Europe 2013 Day 18, 19 & 20: London - Singapore

                                    DAY 18: 30 MAY 2013

Today's aim was simple.

Complete majority of London's famous attractions in one single day!

As it was nearing the end of our trip, we decided to treat ourselves to a

nice slack day in London.

Our first destination was the Tower of London.

We took the green line from Earl's Court to Tower Hill station.

Tower Bridge

We didn't enter the Tower of London as both of us get bored easily when it

comes to history.

Furthermore, the line to enter the Tower of London was pretty long and we didn't

want to waste time queuing, and so we skipped it!

Side view of Tower of London

Tower of London

After seeing the Tower of London, we decided to visit Borough Market since

we were kind of on the way there.

In order to go to Borough Market, we will definitely have to cross the London Bridge.

But London Bridge is not as pretty as you think it would be.

In fact, Tower Bridge is the prettiest bridge in London!

London Bridge is falling down..

Finally we arrived at Borough Market.

Initially we planned not to have lunch, since we had quite a heavy breakfast

back in the hostel.

But...the smell of kebab and burgers immediately changed our plan.

There were a variety of stalls inside the market, from burgers to pastries!

Borough Market

Cute handmade cookies

 

Bacon burger stall at Borough Market 

Truffle oil

After walking through the market once, we finally succumbed to a stall

selling oysters, scallops and venison burger.

Michelle ordered an oyster for me and I loved it A LOT!

It was really fresh and juicy, and definitely lived up to what it claims to be!

For a mere 1.50 pounds, it was so worth it!

We then ordered a venison burger which costs 5 pounds with cheese, and

a plate of three scallops for 5 pounds as well.

The scallops were amazing!

The whole melt in your mouth phrase should definitely apply to this stall's scallop dish.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take note of the stall's banner since I was happily savouring my food.

Nevertheless, it was such a wonderful meal that the both of us very much enjoyed.

Hand-dived fresh oysters

It was thirty minutes to three when we left Borough Market.

As Starbucks was having a one-for-one frappuccino from 3-6pm,

we headed for a Starbucks outlet and ordered a venti each,

which costs 2 pounds!

On our way to our next destination, Big Ben, we crossed the wrong bridge,

and decided to visit Covent Garden first.

Covent Garden

Giant Paella in Covent Garden

British Guard

We finally arrived at Big Ben.

As we couldn't enter the premises, we just stood outside like any

other tourist and took photos.

The bridge near Big Ben was a good viewing location of the London Eye.

I didn't get to see it up close, but it looks the same as the Singapore flyer in my opinion.

Located near the Big Ben is Westminster Abbey.

Big Ben

Inside Big Ben

The London Eye

Westminster Abbey

Pigeons and ducks at St James Park

 

 

Buckingham Palace

Entrance gate to Buckingham Palace

 

It was getting late after visiting Buckingham Palace.

We decided to go for some quick shopping at Primark before it closes for the day.

It was my first time at Primark and it was just a girl's heaven.

There were so many designs to choose from and I just couldn't decide at that point in time.

We left Primark around 9pm, with the intention to return the next day to get

the items we have pointed out.

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DAY 19: 31 MAY 2013

This day was allocated solely for shopping and musical!

Our first stop was to visit the TKTS booth to get musical tickets.

I was keen on watching Book of Mormon, Mathilda or Lion King, but the

prices listed for all these musicals were too expensive.

Fortunately we made a trip to the Lion King theatre and managed to get student

tickets for 35 pounds! Our seats were really good too!

As we wanted to re-visit Covent garden as we just made a brief visit yesterday.

This time round I bought the famous Ben's cookies!

The prices vary with the flavours and weight.

My dark chocolate cookie tasted so yummy!

After Covent garden, we started our shopping spree, with a visit to TK Maxx.

This store sells past season clothes at a discounted price, and so I managed to

bag a pair of Ted Baker jelly flats for 25 pounds and a Ben Sherman shirt for 20 pounds!

For those who love Birkenstocks, do give this shop a visit as

the Birkenstocks sold here are heavily discounted.

We then made a trip to Primark for more shopping!

I spent 84 pounds for more than ten items!

How I wish I had more time for shopping as it is really cheap to shop in London,

especially stores like Bershka and Topshop which give student discounts.

It was time for our musical and I was really excited about it!

I rarely watch musicals but Lion King is a household-known disney film and

I was very sure I would enjoy this particular musical a lot.

Sure enough, it was fabulous!

Lion King musical

Right after the musical, we rushed off to meet our ex-classmate for dinner.

It was really nice meeting him and we had a good chat and update on our lives.

That sums up our last night in London, 

with day 20 being the day we fly back to Singapore.

It was indeed a nice trip since it was my first time in Europe and UK after all (: