Woke Up in London Yesterday...

…found myself in the city, near Piccadilly.  Well, I wake up in London nearly every day and I do sometimes find myself near Piccadilly.  After all, it is only three tube stops away!

Fall Break was about two weeks ago, and instead of traveling, I stuck around London for the week and played tourist!

The Sunday I got back from Venice, Courtney and I decided to catch Taken 2 at the Odeon.  For once in my life, I was early.  So as I was walking across Leicester Square, I noticed a giant crowd of people in front of…The Odeon.  My first thought was, “dang it, I’m not going to be able to see my movie.”  Once I realized there were two Odeons, my second thought was “famous people!”  I ran across the square and jostled my way to the first row and didn't see anyone I recognized.  Then they announced Helena Bonham Carter!  I was so excited.  I had stumbled across the Great Expectations movie premiere!  How fitting, since I am currently reading the novel for one of my classes and we were just talking about the latest film adaptation days before!  Oh, Taken 2 was pretty good as well!

Movie Premiere!

Helena Bonham Carter! I stole this from Courtney, she's taller, which means better photos!

Monday, we had a big day planned! We started the day off at The Tower of London.  It was okay.  I saw ravens, lots of museum-y things, and most importantly, the crown jewels!  I liked seeing them, I just expected there to be more. 

The Tower of London!

My favorite museum thing!

Where the Crown Jewels are kept!

No pictures inside :(

Tower Bridge!

After lunch, we headed across town to Harrods!  I had wanted to go there since I set foot in London.  It was massive.  It took us a good four hours to walk through all the levels! And they were starting to decorate for Christmas, so it looked spectacular!

all lit up!

My favorite Disney movie!

got my bag!

Tuesday, we started off the day at the Royal Mews.  This is where the Queen’s horses, carriages, and cars are stored.  While we were there, a ceremony was being performed!  Apparently, when a new ambassador is seated, carriages pick that person up.  Before they can leave, the carriages and the horses have to be presented and inspected.  All very official.  This doesn’t happen very often, so we were very fortunate to see it!  Another thing I liked about the Mews is that not many people go there, so we practically had the place to ourselves!  I got to see so many carriages, including the ones used for Royal Weddings and for the Diamond Jubilee.  My favorite thing to see was one of the cars used to transport the royals.  The cars are specially made by either Rolls Royce or Bentley.  They have extra-large windows and taller roofs so that people can be better seen and maneuver in and out of the vehicle with greater ease.  Fun facts.

Presentation of the Coaches!

RR Phantom!

Coach used in the Diamond Jubilee!

Next, we headed across the River Thames to the London Eye.  The views from the top were spectacular.  It was a little overcast the day we went, so I can’t even imagine how amazing they would have been if it had been clearer!  

Going up!

Foggy but gorgeous!

After the Eye, we went the BB Bakery on a recommendation from my friend back at home, Kerstine.  It was super adorable and I had a great cupcake!

BB Bakery and a cupcake!

Wednesday, Courtney and I went to afternoon tea!  I had done some research of where to go for our tea, and The Chelsea Teapot kept coming up.  So, I booked that for us!  Chelsea isn’t the most accessible area by the tube, so getting there was a bit of a challenge, but it all ended up okay!  The Chelsea Teapot was absolutely adorable!  We ordered vanilla tea, and were brought a tower of goodies to eat.  The tea was…icky.  I hate tea, always have and always will.  The treats were overall pretty yummy!  The bottom tier was tea sandwiches, which were creepy.  Some were salmon and some were cucumber.  Neither of which are very high on the “to-eat list.”  I choked down a cucumber one, so I didn’t have to feel guilty about wasting them.  The middle tier was scones.  They are most delicious thing I have tasted (well, tied with Bodean’s apple crumble) since I have been here.  The top tier was chocolate and strawberries! Yum.  We also got to pick out a cupcake to take away.  I chose a Halloween themed one and also bought a scone for breakfast the next day!  When we left, we decided to take the slower walking route.  I’m glad we did!  The area was so cute.  If I were ever to live in London, I would want to live in Chelsea!  

The Chelsea Teapot!

Tea...yuck.

Look at those scones!

Courtney had class the next few days, so nothing much happened until Saturday!

Saturday morning, we went to the Portobello Market!  It was so crowded, but really awesome too!  My favorite store was an antique store with all of these old trunks and other cool junk that no one needs, but still buys anyways.  It’s a good thing I would never be able to get anything back to America, or I would have dropped some serious cash! It was neat how along the entire road, there was a mix of permanent stores and temporary stands.  I bought a few gifts for my friends and family back home!  I can’t wait to give them all their gifts! And I treated myself to a cupcake (or two) from the Hummingbird Bakery!

Portobello Market! (terrible photo, but that's the gist of it!)

Overall, it was a great way to spend fall break.  I got to relax, catch up on my tv shows, and most importantly, see more of London!