10 days in London and ...

If you want to see e.g. George Clooney, the Queen or Bill Nighty from the movie ‘Love actually’ – come to London. I saw them all during my first week in London just by strolling around London’s different and diverse neighbourhoods.

Originally I came to London to practise yoga (and not to hunt down celebrities:)) but then you never know who crosses your way…). 

A yoga place called ‘Alchemy’ in one of London’s most famous and funkiest areas called Camden Town was highly recommended to me and surely enough I went there and continued my yoga practise, trying out some Kundalini yoga and Gong meditation for the first time in my life. But I specially enjoyed the Astanga yoga class with Stewart, I thought I would be dying from it – but he is an amazing teacher and it was worth the pain.

Besides practising yoga in London, I was a real tourist there – running around the city and exploring as much as I could in 10 days. I think London is one of the most exciting places I’ve ever been too. Almost all museums are for free, it’s one of the ‘greenest’ cities I know of with so many beautiful parks, and shopping opportunities are amazing too. There are so many different nationalities living in London – once I was sitting on a bus and counted how many different languages I could hear around me – I counted 5 and it was not in a touristy area – meaning that London is a real melting pot when it comes to different nationalities living together. Saying that, you can find any kind of food you can dream of in London – it’s a heaven for gourmets.

Here are the things I’ve done while staying in London and highly recommend everyone else to do when you get the chance:

National Portrait Gallery; walking tour through Central London: Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament, Buckingham Palace; St. James Park and Green Park; Notting Hill Saturday market (go to ‘Charlie’s café’ and try the ‘American cheesecake’ – it’s divine); Hyde Park and a visit of the Serpentine Gallery; walk through ‘Little Venice’ to Camden Town and then explore the Camden Town market; Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House; Oxford and Regents Street for shopping; Thames barrier and Greenwich Park and the Planetarium; Southbank/Thames river walk from Waterloo bridge to Tower bridge; Tate Modern; Soho; Flower market on Colombia Road and Brick Lane on a Sunday morning.

One of the many parks in London.

Typical phone booth in London.

Sipping on a Guinness.

Big Ben and small Eylin.

End of the world scenery on my Sothbank walk in London.

Picture out of a window of the Tate Modern.

Sunday Flower market at Colombia Rd.

Marilyn at Brick Lane Ave.

I, of course, also tried the typical ‘English afternoon tea’ with Scones and homemade jam – which was a delight.

Within those 10 days it rained once or twice – which makes me think that it is really a myth that it ‘always’ rains in England.

I couldn’t have had an easier transition from beautiful Asia back to Europe. Thanks to all my friends who made my stay in London extra fun.

I specially would like to thank Vendy and Jon; Iwona and Artur and Lucy (my first real couchsurfing friend) for letting me stay at their places. It was a pleasure spending time with you guys and at the same time to get to know different areas of London. I am sure I will be back one day…

Art is everywhere to be found in London...you just have to look carefully...

Tate Modern: 'Quartered Meteor' or 'Deflated, squahed elephant'? I guess it's all up to your own imagination.