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Lili in London (Part 2)

East End Adventures

I love the East End.  It really fits my personality and it's what I picture in my head when I think "London".  I first ventured into this part of the city on a Jack the Ripper tour, since I have been fascinated by the Ripper case for almost my entire life.  I was even Jack for Halloween one year!  I was really excited to get to go and see the streets where everything happened, and was surprised by what actually survived from that time.  While I know the story of Jack the Ripper extensively well, what I was surprised by on the tour was the area.  The tour went through Whitechapel, since that is where Jack was active during his time, and I just loved the vibe of the place.  I went down small alleys and back streets, and also past Spitalfields Market and the assortment of bars and shops around it, and I just fell in love.  The area has so much character, it somehow feels like the 1800's and 1960's both left permanent tattoos on this arm of the city and together it has made for a rather unique piece of artwork.  The window in the pictur above I just loved, it's so weird and 60's mod yet it also looks so 19th century!  To me, that embodies the East End.  I would love to revisit London one day and spend the majority of my time in this area.

Need I say more?

 

 Mitre Square, location of a Ripper murder

The Tower of London

As someone who loves ghosts and ghost tours etc, I was super excited to finally get to see the Tower of London!  Sadly, I didn't see any ghosts that day, but I really enjoyed wandering the property and learning all the stories from the tour guide.  I liked that you had the option to wander around by yourself or take the tour (for no extra charge) and could leave at any time.  I stayed with the guided tour until I felt that I had a good knowledge of what I was looking at, then branched off to go into the individual buildings.

The White Tower

 

 The famous ravens!

Inside the White Tower, an armory museum

Tower Bridge

Modern London

Down the Rabbit Hole, London

Most of my London nights out were spent in Café Bohème in Soho. I quite liked this bar, it was very old world Parisian and sleek, and seemed to be a good after work or after theatre spot. One night, my friend spotted that they had Absinthe, and being the Baroque/Victorian princess that I am, we just had to order some!  Mostly it just tasted like Sambuca (a favorite of my father) and was hard to drink because I hate licorice, but it did have some interesting effects. 

Soho is a fun area to wander around even during the day, but it really comes to life at night.  I like the small historic streets and the way that the modern mixes with the traditional.  On one corner you might find a massive theatre with bright lights and glitter and then next door a very old pub with soft, warm lighting and old fashioned decor.  I would have loved to have some nights out in the East End as well since the bars that I saw there definitely felt like more my style, but there just isn't time for everything!

Lili in London (Part 1)

Trafalgar Square

I'm back in the US, so it's trip report time!  I've decided to split up my London posts into 2 sections, much like the city itself has the West End and the East End, since I feel like the two sides and their sites are super different.  First will be the West End, where I was staying for two weeks. 

Rainy view from my temporary home

Having a friend living in the city allowed me to see just about everything, and on my first day alone we saw a ton of major sights. 

 

Big Ben & Parliament

 Westminster Abbey

 

The London Eye

Buckingham Palace & Queen's Gardens

I enjoyed the area around Parliament because I love to see political types, I'm weird that way.  I just get excited being around the diplomatic suits and wondering what their offices look like, plus they always have such busy energies about them like they're constantly in a rush, it just sparks my imagination.  

Next on the list was the Victoria and Albert Museum which reminded me a lot of New York's Met Museum.  There was a lot in London that I couldn't help but compare to New York, especially in the West End, I just find them to be very similar.  The East End feels totally different and "old London" to me, but the West End has the same modern working city vibe as much of Manhattan.  Anyway, the V+A had some interesting art pieces and a nice selection of old furniture which is something I LOVE.  Antique pieces are just a passion of mine, I love the plush fabrics and dark wood, I would love to have my own collection one day!

 

 

 

I also went to the British Museum, (a place I have wanted to visit since I was a kid) for their Egypt collection. 

 

The Rosetta Stone

Stone Guardian

Finally, there's the Sherlock Holmes Pub and National Portrait Gallery.  I did these on 2 different days, but the photo of Trafalgar Square above is from the night I went to the Sherlock Holmes.  I caught the square at a really pretty sunset time and there weren't that many people, it felt so calm and pretty!  I actually did the National Portrait Gallery on my last day in London, and all the interior photos are from that day

The Sherlock Holmes Pub

 

Those were my West End adventures, my next post will be on the area's nightlife!