St. Patrick’s Day Weekend marked the beginning of spring break for us here at AUR, and American students flocked in masses to Dublin (of course). Being the penny-pinching and broke college student that I am, I couldn’t bring myself to shell out hundreds of dollars for one drunken weekend that is only really a thing because foreigners have made it into a huge deal.
So it worked out perfectly that my good pal Emily had some space for me to crash with her in London, which is like the second most lit place to spend St. Patty’s day. I even found a flight there for a mere 40 euros so this was really turning out to be an ideal trip for someone who needs to have enough money to sustain herself for another month and a half.
I made it safely to London and had a full day of activities while running on zero sleep! I dropped off my bags in Emily’s student housing (some pretty cool dorm-style apartments right near King’s Cross) and we went straight to the London Eye. This was once again a city with excellent public transportation, which made it extremely easy to get everywhere in fairly short amounts of time. The US really needs to get its shit together and start providing decent public transport in more places than just New York.
London Eye
That first day it was beautifully sunny and clear, and the weather was even a tad warm, making it a 10/10 experience on the giant ferris wheel. I’m afraid of heights, yes, but this was so stable it was hardly scary, and the views were so insane. It was the perfect introduction to the city, being able to look at all the major monuments from our perch in the sky.
Verdict: Worth the $$ if it’s a clear day.
London China Town
From the London Eye we head right to China Town because we had both really been missing the pork soup dumplings from Dim Sum Garden back in Philly. London China Town absolutely did not disappoint, and we stuffed our faces with dumplings and beef noodle soup and it was FABULOUS. I really have a love for soup dumplings and Rome pretty much only has Italian food (and the other foods they do have make me a little nervous to try). You can’t really go wrong with any of the places in London though so don’t stress out about where to go.
Even full of dim sum, we still needed to get some ice cream (duh), so we went to the Bubble Wrap ice cream place right there in China Town to get pretty massive fresh bubble waffles stuffed with ice cream and toppings. Actually heaven on earth if you ask me….if only they could put real Italian gelato in them and then we’d be set.
Verdict: definitely worth the $$ for some great food and a cultural experience.
London Pub Crawl
We spent the evening at our pre-booked bar crawl in the Camden district, which was a great move and took us around to tons of cool bars and included a bunch of free drinks, as well as drink specials at each location. We got a two-night pass so we could also do one on St. Patrick’s Day, but overall I liked the Camden one on Friday night the best (more on that later).
It was really fun and the people organizing it on Friday were great and very helpful, making it a very smooth experience. Definitely try to do one of these, especially if you’re coming from out of town and don’t know any of the good local bars.
Verdict: definitely worth the $$ to see a bunch of different bars and get a decent buzz from included drinks
Afternoon Tea
The next day was St. Patrick’s Day and we thought it would be best to spend the dreary cold day doing some sightseeing! We were both smart and very, very dumb for doing this. On one hand, we got a few sites in and it was great to see them, but on the other hand, it was FREEZING and snowing and windy and overall kind of miserable. But we powered through!
We started the day by getting some afternoon tea at a local chain pastry place, and as my first afternoon tea experience it was really cool! I love tea, plus they give you tons of little finger foods like scones (yum) and cakes (also yum). Pretty reasonably priced too, so I’m not saying go to the place we went, but if you want to feel super British, it’s something worth experiencing.
Verdict: worth the $$, depending on where you go and whether or not you even enjoy tea
Churchill War Rooms
After tea, we went to peak at Westminster Abbey and catch a glimpse of Big Ben (even though he’s covered in scaffolding and under repair for who knows how long), and then walked around the corner to wait in line for the Churchill War Rooms.
That was one of the worst lines I have ever stood in. First of all, it was FREEZING and there were snow flurries and I was definitely unprepared to wait AN HOUR AND A HALF to even enter the building. It was awful.
That being said, the Churchill War Rooms were a really, really cool exhibit and it feels so eerie to be in this once-private bunker where so many decisions were made. There’s also a really cool museum exhibit down there about Churchill’s life. Super historical, free audioguides, it was great other than the wait.
Verdict: worth the $$, but NOT WORTH MORE THAN A HALF HOUR WAIT
Golden Union Fish & Chips
The best part of that day was definitely when we left the war rooms and went on a quest to find some good fish and chips (which, as I was told, are actually hard to find in London because the best are on the coast in Brighton). Thank god for the internet, because one quick Google search had us arriving at Golden Union.
Probably one of the best meals I’ve ever had, even considering it was a hunk of deep fried fish and some French fries. Every aspect of the dish had been perfected though, and the place had a really chill fish market vibe. It also smells like yummy fried food so really, what’s better than that?
Verdict: absolutely worth the $$$ and the hike to get there.
Tower of London
The next day, we allowed ourselves to sleep in a bit and then dragged our post-Saint-Patrick’s-Day bodies out of bed to glam ourselves up for our day of tourism. First stop: the Tower of London.
Walking up to it, the Tower of London looks like such a classic old castle, set right on the Thames River. We cringed a bit at the steep price of 17 pounds, but it was immediately clear that it was worth it.
Every building on the grounds is pretty much open as a museum with tons of collections of artifacts. Plus, we got to see the CROWN JEWELS and the place where Ann Boleyn was beheaded. All made very creepy by the flocks of crows that are kept on the grounds.
Verdict: absolutely worth the $$, lots of stuff to look at
Tower Bridge
Of course, after the Tower of London we had to hit up the Tower Bridge since it’s literally right there. The tickets for this were much more reasonable, and you get to go all the way up and chill on these cool glass panels and scare yourself to death/face your fear of heights! The man working there assured us that the glass panels can withstand like five elephants or something but I was still a little nervous after all the weight I’ve gained from my four months of eating Italian food.
We took the elevators back down to the bridge level, and there’s a fun ~bonus~ area where you get to walk down to the engine rooms at the end of the bridge. The engine rooms are pretty boring, not gonna lie, but the gift shop there is UNREAL. There were so many cute things it was impossible not to buy something. They weren’t just the tacky little souvenirs. This place had cute London-themed patterns on wallets and oven mitts and everything in between. Truly a shopper’s paradise.
Spent way too much money in the gift shop considering I bought Millie (yes my dog) two presents, but still loved the whole place.
Verdict: worth the $$ but beware of spending a billion dollars in the gift shop!!
Platform 9 3/4
My final day was no less busy than the others, starting off with an early wake up call and a trip down the block to King’s Cross Station. We had passed through this station at least a dozen times a day since I’d gotten there in order to access the Tube, but this time we finally went to the infamous Platform 9 ¾ . An absolutely amazing photo op for any Harry Potter nerd (like me). You even get to wear the scarf that corresponds to your assigned House and pick which character’s wand you get to use! The workers are really nice, too, and they let you take pictures on your phone in addition to their fancy camera set up so you don’t have to pay 10 pounds for your photo.
Even though I got the photo for free, I certainly paid for plenty of Harry Potter items. It was an overall great opportunity to get all of the geeky knick-knacks you’d been dreaming of without going to Orlando or getting a coveted spot on the London studio tour.
Verdict: worth it because it’s free! (souvenirs are worth the $$ in my opinion)
Buckingham Palace
A few Tube stops found us at Buckingham Palace to gawk at the large estate where Kate and Will and their cute kids definitely spend time, plus the Queen and her dogs. They don’t really live there full time but it was still interesting to see (and obviously take pictures of).
It was actually kind of underwhelming if I’m being totally honest, because I was expecting some super grand architecture or something, but it was honestly comparable to most US government buildings. Much bigger of course, but not really the palace vibes I was expecting. It’s a must-see in London though, especially if you get to see the Changing of the Guards.
Verdict: kind of worth it because it’s free, not worth waiting hours to see the Changing of the Guards if it’s cold and windy outside
Aladin Brick Lane
Our final stop on my grand tour of London was a small, hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant that was recommended to me by my friend who grew up in London. She described it as looking like the food would be really bad based on the sketchy exterior of the building, but in actuality it is some of the best Indian food you can find.
She could not have been more right. We navigated our way to there and found the tiny restaurant by the name of Aladin Brick Lane. We promptly ordered some butter chicken and some naan, and I was absolutely blown away by how amazing it was. Seriously best Indian food I have ever tasted. I still dream about it.
The restaurant is a bit out of the way of most things, but I would go back every day if I could. The prices were also some of the most reasonable I had seen in all of London.
Verdict: WORTH THE $$ AND THE TRIP THERE IT’S SO GOOD
Overall, London was a super interesting city, definitely very similar to American cities, but extremely expensive. That damn British Pound is so crazy and I was definitely pretty broke after that trip but it was a cool city that would be easy to visit again, although it may not necessarily be high up on my list of places to return to. I didn’t actually get to do the Harry Potter Studio Tour though, so I guess I will just have to go back.
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