The Shard

This is one of my favourite shots of my new neighbourhood. Living underneath the Shard is great - you can always spot it, but sometimes you have to get away from it to see how great it really is from afar. I took this as Josh and I were walking home. It was so great being able to go out at night with him, and seeing so many beautiful sights all lit up.

Covent Garden at Night

Mummy and Daddy wanted to go to their favourite Mexican restaurant, Cantinda Loredo. It's kind of an upscale version of a taco place, and is off the main street near Covent Garden. They're really fmous for their made at the table guacamole. So we had that, and some other things, and then we walked to try and find some nice ice cream that Mummy likes. Well, in the end we walked all through the market at Covent garden, but couldn't find it, which was a shame. We did however, find Laduree macaroons, which were wonderful,

and had a good wander around a place that is so totally different in the dark than it is in the day. It was so empty, but lit up quite nice, and it had much more of a warehouse feel than normal.

St. Paul's in the Sunshine

St Pauls is actually really, really near my house, and I almost never go. When I was at Uni in Bristol, I used to stay at a youth hostel which was right next door, and wake up to it every morning I stayed there. It is beautiful at night, and one of my favourite walks in London has to be walking across the very snazzy Millenium Bridge, walking towards St. Pauls. It is so majectic, and big, and a little magical! Winter in London has perfect time of day, sometime in the afternoon, before the sun sets, where everything in town just looks magical, and is bathed in this pretty orange light.

To be honest, it doesn't happen often in London, but sometimes it does, and we were lucky enough to be able to catch the beautiful St Pauls at the right time of day. We didn't go in - but we did take some photos outside. Mummy and Daddy were staying at a hotel near there, so we walked over there and managed to get to see them in time for dinner. I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I had wished, because I was so busy with school, but I was glad that Josh had gotten to spend time with them!

Greenwich Park

Mummy came to visit London for a few days, taking Josh to different museums and places (especially scary places like the London Dungeon), while I was in school all day. I was so glad that he didn't have to be alone in London because sometimes that can be really boring, and everything seems a bit underwhelming. So one afternoon, after I finished with my classes, I met them in town, and then we headed out to Greenwich Park. Although Josh and I had just been there, I wanted Josh to see the park and go up to the prime meridian!

So that's what we did, and we took the DLR on the long trip there. The main hall was closed because they were filming a period drama there (I'm not sure which one there, although aparently it was from America), but we did get to go into the music hall and watch the end of a concert. That hall was really beautiful to see, so I can only imagine what the library looks like! Then we made the big trek up the hill to the Prime Meridian. Now, you have to pay for it, but it was so worth it to go and stand where

time starts! Josh and I and Mummy took lots of funny photos, as we do! And then we stood and admired they great view over Canary Wharf and the Marine College, which is one of my favourite views in all of London. It doesn't really feel like it still is London, but it was so great!

Dinner in Greenwich

We met my friend Dave for dinner at this great little pub right next to the Cutty Sark. It was a great dinner, and so nice to get to spend some time with Dave, and for Josh to finally meet some of my friends! Afterwards, the boys were really patient while I took a photo of Canary Wharf, which was all lit up across the river!

Westminter Abbey

Right before I left for Japan, Prince William married Kate in Westminster Abbey, and my friend Dave and I got up early to come see it at Westminster Abbey. It was a great day for England - lots of fun and a great deal of Union Jack's everywhere! I havent been back since, and it was so nice to be back there because that last trip to London was really one of my last places I went before I flew off to Japan. Josh and I had actually tried to go and see the inside of Westminster Abbey the night before, but found that it closed really,

really early (like 3 pm or around there). Like many places in London, I have discovered that you weren't allowed to take photos of the inside. Although I couldn't take photos, we did have such a good time listening to the great audio guide that they provide! Lots of famous people have been buried there and there is a really great history which they tell you all about with the guide. It was one of the highlights of Josh's trip! After, we we were able to roam all the corridors outside, which were really

beautiful, and we wandered around them until we were able to find a tea room which was in one of the cellar/crypt places. It had a beautiful ceiling, and we had a really great breakfast of scones and jam, and croissants! We then wandered around the outside gardens, which are kind of attached at the back, and people that work in the church can live there. It reminded me a lot of the University of Oxford, in both the style and the quadrangle layout! After, we were pretty cold,

and it was yet again raining, so we headed over to a nearby Starbucks for some nice warm hot chocolate and a cookie!That part of town is really nice, and I had to point out all the fun things in the area for Josh - especially the statue of Abraham Lincoln, which is randomly there in the square opposite the Abbey, for reasons unknown to me!

Down by Big Ben

One of my favourite places is the bridge right in front of Big Ben. Most of the time, it is crowded with tourists, and musicians and all sorts, but some times it is really quite empty, and then that's a really good day. We seemed to spend a lot of time around by the Eye, and the houses of Parliment during Josh's trip in London, so I figured we needed some bridge photos too! The weather had gotten a bit rubbish, but that was to be expected, and I grabbed these photos right down by the water, in one of my favourite places, away from all the hustle and bustle

on the bridge above. It had just stopped raining (thankfully) but was still a little chilly - I even feel cold looking at the pictures! As a student, and because I gre up coming to London, I don't spend much time going and taking photos in all the tourist areas, although I certainly wish I could. It was so nice that while Josh was here,

we could go and do those touristy things, because I really dont have anyone to do those kinds of things with. When I lived in Japan, it was what I lived for, so it was nice to be able to do these together.