XVI.
Visited the Tate Modern this morning and viewed perhaps my favourite art exhibition of my entire trip so far, Gerhard Richter 'Panorama'. After a few hours admiring the amazing collection of works from his incredibly long art career I met Maryam for dinner. That evening we joined her British friends Tom, Emily, Polly, Isaac and Vicki for a night out in Notting Hill. A great band played for the earlier part of the evening followed by a few djs, after which we continued to enjoy the nights over a few bottles of wine.
XVII.
After spending most of the day re-organising my masses of stuff and moving to Maida Vale, I passed the last few hours of the day chatting to Claudia, the 18-year-old from Sydney. We had a great old time expressing our admiration for London and the fabulous accent, as well as our plans for the following year when we return to the real world.
XVIII.
Another beautiful sunny day greeted London this morning. A few hits of coffee and a big breakfast later I was out the door to visit Hampstead. With the sun on my back I had a relaxing few hours reading in Hampstead Heath. I dined in a cool little restaurant for lunch amongst some groovy art galleries and shops, and then returned to the Heath to make the most of the sun before it set for the afternoon. Maryam and her sister Safia met me at the train station and we had dinner together. The girls left for a concert and I returned home to prepare a gourmet meal and tune in to a few episodes of NCIS with Claudia.
XIX.
It was Saturday already! I was off to the Camden markets for a second visit. Through Regents Park I walked, observing the various sports in action and the masses of people who were likewise strolling through the fields. Arario again lured me into buying more of her great clothes and after lashing out on shopping I then treated myself to a delicious curry. A gingerbread man welcomed me back into the house that was the result of Lulu and Nina's many hours of cooking that day. Before bed that night I spent hours catching up on my diary and reading more of Emma.
XX.
Sunday I had made plans with Carly and Harry to go to Brick Lane Markets. After the two hour hike from Maida Vale I ended up exploring them alone as the others weren't feeling too well. I had my second fantastic coffee in London which significantly brightened my morning and things only improved as I was exposed to some interesting crafts and clothing. I ran into Simone and Aislinn which was a nice surprise, both girls locals of the area as of a few weeks. Pad Thai was my food of choice for lunch, and feeling rather full I went for another walk around the stalls. Lisa and Graeme returned from their weekend away in Belgium which we heard all about over some Thai from the local joint.
XXI.
Having so much enjoyed Hampstead the last time, I decided to combine another visit to the area with my trip to the Highgate Cemetery. I felt slightly creeped out as I wandered through the cemetery as the sky was a dark grey and I seemed to be the only live human in sight. Eager to get back to Highgate, I visited Karl Marx's grave and then found my way out. I revisited my favourite cafe in London for lunch for the second time and then was preoccupied in the post office for the afternoon. Graeme was organising another gourmet dinner that evening as the table was overloaded with a variety of Middle Eastern cuisine - hummus, felafel, tabouleh, marinated chicken and pita bread.
XXII.
As I began to count down the days I had left in London I wanted to make sure that I had visited everything I had initially intended to see. Today I was at the National Theatre to look around the Dazzle jewellery collection. In the afternoon I revisited Soho, one of my favourite suburbs in London, and had a coffee at a hidden joint Fernandez & Wells. I couldn't contain my excitement that evening as we dressed up in red and headed out to the stadium to watch Arsenal play Manchester City. After a quick detour through Islington to see Graeme's old house and to have a cider at one of the sporting pubs, we took our seats amongst the thousands of fans in red to watch the game. After a gruelling and at times frustrating few hours we left slightly disappointed as our team had been defeated by the blue shirts. To end the night in true British style we had a cup of tea and a warm chocolate pudding discussing the game stats.
XXIII.
Chelsea was one of the few suburbs I was yet to visit and so I decided to do so. After an hour and a half walk through Hyde Park I found myself at the Saatchi Gallery which was hosting an exhibition of German artists. I had lunch at a sushi bar in Chelsea and found myself comparing it to the wealth and atmosphere like that of Double Bay in Sydney. Despite the fact that I believe fish and chips should be classified as Australian, I was forced to try the British version that night for dinner. While they were tasty, the vinegar that is typically added to chips in the UK is not as good as the plain salty flavour of those that one finds in all of the beachside towns in Aus.
XXIV.
Simone, Aislinn and I met in Brick Lane at lunchtime for a coffee and piece of banana bread whilst I heard all of the girls' stories about the struggles of living in London. On the way back to Liverpool Station I stopped to admire some shipping containers that have been turned into niche shops. At 6pm Chris and I met Jane and James at An exhibition of free trade products from Nepal in an art gallery in the city. We finished the night in the People's Supermarket for the launch of a new beer and some free snacks for the many visitors that showed up to the event.
XXV.
The day had finally arrived, it was, already, my last day in the fantastic London. I had a quick look at Abbey Road on my way into the city that day and watched as the tourists tried to re-enact the famous crossing photo. There was a great atmosphere as I arrived at Covent Garden as it was decorated with Christmas trees and lights, and was also hosting a big Christmas markets for the hundreds of people who were shopping in the area. To avoid the crowds Maryam and I slipped into a little authentic Italian cafe and had an afternoon snack. We passed the next few hours catching up on the past few nights and exploring the nearby streets before it was the time to farewell each other. For my final night in London I had a great time hanging out with little Lulu and Nina, and packing the last few things into my backpack for India the following morning.
The past month I'd had in London had certainly been one of the best of my life, however I was excited to reunite with my trusty travel partner to explore the sights of India.
Visited the Tate Modern this morning and viewed perhaps my favourite art exhibition of my entire trip so far, Gerhard Richter 'Panorama'. After a few hours admiring the amazing collection of works from his incredibly long art career I met Maryam for dinner. That evening we joined her British friends Tom, Emily, Polly, Isaac and Vicki for a night out in Notting Hill. A great band played for the earlier part of the evening followed by a few djs, after which we continued to enjoy the nights over a few bottles of wine.
XVII.
After spending most of the day re-organising my masses of stuff and moving to Maida Vale, I passed the last few hours of the day chatting to Claudia, the 18-year-old from Sydney. We had a great old time expressing our admiration for London and the fabulous accent, as well as our plans for the following year when we return to the real world.
XVIII.
Another beautiful sunny day greeted London this morning. A few hits of coffee and a big breakfast later I was out the door to visit Hampstead. With the sun on my back I had a relaxing few hours reading in Hampstead Heath. I dined in a cool little restaurant for lunch amongst some groovy art galleries and shops, and then returned to the Heath to make the most of the sun before it set for the afternoon. Maryam and her sister Safia met me at the train station and we had dinner together. The girls left for a concert and I returned home to prepare a gourmet meal and tune in to a few episodes of NCIS with Claudia.
XIX.
It was Saturday already! I was off to the Camden markets for a second visit. Through Regents Park I walked, observing the various sports in action and the masses of people who were likewise strolling through the fields. Arario again lured me into buying more of her great clothes and after lashing out on shopping I then treated myself to a delicious curry. A gingerbread man welcomed me back into the house that was the result of Lulu and Nina's many hours of cooking that day. Before bed that night I spent hours catching up on my diary and reading more of Emma.
XX.
Sunday I had made plans with Carly and Harry to go to Brick Lane Markets. After the two hour hike from Maida Vale I ended up exploring them alone as the others weren't feeling too well. I had my second fantastic coffee in London which significantly brightened my morning and things only improved as I was exposed to some interesting crafts and clothing. I ran into Simone and Aislinn which was a nice surprise, both girls locals of the area as of a few weeks. Pad Thai was my food of choice for lunch, and feeling rather full I went for another walk around the stalls. Lisa and Graeme returned from their weekend away in Belgium which we heard all about over some Thai from the local joint.
XXI.
Having so much enjoyed Hampstead the last time, I decided to combine another visit to the area with my trip to the Highgate Cemetery. I felt slightly creeped out as I wandered through the cemetery as the sky was a dark grey and I seemed to be the only live human in sight. Eager to get back to Highgate, I visited Karl Marx's grave and then found my way out. I revisited my favourite cafe in London for lunch for the second time and then was preoccupied in the post office for the afternoon. Graeme was organising another gourmet dinner that evening as the table was overloaded with a variety of Middle Eastern cuisine - hummus, felafel, tabouleh, marinated chicken and pita bread.
XXII.
As I began to count down the days I had left in London I wanted to make sure that I had visited everything I had initially intended to see. Today I was at the National Theatre to look around the Dazzle jewellery collection. In the afternoon I revisited Soho, one of my favourite suburbs in London, and had a coffee at a hidden joint Fernandez & Wells. I couldn't contain my excitement that evening as we dressed up in red and headed out to the stadium to watch Arsenal play Manchester City. After a quick detour through Islington to see Graeme's old house and to have a cider at one of the sporting pubs, we took our seats amongst the thousands of fans in red to watch the game. After a gruelling and at times frustrating few hours we left slightly disappointed as our team had been defeated by the blue shirts. To end the night in true British style we had a cup of tea and a warm chocolate pudding discussing the game stats.
XXIII.
Chelsea was one of the few suburbs I was yet to visit and so I decided to do so. After an hour and a half walk through Hyde Park I found myself at the Saatchi Gallery which was hosting an exhibition of German artists. I had lunch at a sushi bar in Chelsea and found myself comparing it to the wealth and atmosphere like that of Double Bay in Sydney. Despite the fact that I believe fish and chips should be classified as Australian, I was forced to try the British version that night for dinner. While they were tasty, the vinegar that is typically added to chips in the UK is not as good as the plain salty flavour of those that one finds in all of the beachside towns in Aus.
XXIV.
Simone, Aislinn and I met in Brick Lane at lunchtime for a coffee and piece of banana bread whilst I heard all of the girls' stories about the struggles of living in London. On the way back to Liverpool Station I stopped to admire some shipping containers that have been turned into niche shops. At 6pm Chris and I met Jane and James at An exhibition of free trade products from Nepal in an art gallery in the city. We finished the night in the People's Supermarket for the launch of a new beer and some free snacks for the many visitors that showed up to the event.
XXV.
The day had finally arrived, it was, already, my last day in the fantastic London. I had a quick look at Abbey Road on my way into the city that day and watched as the tourists tried to re-enact the famous crossing photo. There was a great atmosphere as I arrived at Covent Garden as it was decorated with Christmas trees and lights, and was also hosting a big Christmas markets for the hundreds of people who were shopping in the area. To avoid the crowds Maryam and I slipped into a little authentic Italian cafe and had an afternoon snack. We passed the next few hours catching up on the past few nights and exploring the nearby streets before it was the time to farewell each other. For my final night in London I had a great time hanging out with little Lulu and Nina, and packing the last few things into my backpack for India the following morning.
The past month I'd had in London had certainly been one of the best of my life, however I was excited to reunite with my trusty travel partner to explore the sights of India.
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