London Part 1

I recently spent a weekend in London for the first time with my boyfriend, with just a little more than £300 to our name. Surprisingly, we didn’t go see the Buckingham palace, Big Ben or the Westminster Abbey. Instead, we walked down the lively streets of Soho and Camden, saw the Great Gate of Chinatown, explored Leicester Square and, for good measure, visited the Science Museum as well as the Natural History Museum. We both thought it would be more interesting to do the things that we truly wanted to do, rather than follow the usual touristic path. Not that there is anything wrong with it, we will probably follow it some time in the future when we come back. I have to say that this experience was very enjoyable, but also scary in many ways. Mainly because of the money management and the overall lack of time, but also because of the trip itself. Transports are nerve-wracking, and to use them so much in such a short period of time? Well, let’s say I needed a 15h nap when I came home. Train, subway, plane, coach, more subway… in 72h only?

Chinatown's Gate

London felt scary as well. It was just so big. Constantly bustling with energy, people, traffic, noises everywhere, a brightly colored view and fast-paced rhythm, it would be enough for any small-town person to feel lost and disoriented. Luckily I grew up in a relatively big and bustling city, and was with someone. Apart from the size of the city, the nature of the traffic is also very different from what we have here. I saw the iconic two-story red buses. In the center, as well as in the borough where our hotel was, we saw a surprising amount of cars that were expensive, old or both. One thing that I noticed as well while walking in the city, was that the pedestrians literally never waited for the traffic lights to be green, even in dangerous areas where lots of cars passed through.

I really enjoyed the subway, despite the weird and even frightening encounters we had. It felt so modern and dynamic, one of the things I miss in small towns. The Victoria station, which was a station for buses, coaches, trains and the underground, was also very dynamic, and had free, clean toilets as well as more restaurants than in the center of our town. I still have many things to share about my trip, so I’ll see you again soon ! Thanks for reading !