used and have been used for the subway and bus system over the decades. It was super cool! Before they invented boring machines, they had to dig from the surface, construct a tunnel, and then cover the huge hole in the ground. Lots of property was destroyed in the process as the tube lines ran under neighborhoods.
The entry ticket was an annual pass, so looks like Iβm going back to that museum the next time Iβm in London!
The gift shop was also super cool, with lots of transportation-themed merch. They even had duvet covers that had a map of the tube. I was tempted to buy it, but my duvet back home in Paris isnβt the same size. They had Tube-themed monopoly, pillows, t-shirts, even coasters. I got myself a Piccadilly Line keychain for my backpack, since that was the line Tatiana and I took most of the time.
After the museum, it was only natural that we get another Pret coffee. Those 5 free coffees per day arenβt going to drink themselves, you know! We headed over to Leicester Square because I wanted to see the Paddington Statue on one of the park benches. He was so cute! Paddington is HUGE in London, they sell gifts and souvenirs related to Paddington everywhere.
We walked back to the apartment along a beautiful street with even more people walking around. It is so pleasant to stroll in a city :)
We grabbed our things from the apartment and made our way to a Greek restaurant that Tatiana really liked, and the food was quite tasty. We proceeded to do some work afterward, including me applying to a Red Bull PM internship in Austria (thanks Anna for telling me about it!!) Super friendly staff, great WiFi, and strangely delicious water.
Tatiana only dropped one glass of water, shattering it everywhere. ΠΠΎΠ»ΡΡΠ΅ Π½Π΅ Π½Π°Π»ΠΈΠ²Π°ΡΡ!
After around 2 hours in the Greek restaurant with great Greek tunes playing, we bought groceries for dinner, dropped off our things at the apartment, and headed out for a pint.
How could I possibly not get a pint in London? She got a Guinness, I got a blonde beer. I considered calling Joe for his recommendation but decided to just get the cheapest one instead.
Decisions are easy to make when youβre broke!
We shared stories about life, with Tatiana hearing the full tale about the crazy start to my freshman year of college (iykyk). We took a detoured route home to enjoy the streets, and then made pelmeni (delicious Russian dumplings) from scratch! I didnβt even have to look at the recipe, I have it completely memorized. Tatianaβs friend Evie came over to help (she was really really cool!!) and we ate them all together. Making pelmeni is SO MUCH fun, I never get tired of it. I can make them with my eyes closed at this point. Evie left for a bit, then Tatiana and I had a wine night.
I then proceeded to show Tatiana all my camera roll favorites before calling my mom and falling asleep.
London is great!
Sunday 10/15Β
Woke up at 8 to go to Barryβs Bootcamp at 8:45. It was 5 degrees (40 in Fahrenheit) on the walk there. I almost froze my ass off.
Barryβs Bootcamp is basically an hour of running and doing weights in a dark basement room with music blasting and the instructor yelling directions. Itβs quite intense! Iβm in great shape from running a lot in Paris, so I didnβt have any issues with the class, it was quite fun! The class was extremely structured, I can see why Tatiana likes it. Tatiana really likes structure in her life. I prefer to be more go-with-the-flow.
Barryβs has really nice showers (Tatiana had hyped them up), so I was super excited to try their fancy shampoo and conditioner. After I got out of the shower, I could not for the life of me remember which locker I had put my clothes in. I tried my code on all ~30 lockers and none of them worked. I asked the maintenance guy for help, and he called the front desk that had the key to the lockers. I was just standing there in my underwear as he proceeded to open each locked locker while laughing his ass off.
None of the lockers had my clothes, to the point where I thought someone had just stolen my things. He then opened the door of an unlocked locker, and of course, my clothes were lying there in a nice pile.
Story of my life.
Tatiana was super concerned at this point and was going to ask the front desk to check in on me. Fortunately, I made it out right on time!
We got Pret coffee on the way back and Tatiana made omelets again (so good!!). We did some work in her apartment, then took the metro to the Columbia flower market on the eastern side of Paris. It was the loveliest time! Basically, London blocks off an entire street every Sunday morning for Londoners to buy and sell lots of plants and flowers. The vibes were amazing, everyone was so nicely dressed, and I loved looking at all the plants. It was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip (except for the very sour olive I ate from one of the trees)! They even sold coconut plants!
Coconut plants! In London! Who wouldβve thought?
2:30 p.m. meant it was time for unlimited pizza, drinks, and shuffleboard! Tatiana had booked a reservation for me, herself, Evie (from the night before), and Steven (her friend from Arizona who I thought was super chill but then turned out to be a dick for reasons I wonβt explain in this blog) for 2 hours of fun. Evie was super good at shuffleboard, even though I literally taught her how to play it there.
The student, it seems, has become the master!
I had a blast! The last time I played shuffleboard was with Maxim in Hawaii 2 years ago, and the last time I had bottomless drinks was in LA at Juquilaβs. Letβs not think about Juquilaβs.
I loved shuffleboarding!!
We ended up just walking around for a bit and found this random Lego exhibit in an alleyway where you could decorate an 8x8 brick into designs of your choice.
I made 3.
We made a quick detour to a tattoo place, then headed over to a bar to watch the rugby game (South Africa and France were playing!!), and the bar was crazy.
First of all, it was a double-decker bar.
The top floor was dedicated to American football. 10 different TVs were showing different NFL Sunday Football games. It was like I was back in the US. I hated it. I came to Europe to experience a new culture.
Then we went downstairs, where they were showing the rugby game. Now thatβs more my cup of tea! I got a pint (of course) and sang the French national anthem at the point of my lungs. I am a HUGE fan of France now, I feel so France patriotic and want us to win!! I was so rooting for France and found that I missed Paris a lot and wanted to be in the Concorde fan zone at that moment.
Who wouldβve thought that would happen?
That was the closest game I have seen in my entire life. South Africa won 29-28. Me and the 2 French guys I was sitting with were devastated.
During the course of the game, Tatiana and I met this really nice couple from Chicago, Adam and Sonie, who were on vacation from the US. They were both in their 40s (I literally thought Sonie was 30 she looked great) and some of the most interesting people Iβve ever met. Adam was from Australia, lived in London for 13 years, then moved to the US for work.
When I got lunch with Magdalena (the Czech girl) last week, she was shocked that I was only 20. I told Sonie that I was 24, and she completely believed me. She was shocked when I told her I was 20, lol. She was really impressed that Tatiana and I were already traveling and doing so much as 20-year-olds and really commended us. She also subscribed to my blog. I hope you are enjoying reading this, Sonie!
Adam and Sonie also gave some amazing advice about life:
Travel while young and think about living in Europe in your 20s. Iβm honestly really opening up to the idea, I have fallen in love with the culture here in Europe and would love to work here for a few years after college. Adam said that the US and Australia are a lot closer culturally than the US and Europe, so recommended Europe if Iβm going to work abroad.
Sonieβs favorite was βWhere you go, there you are.β You canβt escape yourself and leaving to another place wonβt fix your problems, eventually, you catch up to yourself once the euphoria of a new place wears off. I have found that to be the case in Paris!
Have a good fall-back skill in case your career doesnβt work out.
Anna and Sonie, it was a pleasure to meet yβall. I hope yβall get married, you seemed so happy around each other :)
Evie had left by this point, so Tatiana and I took the train to her friend Varunβs apartment at the dorm room building for LSE students. He was super chill and had a super cool winter jacket that was the warmest and most comfortable thing Iβve ever had the privilege of wearing. If I move somewhere cold long term, I definitely need one of those.
Varun is going to be an investment banker and is actually super passionate about it. He showed us his DCFs (after saying βWhereβs my DCFβ when searching his Mac, it was hilarious). I learned a ton but I would definitely hate doing that kind of work (I could not imagine a more boring job for myself). Good thing there are people like Varun that enjoy doing that kind of work. He also let me borrow 2 books, which was pretty lit. Iβll need to read them before Tatiana comes to visit so that she can return the books to him.
Tatiana and I went back to her apartment, where we drank wine and had a DELICIOUS charcuterie board with yummy brie cheese and nice, crunchy crackers. We talked about life, then I wrote my blog for last week and went to be absolutely exhausted. Writing these is not easy!
Good thing I enjoy it :)
Monday 10/16
Slept in, relatively speaking. Tatiana did some homework (she loves organizational psychology). I left pretty early (by myself along the Piccadilly Line, quickly becoming my favorite line) to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
Basically, Buckingham Palace is the massive palace where the British royals live. Each morning at 11, they have a big ceremony of the guards changing in front of the palace, complete with a royal marching band, marines with lethal rifles, lots of redcoat-clad soldiers, and policemen on horses. They also had royal gardeners, which I thought was hilarious.
I had to go!
Random aside, but why is there a monarchy? My American self doesnβt understand the need for a king. Me personally, I bleed red, white, and blue, loving liberty.
Though now that I think about it, the British flag is red, white, and blue as well.
I will need to ponder this statement.
I watched the marching band and the guards march back to their barracks, and it was really cool to see. My high school band teacher told me about the guard change and the band years ago, and it was awesome to finally see it myself.
After the ceremonies, I headed over to a Pret to prepare for my presentation in the international trade class. An hour later, I began walking toward Covent Garden to meet Tatiana and her friend Matt at a steakhouse for brunch.
I say βbeganβ because it was quite the voyage getting to the brunch spots because of the multitude of touristy stops I made along the way!
I saw Westminster Abbey (need to go inside one day to see Newtonβs tomb) and the Houses of Parliament. That is honestly my favorite building in the entire world. The facade is so pretty, with its spires and windows. I walked around the entire building before turning back to the direction I came. There were lots of statues of famous people there (especially of Winston Churchill, the British goat) and I stopped in a gift shop to buy some postcards for Gloria and Maxim. I also tried on a jacket I had been wanting to get (a hoodie with the Tube logo and βMind the Gapβ written on it), though it didnβt fit me as well as Iβd hoped.
Fortunately, that made the decision to not buy the 50-pound (in price, not weight) hoodie much, much easier. I bought 3 great pairs of socks instead for just 12 pounds! I needed new socks, anyway.
My last stop on the walk was at Trafalgar Square. There is a huge pillar commemorating Lord Admiral Nelson, who is the second most goated British person after Winston Churchill. He won the extremely famous Battle of Trafalgar, where the British fleet destroyed the Spanish and French ones, securing Britain as the leading naval power for the next 200 years. His death in that battle solidified his legend! It was awesome to see the pillar and the famous 4 lions around its base.
I quickly made it to the brunch place, where I met up with Tatiana and her friend Matt. Matt was chill and from Hong Kong.
The steaks were delicious, as were the sauces. We did some work after, then got our free scoop of ice cream! Matt went to the library to do some more work, and Tatiana and I took the tube to Kensington High Street to check out the shopping there. Kensington High is like Londonβs 5th Avenue, with tons of expensive shops around.
Honestly, it was a little underwhelming. We walked over to Kensington Gardens instead and strolled to Hyde Park. It was absolutely lovely. Much more nature and wilderness than in Paris. I liked it more than any place Iβve been to in the French capital!
We just talked about life and compared how different our life goals and aspirations are. It was a great time, with great company, in a great park :)
We took the tube back home, where I called my grandma to pack up and leave back to Paris. Tatiana and I walked to the St. Pancras train station, and it was super bittersweet leaving her and London, though I was ready to head home at this point.
Good thing sheβs coming to visit me in Paris next weekend!
The Eurostar was smooth sailing (training, I guess?), where I did my homework for class tomorrow and watched the first half of The Wolf of Wall Street. That movie is insane!
Before I knew it, I was back in Paris, and I was SO HAPPY. I literally couldnβt stop smiling on the Velib ride home, I was back in my city. I wouldβve never guessed Iβd be so excited to be back.
I love being back in my apartment, itβs great having a home base to return to. There is now thereβs another flag in my jar!
And just like that, my wonderful trip to London has come to an end. My biggest takeaway was that itβs amazing to have people to visit. London was great, but it was even better to visit Tatiana (though we did get sick of spending so much time with each other toward the end, lol). Having friends to spend time with and see cool places makes everything so much better :)
Thanks yβall for tuning in. See yβall soon!
Some more pictures:
how lovely, innit!