From London with love, A

It’s been four and a half years since I finished my master and left London, hoping it’s not definitive. I’ve since been there but only during holidays, to soothe the longing.

At first, I planned a small trip with the girls. However, after a sudden flash of inspiration, I realized that there’s no better place for my first vlog, and for a couple photographs. This is how I started planning step-by-step a photo session, and I hope you’ll like it as well.

I booked the tickets three weeks in advance, leaving from Cluj – London and returning from Gatwick to Bucharest. The ticket cost around 100 euro with WizzAir. It was a bit tiring since I had to be at the airport in Cluj at 4am, and so I hadn’t slept all night… I arrived at 7 in London, I took the train and went to leave the luggage.

At 11am I met up with Anna, the photograph I discussed the photo session with, and we went on the trip. Lots of walking, photo, photo, photo, more walking, photo, photo, photo, photo and so on all day long. We had a small coffee break at Tate museum, because I was quite a bit cold and I needed to recover.

The next day I went to my friends Marius and Marius, a talented coffee maker and master chef — everything was excellent, I ate everything and even had take away. Afterwards, I met up with Anna again and had another small photo session for a new project which I can’t wait to launch it. More on this in another blog entry.

Saturday morning I met up with the girls at Victoria and Albert museum (or V&A Museum for short), and then we went to National History Museum (they’re side by side and you don’t need to pay to enter, but it would be best to arrive early as I had to wait about 30 minutes to enter the National History Museum), after that you could have a stroll through Hyde Park, explore the surrounding area, or the area around Victoria Station (these being some recommendations). Because it was quite cold outside and we already had decided on a route to take, we went on forward to Soho, Leicester Square, Picadilly Square, China Town, Refent street, Oxford street. We walked soo much but everything we saw was incredible… we could even see a glimpse of sun from time to time.

Sunday we went to Camden Town, wandered in the are and had lunch in Camden Market, it was very crowded considering it was january but understandable since it was the end of the week… when I lived in London or when I visited during holidays, I only went during the week. Primrose Hill (recommended even if only for the wonderful view) was also on the list of places to explore but it was cold outside and we wanted to reach the next place.

We finally arrived at Greenwich after a number of stops (such as Canary Wolf, both when we went and when we came back), and the girls were amazed. For me it’s a place close to my heart. It remained ingrained in my memory since I was for the first time in London, some nine years ago. And it’s so much more beautiful if you have the luck to visit it during good weather. Simply laying on the grass, looking at the sky, while the dogs run nearby, the kids play, and everyone is relaxed and happy and truly enjoying nature and life.

Greenwich, the prime meridian, from where all the other clocks in the world are adjusted. Here it is possible to visit the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum, and the Royal Museum of Greenwich, the famous meridian which separates the west and east, and of course, you can enjoy the vast park and dream-like view.

Monday, the last day, I went to Buckingham Palace, at 11am the guards change, and there’s a parade and a fanfare concert, but ideally you’d arrive at 10:30am or even earlier if you really wish to see something. It was the first time I’ve been able to view the entire performance even for me. Later, we left through Saint James Park to Trafalgar Square. It’s an easy walk and the park is truly beautiful, you should go near the Churchill War Rooms (which I believe can be visited for a price, or at least that’s how it was five years ago when I went, but I liked it a lot, it’s really worth it).

In Trafalgar Square you can find the National Gallery, which can be entered for free in case you wish to go, you can enjoy London’s buzzing, listen to the street performer or take pictures. From here we left to go eat, and start to slowly, slowly prepare to leave. At 8pm we boarded for Bucharest.

Since I plan to go on more small holidays this year, I tried to spend as little as possible, and thus, as I promised, I have for you some tips for a low-cost holiday:

• * Try to mix things up. Specifically, the airport to which you arrive doesn’t have to be the same as the one from which you leave. This way I was able to save around 100 euro. Of course the city and place where you’re residing and the place where you are when you want to leave count as well.
• ** Choose your accommodation from AirBnB or Homeaway. A really great place near the centre of the city is: https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/17357794
• *** If you’re resourceful enough, it’s not necessary to go on things such as a sightseeing bus, however, you could buy and try an oyster card and choose the 11 bus to the central area. For longer distances, you could use the subway.
• Try to bring some snacks from home, such as: peanuts, crackers, cookies, cereals or buy your own food, at least for breakfast. The supermarkets are accessible, and you can find quality products. You could even choose to make some sandwiches for lunch. Likewise, you could bring a bottle of water with you. Of course, you can go and dine at a restaurant. We had tasty meals here, and the prices aren’t too high, especially at Vet Food (in China Town), in case you like vietnamese food, I advise you to book in advance.

I hope these informations have been useful, and by all means, don’t be afraid to ask in case you have any questions.

p.s.

Best wishes, and longing to travel,

p.s. 1: for those of you who plan to visit Romania, there are few amazing places you can discover in the category: travel-romania through my eyes’ 🙂

p.s. 2: do not forget about the London’s vlog, check you link below. 🙂 Enjoy!