My wish to visit London came up out of nowhere. Can’t explain why, but London had never been in my “top desired destinations” and therefore it has always been left for last. Perhaps the reason were because of too many boasting about it, which actually made me think that it is beautiful but at the same time overpraised city, due to which I had always left it for “later on”.
The main reason for its turn to come was because my sister was coming back from brigade from the USA, and we had agreed to make a short trip for few days. I’ve decided to surprise her with the destination and left the aviation site to choose it (regarding the dates and the price). After seeing the prices, I decided that its turn has come at last….apart of that I’ve heard that London is really amazing before Christmas; since both of us are big “fans “ of the Christmas spirit it was the best time to go.
On the very moment the three tickets were bought, and I decided that when she comes back to Sofia, I will inform her about the destination and hand the tickets to her. Since the tickets were bought in August but the flight was in November, there was no need to book accommodation that early. I got aware about “London Pass” which seemed to be quite a good option for the transportation and for the entrances to a rather big part of the sightseeing, so I step on it and bought directly three of it.
The closest people to me are acquainted to the fact that it is never boring being around me, and quite often an extreme situation comes up in the last moment. Course there wasn’t an exception this time as well. Well.. I’ll admit that the fault was absolutely mine… As I have already mentioned- the tickets were bought in August and I was sure that there was no need to hurry with the accommodation. Time past and October knocked at the door, so I chose from “Airbnb” a place near the subway and next to the downtown. I booked five nights and the only thing left was for the cherished date in November to come and we to set off.
The night before the flight I decided to check why wasn’t there the 24h prior flight message as it usually is send by the aviation company, and only then did I realize that our flight was not on the date I thought it would be, but on the day after…. So it came out that there came to be discrepancy in the dates between our arrival and our accommodation, since I’ve made a booking for a day before our arrival (that’s how it is when I’m reserving tickets and making booking for accommodation in duration of three months without checking the dates of our flight (just in case) being sure that “I know my departure date). When I called at the place for accommodation, they told me that it was impossible our accommodation to be prolonged, since all the dated had been fully booked. So in other words, not only were we with a lost night, but also there was nowhere for us to sleep on the last day. Thanks god a family friend put us up for the last night.
After all the accommodation arrangement the so desired day came at last. We took off for London and in three hours and few min we landed on English land. We landed and took a shuttle to the capital. I was prepared that it would be rainy and cloudy (most probably during our staying there), but travelling to the city I realized, that this most probably was the charm of the island. I couldn’t stop looking at the beautiful (still in deep green) fields, the trees, covered in a thick and green moss, the shepherd with the sheep and the beautiful English houses with yards. Then I thought, that maybe, because of the reason that I didn’t have any special expectations, now I became amazed at every small thing.
On our arrival in London the light grow turned into pouring rain. We went as quickly as possible to the subway and from there we went directly to the house we had booked. Actually, I hadn’t pay attention that the room I had booked was a part of a beautiful English house with a beautifully arranged yard. The place was clean and the owners were kind and hospitable. We left our luggage, changed, and rushed to our meeting which we had arranged with a friend of ours, who had also chosen that period for excursion, but for a pity she was going back on the next day.
Our meeting was in the center in a pup next to the railway station King Cross, which is well known as “platform 9¾” from the Harry Potter movie series. We had incredibly delicious burgers for dinner, accompanied by a nice beer. After warming up and recharging, we headed to the station to take a picture of the platform.
The weather took pity on us and it was the only day it rained. We allocated the next few days for various landmarks and places we wanted to visit. We always started our day with a take a way warm cup of “latte” of Starbucks, located right opposite the house we were in.
Buckingham Palace was one of the first places we visited. In general, we tried to use less subway if there weren’t that big distances to go to. We saw the palace and went for a walk to St. James Park. There is a small lake in the park, which is a home of pelicans, swans, ducks and other aquatic inhabitants. At one end of the park are the stables of the Horse Guard. This is as wonderful place for taking walks in the nature.
As I have already mentioned, London was prepared for Christmas and all the streets were decorated in a wonderful way. Huge luminous forms hung over the boulevards, and the shops did not yield in any way to the Christmas decorations. In fact, the Christmas spirit had taken over the city.
There was no way to miss the British museum, which is one of the most wealthy museums in the world ( it has to be visited) . the same day we passed through other place which is interesting to be seen – “the Chinese quarter “ which was decorated by the iconic red lanterns.
For the lovers of sweets and especially the popular M & M candies - you probably know that M & M’s World London is located in London. Of course, we took the opportunity and shopped candies for months ahead.
We visited the “Museum of Science” as well, in there, there are over 300 000 exhibits. One of the earliest steam engine is found in there, the locomotive “Rocket” of George Stevenson, the first jet engine, the documentation of the first typewriter and many other amazing and interesting things. The exhibition in this museum contains hundreds of interactive models as well as cinema hall with 3D IMAX technology ,where documentary are screened, which makes the museum even more attractive to the public. 
Nevertheless of being already adults, my sister and I are still enjoying the child in us, so we decided to revive it a little bit and took off to the famous toy store “ Hamleys” the consists of seven floors , each divided into different sectors and themes. I can imagine how the kids feel in it ( both of us didn’t want to leave from there hahah).
We succeeded to see the “Kensington Place” which has been the residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the moment, and some of the halls are open to the public.
Our plan was to see as much as possible from London, which meant to see its different faces. We strolled round the modern part of the city, where the skyscrapers were competing which one will rise higher in the sky.
One of my favorite places is the "Heavenly Garden of London", which is located on the top floor of a 37-storey skyscraper. The view from there is unique.
You can see the River Thames, the famous Shrad Skyscraper, as well as Tower Bridge, the London Eye and all other small and large attractions.
London can be associated with many landmarks and personalities, one of them is Shakespeare. Since all three of us ae theater lovers, and one of us is an actor…… we just couldn't help but get tickets for Shakespeare's Globe. It is a reconstruction of the Globe Theater (a playhouse in the time of Queen Elizabeth), for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. The original theater was built in 1599, destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt in 1614 and then destroyed in 1644. However, the current Shakespeare Globe is considered to be a very realistic copy of the original.
The luck was with us, and our tour ran into a rehearsal of a play. There is no better way to immerse yourself in the spirit of the past and the theater, to imagine how the actors down there were playing while the audience was watching from above. Not only did we succeed to imagine it but also we saw it in life.
We succeeded to see all the main sightseeing like “St. Paul’s Cathedral”, the Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, the Westminster Palace, the Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the Tower of London and many others.
We had decided that we should get to Greenwich as well, so we got tickets for a ferry that took us right there. As we meandered lightly on the Themes waters, we had the chance to see London from another perspective, which was really appealing. As soon as we arrived on the shore, the famous "Cutty Sark" was waiting for us. It is a famous English clipper, built in 1869 and the only classic clipper that has survived to these days. It is turned into a museum nowadays and it is a famous tourist attraction.
After making a thorough examination, we headed to the Greenwich Observatory. We walked in the beautiful park and started the climb to the observatory.
I would like to point out that this day of all days was the coldest one of our being there, and on the top it was even colder. Frozen, we arrived and with great joy began the tour, which was indoors.
All tours and walks tiered us out and the cold plaid its work, so we headed to a Chinese restaurant to warm us up and to recharge our strengths.
The next few days were far more calmer and even with a “ floating” program. This time we were taking the decisions where to go and what to be seem at the moment itself. We went to “ Waterloo” – a region in the center of London, which include the theaters “The Cut”, “Old Vic” and “Young Vic”. The place I famous for its divers restaurants and bars.
The aquarium “Sea life Aquarium” is also found there so we decided to see it as well. Actually the place deserves to be seen, especially if you are a lover of the underwater life, or if you are with children.
For better or worse, our trip coincided with the "Black Friday" (for me and my sister it was certainly for good… I can’t guarantee that the same answer was for our friend as well). In short, we had to buy another suitcase, which was bought at a big discount thanks to Black Friday. And yes, the suitcase was filled up… what to expect… women with money during the discount- it makes sense to come back with another suitcase. As a matter of fact, I was able to buy Christmas presents for a few people, which was more than great.
I think that there is no need to describe the uplifted mood that was going on around us. How amazing were both the streets and the shops, the Christmas spirit was all around us ( I’m more than sure that exactly because of that our wish for shopping increased even more). I definitely hadn’t predicted it, and at the same time I wasn’t sorry for it)!
The last evening, we decided to spend it in a “more glamorous” way, and the top floor of the skyscraper “The Shard” was the perfect place for that. With 360 
panorama view towards the radiant night London. In one glassy corner was rising a beautiful, tall Christmas tree all decorated in lamps. The music was relatively loud, the visitors were nicely dressed with a glass of cocktail in hand, ( it was Saturday evening after all). We had a great time. We fed our eyes on glowing London, discussing our lives, plans and dreams accompanied with a cocktail in hand.
It's Sunday, and we're at the bus stop waiting for the bus to pick us up and take us to the airport. Feelings are mixed. I didn't feel like coming back home. It turned out that the city managed to enchant me, despite my expectations or rather lack of them. Now I know. Now I understand why people talk so much about London. Now I understand that they are not just "exaggerated ads".
London is a city with a very special and charming energy that floods you more and more when getting to know it. A place where the Christmas spirit fills up the streets a month before Christmas itself to come. London is a city able to show and tell lots of stories. The past and present live in harmony here, and somewhere between them is the house of Sherlock Homes on Baker Street 221b.
