London

My stay in London, UK.

Tower Bridge overlooking the Thames.

Statue Near Buckingham Palace, the palace where Queen Elizabeth lives in.

London is over 2,000 years old and the area was originally used as a trading post for the Roman Empire.  The city was also the unofficial capital of the British Empire.  It is one of the most diverse, progressive, cleanest, and trendiest cities I have ever been.

The city is also one of the most elegant and most well known in the entire world. 

An interesting thing I noticed about London is that the city seems like a red city. The iconic red phone booths, double decker bus, Buckingham guards are all red. I wonder why they are all red.

I went to a pub where they played Oasis, a British band.

The City of Westminster.

We will first start off our photo tour with Westminster.  Even though Westminster is a borough of London, it is also a city.  Think of this as the Midtown Manhattan of London.

You basically have almost all of the iconic sights that first comes to mind when we think of London, including the Big Ben, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square are all located within the city of Westminster. 

Let me take you along..

Hyde Park

The tube...

 Bayswater 

This is nearby the hotel I stayed at.

I stayed in a hotel in the Bayswater section and just one block away from Queensway, the main strip. I loved Queensway. There is a diverse selection of restaurants including Italian, Persian, Chinese, and Indian. It is evident that it is touristy not just because of the wide array of restaurants but also souvenir stops, hotels and even the currency exchange stores. Now I did some research and it appears that this area, the section north of Hyde Park is looked down upon.

Now I admit that that it is not as elegant as the area south of Hyde Park, which includes Kensington, Chelsea, and Shepherd’s Bush, but I still think Bayswater and Queensway are lovely places to visit. Bayswater is safe, has dining and shopping, is close to public transportation, and is even near Hyde Park. There are nice hotels north of Hyde Park too.

As a New York metro area resident, I will say that Hyde park is a nicer park than Central park in Manhattan.

Bayswater, at night.

Queensway, during the day.

Maharaja, Indian food is so much better in the UK than in the United States!

Queensway

Cafe Diana. This is a fish and chips restaurant I went to in London.

This building seemed interesting. It kind of looks like a palace but I believe it is a hotel. Not sure though.

Royal Albert Hall, a concert hall, directly across the street from Hyde Park.

Harrod's

Unfortunately, I arrived before it was even open. :(

A Hackney Carriage.

The Big Ben

Big Ben, this clock is part of the Parliament building (comparable to the United States Congress)

More pictures of the Parliament

The Household Division Charity. This is near Big Ben and the Parliament.

This is the entrance to the Horse Guard Parade

The Horse Guard Parade

Views of Parliament St. 

The Red Lion, a politicos pub near the Big Ben

Trafaglar Square

I then went to Buckingham Palace. But before then I went to Green Park, as it was near the Tube station I walked out of.

Buckingham Palace

Piccadilly Circus, during the day.

Piccadilly Circus at night 

London's Chinatown. It is definitely nowhere near the size of New York City's or San Francisco's Chinatown. Still cool I got to take pictures of it though.

Views of the Mayfair area, one of the most prominent shopping districts in the world.

Views of Regent Street.

Regent Street is one of the major commercial streets in London.

You don't see too many people yet because these photos were taken early Saturday morning.

Oxford Street, another major commercial artery.

There are not too many people during the morning. However many come at around 3 PM.

Oxford Street, during a busy Saturday afternoon

Soho

I tried a Peruvian restaurant in Soho. I believe it was Ceviche Soho.

As you can see, Soho is a nice area in London. Even though it was not as elegant as South Kensington or Mayfair, it was still nice and there was a diverse selection of restaurants that seemed more authentic and inexpensive. It is also seen as a raunchy neighborhood because there are sex shops in the area.

The City of London.

Every city in Europe has its historic section. The city of London is "original London." Under Roman rule, this city was settled in around AD 43. The city has some landmarks including St. Paul's Cathedral. It is also where the financial district is located. 

Let's start off with a walk along the Strand. This is a major commercial street off of Trafalgar Square.

This takes you to the City of London. This is where St. Paul's Cathedral is located.

ads for international calls

total pub culture on street

St. Paul's Cathedral

Views of the street from the footsteps of St. Paul's. 

The Financial District.

London, along with New York City, is one the major financial hubs of the world.

It is noteworthy to take photos of this section of the city. 

Caffe Nero..

There are so many of them. Caffe Nero is kind of like the Starbucks of London. 

Shakespeare's Globe is located in the beautiful Bankside section of South London.

It is the riverfront section and is located in the borough of Lambeth.

These are pics of Thames River from the bridge.

Shakespeare Globe

St. Paul's in the background. 

Views of Bankside 

Tower Bridge, views of it from the Bankside

Other cool areas of London, that are a bit under the radar.

Before I take you to some not so well known parts of London, let me show you pictures from around the Hammersmith Station, 

 I had to go here to transfer from Hearthrow to Hyde Park, near where I was staying, on the tube, so this is the first neighborhood I walked around in Europe. 

South Kensington, right outside of the City of Westminster is this posh area of South Kensington.

South Kensington and neighboring Chelsea are some of the most exclusive areas of London.

The East End/Brick Lane

The East End, also known as East London, was always "working class." This has always been the working class section of London. This is where the "others" resided in--whether they were the Irish or Jews in the early 20th Century or the Muslims of today.

This industrial section of London had many issues. Residents would settle in overcrowded and often substandard housing. Unsanitary conditions were common and crime was a major problem.

In fact this is where the infamous Jack the Ripper, committed many of his violent murders in the neighborhood. Charles Dickens, when writing about the poor lives the working class had to suffer through in England would center his novels here.

 I understand Brick Lane is the shopping center of a large Bangladeshi community in London. It felt a bit gritty but I did not feel like it was an unsafe area. I also noticed that there were many murals. I guess I would compare it to NYC’s East Harlem although it is much nicer and safer than East Harlem. It is a lively commercial area for the city’s Bangladeshi community. I wouldn’t miss the opportunity of coming to this often forgotten section of London.

There is some gentrification here, as well. I spoke to the hotel clerk and we were talking about the East End of London. He told me there are artists and students moving there because it is cheap London he says is safe because lthere is a large police presence but he also mentioned that alone doesn’t guarantee safety, so there could be another reason why it is so safe. 

These are pictures of Brick Lane in the East End. It is one of the most famous ethnic neighborhoods in London.

Brixton Market

Brixton Market is alive with Afro Caribbean culture. Vendors sell African clothes and Jamaican flags there. I also got to see a Colombian restaurant there. This was interesting because there are not that many Latinos in England. In fact Latinos are not even their own ethnic group in England.

What I also found fascinating about Brixton Market was that I walked into a store where they sold Danish products. 

Markets like this don't exist in the New York City area, where I am from. 

Going to Brixton made me realize a bit how race relations are different in the UK versus the US.

Although there was always racism in the UK, it wasn’t as institutionalized as its been in the US
There were no miscegenation laws meaning blacks and whites were legally able to marry. I have also observed white British women are more likely to date men of color than white women here.

No redlining no government practices that encouraged race based segregation by denying loans in minority neighborhoods. This does not mean, however, there was no racism in the UK. The riots in Brixton and Southall, as well as the National Guard are all examples. However, I don't believe racism was as institutionalized in the US as it was in the UK. It may have to do, however, with the fact that minorities did not start coming into the UK until the 1950's, whereas the US was always multiracial.

Camden Town

I was originally here to see Camden Town Market.

Unfortunately, I got lost and I ended up taking pics of High Street, its main drag, instead.

Even though Camdentown was traditionally working-class, it has received an influx of gentrification. Today, this London inner city neighborhood boasts a mix of social classes---lower income residents live with more well to do residents.

In addition there are many immigrants who live here, both from the EU and from other continents.

St. Pancreas International Railway Station 

A couple making love in the station lol. It looks like they weren't able to wait. 

I went to this train station on my way to take the train or the "chunnel" as some Brits call it to Paris.

I find it interesting how in Europe, they take better care of their cities, including their public transportation.

In fact, their international train stations kind of feel like mini-airports.

But this makes sense. I remember my 9th grade French teacher telling me how in Europe they travel more by train than by airplanes because it is so small and it makes more sense to travel by train than by plane. 

Things I found interesting about British culture

I noticed that people are more polite than in NYC. The bus driver said " are taking too long" in a polite way. If this was NYC , he probably would have been more aggressive. My professor once talked about British politeness and said that when you break the TV fee law here the police confront you about in a polite way. Even the guy who worked at the hotel was polite and calm. I know this sounds like an over generalization but people here do seem polite at least more polite than in New York. People in London tend to also seem more calm, orderly, and more reserved than people in New York City. 

The English language in England is different than in the United States. For example an elevator is called a lift a check is spelled "cheque" and a bathroom is simply called "toilet."

I don't know if this also has to do with British culture but what I found interesting about London was that it is a big city so would expect people to be impatient because big cities tend to be fast paced. New York City also seems more chaotic. I didn’t see break dancing or musicians preforming in the London Underground like I do in New York City or even panhandlers or children selling candies.

Cuisine.

Are you in the mood for shepherd's pie or fish and chips?  I am sure you could this in London however keep in mind since London is an international city you can find many different cuisines including Middle Eastern, Caribbean, Italian, and Indian.

In fact, Indian food is delicious here and better than most Indian restaurants in the United States. If you are here, do yourself a favor and try Indian food here. 

Cadbury's Chocolate is also a thing here.  They're very popular, very British, and very good!

Shopping.

One of the assets that make London a world renown city is its shopping venues.  Exclusive stores include DeBeers Jewelers and, as I have mentioned before, Harrod's.  However you also find in many city neighborhoods, dollar stores (also known as pound stores), as  well as convenience stores. One such is Sailsbury (which is like the British version of 7-11 in the United States.  Other big chain British stores include Boots Pharmacy, and Caffe Nero.

Caffe Nero is to London what Starbuck's is to New York City

I know many museums are free in London Museums are free but did not take advantage of them not all of them are free though

Public Transport in London

I noticed many tube stations are on street level. In New York City, you have many stations like this but many others are stations where you walk downstairs to the subway station on the street. The London Underground System is complex. I like the London Underground System more than the New York City Subway system. The stations look more modern and I don't think they are as filthy as the ones in New York City. I saw a rat once in a NYC subway station. The bus stops tell you when the bus will come. I think buses run more frequently than in New York City. In New York City the buses arrive every thirty minutes. In London they arrive around 10 minutes I believe, of course I guess it depends where you are at. One downside however is that the tube system is not open 24/7 like it is in NYC.

Another difference is the subway cards. In New York City you have a MetroCard and $2.75 get you anywhere even to the Bronx if you are coming from Brooklyn. In London, the Oyster Card depends on where you are going. The more zones you pass, the more the fare costs. And I think they make sure you paid the right fare because you have to scan your card before hopping on the train and after, unlike in New York where you just swipe it and you can throw it out afterwards because you don’t need to exit the train.

Still I like the London taxis. Even the taxis are unique. I read they are called Hackney Carriages and I think all taxis in London have this same look. Even though there are a lot of buses and trains in London, there are also a lot of taxis.

I went to a public restroom in what is considered a lower income neighborhood in alondon, Camdentown. And the restroom was well taken care of.