London, The First Time

When my friends first broached the idea of going to London, I had no feelings. In my barkada, I am known for my feelings --- I pretty much follow feelings when it comes to shoe purchases, home neighborhood choices, brand affinities. If I don't feel anything, I don't go for it.

Up until the day I left, I had no feelings. Surely, London was the most expensive city in the world, and home to the royals, the West End, musicals, men in suits and Emily Post lives. I still had no feelings. Until I was in London itself.

Its pop culture is astounding in real life. Every moment we spent in the Underground, the gloomy streets, under the London rain, was like moments spent with Banksy, with Sherlock Holmes and with Dr. Who.

No, not the Spice Girls :P

Here are the top ten favorites from Tara's Travels, London edition. I'm on the lookout to coming back to London, maybe stopping over for a few days for my next European destination and by then, maybe I will chance upon a Banksy exhbition, visit Bicester Village, catch Book of Mormon and Thriller. I've missed so many things in London, so I just have to go back!

Robert Mapplethorpe, Self Portrait | Tate Modern #art #london #wanderlust #travel
A photo posted by Tara Cabullo (@champagnedreams) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:41am PDT
By Louise Bourgeois | Tate Modern | London #wanderlust #travel #art #tate #london
A photo posted by Tara Cabullo (@champagnedreams) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:02am PDT
Stonehenge. Technically, this is outside of London, about three hours away but it's a day trip worth coming to, maybe at least once in our lives. It's an installation of rocks made 8,000 BC. Until now, the world is wondering how these stones were put on top of each other at a time that no tools were formed yet. It's still an engineering wonder ---- a question that challenges our beliefs. After all, it's easy to believe the easy {the alien theory}. But I was never for the easy option anyway.
The Making of Harry Potter. Outside of London as well, The Making of Harry Potter is a collection of all the sets used in the Harry Potter movies. Being only a semi Potterhead, I found it an exquisite experience, in fact I almost teared up inside the Great Hall.
The Tower of London. Originally where the royalties lived, the Tower of London is right smack in the center of the city. At the time we were there, there was a commemoration for WW1 soldiers, too!
See a West End musical. Paris is to cinema and London is to a musical. At any given time, there's just multiple musicals happening in the west end, it's hard not to watch at least one. We watched Les Miserables with my friends and though I ended up closing my eyes some parts of it {so, so tired from walking!}, I did enjoy the great parts of it. I did hear the people sing!
Fish and Chips. This is everywhere in London. YUM!
Go around the city. Visit the Parliament, see the Big Ben, watch the changing of the guards, immerse in the city culture, spot Banksy's art, see Sherlock Holmes. Such a beautiful city with all the art!
Ride the Underground. I read in so many British blogs and sites how the Londoners hate the Underground but for someone whose country doesn't have a decent train system, it was a treat to be using such an efficient train system!
Tara's Tip: When you return your Oyster card {the Underground/Overground card}, you get a return of £5! Or, you can keep it for your next London trip!
Take a day trip. I did the Shakespeare tour, Roman Bath and Stonehenge. It was a treat to be at the birthplace of William Shakespeare in Stratford upon Avon, as well as seeing the Roman city of Bath.
Enjoy with your loved ones. If you know me, I'm a big fan of traveling alone -- so hassle free! :P But I realized after this trip that I really like being with company, this and my other trip with my family. Seeing new things with your very best friends is one of the best feelings in the world. I'm sure I'll be back with my future husband, but right now, I get to reminisce my time with my friends!