London

Hi, all!

For almost a month now, I have been itching to write to you all about my day-trip to London. But it so happened that I was buried under a mountain of assignment work that I only just did away with. So, here is how my London trip went...

Eight years ago, I spent a day in London and left with no special memories. Whatever I saw, I saw in a great big rush... it was all a blur. The weather had been gloomy and the city did not endear itself to me in any way. I was eager to see how and if at all my impressions of London would change this time around. And I assure you, they absolutely, incontrovertibly did.

On a fine Saturday morning in October, we (my friends Aparna, Abhilasha and I) set off along with other members of the Travelling Society for a day-long trip to the world-famous city of London. Gregory, the president of the Travelling Society, would drive us there and back. The journey itself was pleasant. Drops of rain welcomed us into London but thankfully parted company soon. We eventually arrived close to Liverpool Street Station and parked near it. Gregory walked us to the station, showed us our pick-up spot and bade adieu for the day.

We had already planned our day out. We had picked out four places we wanted to visit, looked them up on the map and identified the stations on the London Underground that would get us there. We had also packed sandwiches and some other goodies to last us the day.

As per the plan, we bought day passes on the Underground and took the yellow "Circle" Line to Tower Hill. Our first destination was Tower Bridge.

The moment we stepped out of Tower Hill Station, we saw the London Wall and the Tower of London right in front of us. Two minutes into our adventure and we were already floored. We then made our way to the magnificent Tower Bridge.

"Simply splendid" is what we thought of the Tower Bridge. Our day got infinitely better when they raised it to let a barge through!!!

Once we got over the thrill of the Tower Bridge experience, we took in some more of the view across River Thames. But for the shortage of time, we would have visited the HMS Belfast warship and explored the Tower of London as well. But instead, we headed back to Tower Hill Station and onwards to our next destination, Westminster, where another beauty of a sight awaited our arrival.

Ah, Big Ben! Needless to say, we were instantly enamoured with this beautiful structure... how could one not be! Photographs and pictures do not do it justice. One seldom gets the opportunity to revisit a landmark such as this. On my first trip, I had only vague memories of it, which is why it really made me count my blessings to be able to come back here and truly appreciate the magnificence of this beloved clock tower. The Houses of Parliament (which I always mistook to be Westminster Abbey) were quite spectacular as well, eerily quiet but dazzling all the same. We also caught a quick glimpse of the actual Westminster Abbey and then headed on along Westminster Bridge, laughing away at our hair being whipped up by the suddenly fierce winds. On the other side of the bridge was another London hotspot... London Eye.

My parents loved it... my friend Reema loved it... and God knows who else... we knew we just HAD to ride the London Eye. We had already decided that it would be the only place we would spend our precious money. In fact, we'd already bought tickets online. Closer and closer we went, it looked more and more awesome. We made ourselves comfortable at the foot of the LE and had our sandwiches and cola. After that excellent and hearty lunch, we queued up. Within minutes, we were within one of the capsules, serenely ascending over mighty, magical London.

We were on the highest observation wheel in the world and the view was beyond heavenly! London and more gorgeous London as far as the eye could see... River Thames with its many uniquely pretty bridges, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the "Gherkin", Charring Cross Station, Waterloo Station, Wembley Stadium... and so much more! To put it simply, London took our breath away.
We descended with heavy hearts... it was not easy letting go of that killer view. But we cheered ourselves up by indulging (economically) in some souvenirs. We walked along the banks of the Thames for some time, popping peanuts and amusing ourselves with the colourful characters around.
We then went back to Westminster Station, but only after we gulped in some more of the Big Ben's breathtaking splendour. Our next destination was St. James Park. Once there, we put our map-reading skills to test as we made our way to yet another landmark... Buckingham Palace.
During my last visit to London, while we drove past several London landmarks, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace were the only places where we stepped out of the bus. The only memories I had from that visit to the palace were the colour of courtyard and the fact that the sun being at an odd angle made all my photographs come out pink. This time around, I quite loved Buckingham Palace. It may not be the sort to have an extravagant exterior, but just being in such close proximity to real royalty gives it an edge that few places in the world have. We were also full of admiration for the rather grand statue of Queen Victoria as also the impressive gilded gates.
Some extra time in hand led to a brief period of indecision about whether or not to go to Piccadilly Circus. But we decided to wind up the day early and head back to St. James Park Station instead. Along the way, we noticed (just as we had done all day long) that London had several exquisite buildings. One could spend an entire day just walking around admiring the architecture here. Anyway, We took the train back to Liverpool Street Station, bringing our day out in London to a close. As a celebratory drink, we got ourselves some nice hot chocolate and I got myself some Millie's cookies (super-duper delicious milk chocolate cookies... best I've ever tasted!!!). Soon, we met up with the rest of the group and Gregory drove us all back to the university.

It had been a long day... we were completely exhausted, but also utterly satisfied with how the day had gone. As much as I enjoyed discovering London, I think the day was made more memorable by the company of my friends. They have not only made my life here easier to live, but with this trip, they have helped me make a day to remember... a day I can look back on and know that it will always make me smile : )

Signing off,
Kay