Towers, Thames, and Other Touristy Things

Hi guys,

Another day, another adventure.

Tanja is more of an outdoorsy person which is perfect because this weather has been amazing. I don’t know if London got them memo that I was coming or not but seriously, it’s been sunny and 75 all weekend long (knock on wood I don’t jinx it now). We are staying in Brick Lane which is only a mile from the Tower of London.

So in true and proper European form we decided to walk there. They had these weird lion sculptures which caught my eye, while Tanja was actually taking pictures of what we were supposed to be looking at…oops.

We crossed the bridge on foot and continued to walk around the River Thames on the other side. The river gets a meh, but crossing a bridge like that on foot was pretty cool. You think I would be less impressed after going to places like the Golden Gate Bridge, but nope, it looks like I am still impressed with the littlest things.

One of the benefits of walking around a town is that you can happen upon random places and surprises. Mind you we had both just eaten a very large breakfast and were only two hours into our day but the smells wafting from Green Market were irresistible. Seriously, I’m going back it was that good. There were so many food stalls with practically everything you can imagine. It’s one of those things were you aren’t even hungry but as soon as your near suddenly you decided you have room for another three or four meals. We couldn’t help but buy freshly made pasta, spinach and cheese ravioli of course with only olive oil (gotta stay true to the Italian I was meant to be). Tanja legitimately bought a whole slab of rosemary focaccia and I couldn’t help but splurge with an Eaton Mess doughnut. Best 2348384578 calories of my life.

Here's some more snippets of cute scenes we saw along the way:

We stopped off at Tate Modern. I'm not the biggest fan of modern art but on the 10th floor we had this AMAZING view of the entire city. The elevators were full and slow, so Miss Tanja kicked my butt into gear 6 flights up the stairs. Let's just say my thighs were burning and I couldn't help but think back to my days in Peru, oh how the mighty have fallen, 6 flights would have been nothing two summers ago! Yikes. Don't worry guys, it seems as though Tanja has come to keep me in shape, along with providing me company lol. I will have to concede that the view from the top was totally worth it.

We walked past the London eye and found out that it takes 30 minutes to make a full rotation. 30 minutes standing in a small box with a bunch of strangers…mmm no thank you. But I got this pretty picture!

We ambled on to what I was very very excited to see, the Houses of Parliament. Literally out of all of London this was the one thing on my list. Well family, it seems as though I have impeccable timing…the entire thing was totally under construction. Yup, just my luck. Big Ben too. And Westminster Abbey was closed. Tanja and I definitely felt as though we had really missed out, or maybe missed the main attraction? It was weird, I think I’ll go back to Westminster and try again but it was no doubt disappointing. Sorry guys, not every story can be a win, plus wouldn’t you rather know where not to go? Anyways, my friend Kari says to give Westminster Abbey another go when my mom comes into town, so I think that’s what I’ll do. I haven’t given up on Westminster as a whole just yet and I did get some good pictures which cut out all of the construction, don't be fooled friends, the cropping tool is magic. 

Being able to spend time with my best friend Tanja has been amazing. It’s only been four months apart but it felt like forever…no clue how I’ll make it a whole year before I see her again! Back in Los Angeles we were total adventure buddies, she did a great job getting me outdoors and exploring (even if I did all of the driving lol). I am on strict orders to enjoy the beach more when I go back, I know I literally live 15 minutes away and have been there twice? It’s bad. Who knows, maybe this new public transportation and adventurous side of myself will get translated over to my 2L self. I’ve still got another whole day before Tanja leaves so stay tuned for the tales of Adventure Tanja and Carolyn!

Lots of Love,

Carolyn