London Snapshots

Slowly but surely finishing up my posts from my semester abroad... I took so many photos that I have a bunch of miscellaneous snapshots from day trips in England and some time out in London.

Piccadilly Circus

St. James' Park

Russell Square underground station

Day trip to Stonehenge

Visit to Salisbury Cathedral

saying goodbye to Guilford

Last Day in London

I kind of can't believe that it has been almost two months since this last day in London. After my last final exam, I decided to go walk around and take pictures for the last time, starting with St. Pauls and ending with the Sky Garden (again).


St. Pauls Cathedral







Millennium Bridge





The Sky Garden

Prague

My last trip while in London was a weekend trip to Prague with two of my roommates. We didn't really plan very much and had a lot of free time, so we spent most of the weekend wandering around, taking photos, and enjoying all of the sun and flowers after weeks of London stubbornly refusing springtime. I loved Prague - it was so beautiful, I immediately loved the architecture, the weather was perfect, and it was a good place to have a more relaxing, less busy trip for the end of our semester. Plus, because this was our last trip, big thank you to Claire and Matti (and Kristen) for letting me take a million pictures of you and dealing with my need to photograph everything over the course of the semester.

Our first stop after checking into our hostel was to walk across Stefanikuv Most and climbed up to Letná Park. We went to the beer garden, situated in the park with a great view of Old Town Prague and the river. After a while we went into the park, which was beautiful and full of flowers, and laid in the grass. It was sunny and warm and we had left our dorm at 3:30 or 4 AM to get to the airport for a ridiculously early flight, so we laid in the sunlight and probably all fell asleep at some point.

The famous (and packed) Charles Bridge

The John Lennon Wall

Explored Old Town Prague to find dinner and check out the old town square, the famous tower and clock, and beautiful buildings

After dinner we headed down to the river to go paddle boating, timing it with the sunset.

Prague Castle

We wandered around the Mala Strana neighborhood and Old Town again, finding bookstores and beer gardens and pretty streets, a random park and nice doors and a special effects museum. And eating trdelniks.

We went to the top of the Old Town Hall Tower for sunset

The old town square at night, as well as the Prague Castle seen across the river on our way to yet another beer garden (they really like their beer in Prague).

On our last day we decided to have a picnic by the river, so I read, wrote, laid in the sun, and stared at dogs for the better part of an afternoon. Plus, yet another trdelnik.

Last Saturday in London

On my last Saturday in London, with less than a week left in England (already a month ago!), I couldn't help but set aside the afternoon to do something fun, despite the final essays I needed to write and the final exams I needed to study for. I spent the afternoon walking around the city by myself, going to a museum, and taking photos of the city in spring. I love the pretty and cute little streets of London, with houses covered in wisteria and painted a bright color, and I took a million photos of those charming streets and buildings over the course of the semester. Can I go back and live on one of those streets?


Glimpses of Russell Square, Southampton Row, and Woburn Place - my daily walk for four months.







I worked on an essay for a few hours at a coffeeshop near Covent Garden, and then went through the market (trying to avoid Ben's Cookies). They had a new installation of mirrors, which covered most of the outside of the building and some spots inside the main halls, in order to cover up scaffolding.






Walked on to Piccadilly Circus, passing many London theatres I had been to over the course of the semester.








I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London's museum of decorative arts and design, yet again - it was one of my favorites in London.









I always returned to the cast courts, one of my favorite parts of the V&A, in the sculpture wing. The collection includes full-size replicas of David and Trajan's Column (cut in half), displayed among many other replicas of sculptures from around the world








The lovely main sculpture hall of the V&A








I briefly went across the street to the Natural History Museum and then started wandering around Kensington in search of pretty streets.






Kynance Mews in Kensington, featuring the wisteria that had popped up all over London










On my way to Notting Hill, I tracked down the house that had taken over London instagrams with its bright pink door almost blocked by all the wisteria covering the house. I walked through Notting Hill, stopping at a bakery and checking out the cute, colorful streets, which I didn't get sick of. St Luke's Mews is one of the cutest streets, and Codrington Mews was a cool corner tucked away from Portobello Road and Kensington Park Road.

Harry Potter Studio Tour

I love, love, love Harry Potter, so of course I had to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. One of my roommates and I took the train out of London to the studio tour, which is housed in part of Leavesden Studios. Once you get inside and past the introduction video from the cast and crew, you can see the sets and props used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies. Very exciting for this big Harry Potter fan.