London

What I Did:
Tower of London and Beefeater Tour-
Once inside the Tower of London, Beefeater Tours are offered for free. The Beefeater tour guide gives a nice background on the history of the Tower of London with a good bit of humor mixed in.


Sandemans Free Walking Tour-
After going on my first (amazing) tour in Barcelona, I have enjoyed going on Sandemans tours everywhere they are available. They give a feel for the city and give some interesting history in an enjoyable, comical fashion.

Changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace-
Buckingham Palace is the ceremonial home of the royal family of the United Kingdom. In front of the palace the iconic Changing of the Guard takes place. It is definitely worth seeing once, but I don't plan on watching it again anytime soon.

Walked past some of the famous sites-
I walked throughout different areas of London and saw some of the famous areas such as Piccadilly Circus, the "Times Square" of London. I also walked past the outside of the iconic Big Ben and Palace of Westminster. I walked past the famous London Eye, but chose to take in the views from St. Paul's Cathedral and Primrose Hill rather than pay and wait to go on the London Eye.

Trafalgar Square and National Art Gallery-
I watched some of the street performers at Trafalgar Square, where statues of British military figures are set up to honor the Battle of Trafalgar against Napoleon Bonaparte, among other things. The National Art Gallery is one of the many art galleries in London with free admission.

St. Paul's Cathedral-
St. Paul's is a massive, historic cathedral. Also, after taking the 528 steps to the top of the cathedral I was rewarded with amazing views of the city.

Covent Garden-
Covent Garden is an area surrounding an old fruit and vegetable market that has now been converted into various shops and restaurants. Street performers regularly put on shows for the public in the area (some better than others).

Camden-
Camden town is a cool area of London that was fun to explore. The local market sells all types of goods, including some items you won't find in many other places. Camden town was the home to the Cratchit family in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was also a hangout spot for the late, great Amy Winehouse. Also located in Camden is Primrose Hill, which provides great views of London (especially at night).

Baker Street-
As a fan of Sherlock Holmes, it was cool to be able to walk down Baker Street. There is a museum you can pay to enter as well as a gift shop, but I was able to walk up to the door of "221B" without having to pay any sort of fee.

British Museum-
The British Museum is another one of London's free museums. It has an immense amount of history, and it is incredibly large. Any history buff could easily spend days exploring the museum.

Hackney-
Hackney feels like an up and coming area. It has some cool breweries and street art throughout the area.

What I ate:
Dishoom-
Dishoom is a small chain of Indian restaurants in the London area. Normally when I visit a city for less than a week, I try to avoid going to the same place twice. After going to Dishoom, I ended up going three times during the week I was in London-- it was that good. I got something different every time I went, and all of it was amazing. They offer bottomless Chai Tea at lunch, and even gave me free Chai when I had to wait in line for a table.

The Spread Eagle-
This craft pub and eating house in Camden was a nice place to grab a pint and a bite to eat. One of the things I love about London is the quality of their stouts, and The Spread Eagle had a nice selection. The food was also very good.

New Row Coffee-
New Row is a great craft coffee place in the Covent Garden area. It has a nice selection of roasts and brew styles to satisfy coffee aficionados.

CRATE Craft Brewery & Pizzeria-
This was a great brewery and pizza place. The hipster location serves uncommon yet delicious pizzas like "sweet potato, stilton, & walnut" and "middle eastern lamb."

Borough Market-
Rivaling Barcelona's Boqueria, London's Borough Market is one of the best markets I have been to. There is a large selection of great food to satisfy many different tastes.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese-
Although it had to be rebuilt after the great fire of 1666, this pub has been at the same location since 1538. Iconic historical figures such as Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, and G.K. Chesterton are all reported to have been frequent visitors. It was a cool place to enjoy meat pie and chips with a Sam Smith stout.

Chin Chin Labs-
The ice cream at Chin Chin is made right in front of you using liquid nitrogen. It is worth a stop if you are in the Camden area.

How I Got Around-
The London Underground or "Tube" is the best public transportation I have used so far. While it is not the cheapest, it is still decently priced and very easy and convenient to use. I also walked throughout much of the city.

Where I stayed:
Safestay Holland Park Hostel-
This hostel was in a cool, historic building in Holland Park. The dorm beds were triple bunks as opposed to the standard double bunks, but each bunk had a privacy curtain. Despite the large number of people in the rooms, it lacked the environment of some other hostels I have stayed in. That being said, everything was very clean and it was a nice place to stay for a few days.

St. Christopher's Inn Village London Bridge-
St. Christopher's is a multinational hostel chain with multiple locations in London. The London Bridge location was a nice place to stay and was an average hostel compared to some of the others I have stayed in.

BLOC Hotel Gatwick-
I stayed here before an early morning flight out of Gatwick Airport. The hotel is inside the airport and is very convenient for someone arriving late or departing early. While it is not very spacious, it is modern and very clean.

Favorite Thing:
The tube was super easy to use and is the best public transportation system I have used. Also, the Indian food I had in London was amazing (although I heard it is even better in Birmingham).

Least Favorite Thing-
My least favorite thing about London is the weather. London is a great city, but the weather is horrendous. It rained almost the entire time I was there, and was relatively cold even in the summer. If London had decent weather, it would be one of my favorite cities, but it has a severe lack of sunshine.

For Next Time:
Next time I am in London I would like to grab a bite and a pint from The Old Bank of England, and I would like to try the Indian Buttered Chicken from Punjab. I would also like to go just outside of London to Oxford to check out the old stomping grounds of the "Inklings" such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.