London is a big city and there is so much to do in and around it. Here are my top 10 things to do in London. Most of the things on my list are free or fairly affordable. 1. Museum Crawl One of the best things about London is all the free museums. My friends and I did a small museum crawl on a weekday we didn’t have classes. We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum (admission fee). I also went to the British Museum and National Gallery. Beyond these five, there are a ton more you can visit depending on your interest. Many are free! 2. Watch a football (soccer) match at a local pub or go to a game in-person This Fall semester lined up with the World Cup 2022. I have never been a huge football (soccer) fan, but it is such a big part of pop culture in Europe that it was hard not to get excited and want to keep up. My friends and I watched a couple matches at a local pub in Putney, one of them being the crazy World Cup final game, Argentina v France 3. Walk along Regents Canal from King’s Cross/ St Pancras Station to Regents Park & Primrose Hill A cool walk in Central London is along Regents Canal going from King's Cross to Regents Park. Along the way you'll get to pass by Camden Market and some other shopping areas. The newly renovated area behind St. Pancras Station and King's Cross is another neat area to explore. It is home to a Google office and across the canal there is a shopping/dining/outdoor area called Coal Drops Yard. The vibe is really hip and modern and definitely worth checking out. You could spend all day at Regents Park exploring the gardens and just people watching in the park. Be sure to go north, up to Primrose Hill to see a view of the London skyline. It's worth the walk up. 4. Get a British Reading Card and study at the British Library This is something I did but wish I went and used more. I mean, how cool is it to say you're studying in the British Library?! Also, the reading rooms just generally are a great study environment. The University of Roehampton has a great library as well, but if you're looking to get out into central London but still want to get some work done, this is a great option. A British Reading Card is also free! 5. Watch a West End show or a smaller local production I am not a huge live performance person, but if you’re in London, watching a West End show or some local live production is a must. I watched three performances total this semester. First, our UH group watched the musical Wicked with our Social Programme. I then say a small production at a theater in Sloane Square called ‘Baghdaddy’. There were only five actors, but the script, use of lights and sound effects made it feel like an immersive experience. When my friend came to visit my last week in London, we saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. 6. Enjoy the city from a rooftop garden (Sky Garden) A definite bucket list item for me was to go to a London rooftop garden. One of the most famous is Sky Garden, however there are a couple more you could check out. Admission is free, but you do need to make a reservation in advance. When my friend and I went up, it was night time (we just missed sunset), so we got to enjoy the city lights. It can be super crowded, but go with the right people and it can be a really enjoyable experience. 7. Take a trip down to Greenwich (pass through Canary Wharf) A cool area to check out for a day is Greenwich in Southeast London. Home to the Old Navy College and some other notable museums. When I went with my friend, we passed through Canary Wharf. I was familiar with this area because it was a case study in one of my real estate courses at UH. It is super modern and home to some big name corporates like Citibank and HSBC. 8. Visit Portobello Road Market on a Saturday and haggle at the antique market On a whim one Saturday, I decided to go see what Portobello Road Market was all about. I also wanted to visit Notting Hill and its pretty houses. I absolutely loved walking around the market; it stretches down Portobello Road past multiple streets. I was walking at a pretty brisk pace and still it took me close to two hours to see majority of it. I definitely recommend going early as it gets really crowded come lunch time. While the market is open 6 days a week, Saturday is the main market day where all the street vendors are open, including all the antique shops and stalls. I have never been a huge antique collector or someone who goes to those types of shops at home, but it was so much fun weaving through the crowds and looking at what each seller had displayed. From silverware to jewelry to old prints and cameras, this market has so much to offer. I ended up getting an old print and a compact for my cousin’s omiyage. Along with the antique market, there is also a big vintage clothing section and food stands. I got Iraqi food for lunch which was something I never ate before. 9. Go (window) shopping down Oxford and Regents St, Covent Garden, and SoHo Especially during the holiday season, walking down Oxford and Regents St is so much fun. You don't even need to shop and buy anything. The streets are bustling with people and the lights displays are up and lite. 10. Visit a London food market (Brixton Village, Seven Dials, Borough Market, Carnaby)
There are so many different food markets in London, one of the most famous being Borough Market. Another one I liked was Brixton Village down south. For weeks, I was craving crispy Chinese roast pork and after some googling, I found a place called Three Uncles that was supposed to have bomb Cantonese roast meat. The Brixton area is definitely interesting and different from other parts of London.
0 Comments
Week 10 This weekend our Social Programme took us on a day trip to Cambridge. The most memorable part of this trip for me was punting along the canal and seeing the different colleges in the University from there. It was a rainy, gloomy day, but I think we all made the best of it.
To the left is said to be an apple tree descended from the one that gave us Newton's Laws. To the right are some photos from punting along the canal. Week 4 This past week I came down with a cold, so I stayed in most of the week to rest up and get better for our trip to Dover with our Social Programme on Saturday. This was one of the day trips I have been looking forward to and it definitely didn't disappoint. It was a national rail strike day, so we had to take a coach down which actually worked out better, since they could stay with us the entire day and drive us around Dover when we got there. White Cliffs of Dover Our first stop after about a two hour drive from the university was the White Cliffs of Dover. From Dover, you can sometimes see the coast of France. We were very lucky as the weather was fantastic with clear blue skies. It was still quite chilly making the warm sun rays feel great. There is a walking path along the cliffs where you'll find both tourists and locals enjoying the views. Our group had a time constraint, so we only walked a short loop of it. From this path, we got great views of the cliffs, the port, and the castle. Dover Castle
This is a concentric castle, meaning there are multiple "layers" to it. It was remarkable to walk through it and up to the top of the Great Tower where we got a spectacular view of Dover from all sides of the castle. It is a medieval castle, but it has had a role in more recent history, namely as a headquarters for the British military in WWI and WWII. If you're familiar with Operation Dynamo (the evacuation of Dunkirk), whether from history class or "Dunkirk" the movie featuring Harry Styles, this castle is where the plans were thought through and executed from. You can actually take a tour of the tunnels where the military offices previously were. In addition to going up the Great Tower, we went down into the medieval tunnels. The first of the two photos on the right is looking from the tunnels into the moat around the castle. The second is of their door system to let people in and out of the entrance/exit. The room pictured is showing the levers that open the doors on the other side of the walls. Overall, this trip was very fun and fascinating. I learned a lot about the history of Dover and got to see an iconic landmark in England. Week 3 This past week was the first week of classes, or as they say here, modules. To wrap up the week, our Social Programme took us on a walking tour of Central London yesterday (Saturday). I'll explain a bit about the school system here and then recap what I got to see in the city. MODULES Each module has three parts: (1) Lecture, (2) Seminar, and (3) Modules Clinic. The lecture is where the Module Convenor delivers the lecture of the week on whatever topic is scheduled to be covered. The seminar is where the Module Tutor (sometimes it will be your Convenor) will take the class through different exercises that apply the concepts learned in the lecture. It is important to attend seminars because the exercises build up to what is expected in the final assessment. For all three of my Roehampton courses, my final grade is dependent on one single assessment, the summative that is submitted online at the end of the semester. Module clinics are something new they added this semester. It is an hour of remote learning that is more for full time university students as they act like sessions with UH advisors. It is less about the actual materials for the module as the topics tutors are given are directly from the University. I will have more information on classes in a later post. WALKNG TOUR OF LONDON On Saturday, I went on a walking tour of London hosted by the Social Programme the university has for study abroad and international students. We got to see some of London's most well known monuments as well as some lesser known ones. Our tour started at Blackfriars station and ended at Borough Market. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the market all the stalls were closing. There were still a few places open so my friends and I were able to grab a bite for dinner before taking the bus back to campus. That particular day was a national rail strike, so the tube line we would normally take was not running all the way Putney. (Be aware of rail and tube strike days when here. The buses will be busy and generally take longer due to traffic and all the stops in between). Friends and Tower Bridge St. Paul's Catherdral
It was truly an interesting time to be in London. On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away in Balmoral, Scotland and her funeral was held yesterday on September 19, 2022 at Westminster Abbey. The news channels like BBC were covering the events between her passing and the funeral along with content covering her life and work. The news filled the covers of newspapers and journals. Even the digital ad windows on storefronts, at bus stops, and in the tube commemorated the late Queen. It was inspiring to learn about her life of public service.
I did not intend to go into Central London on the day of her funeral, but curiosity got the best of me and I went down with one other person from UH. By the time we reached the Hyde Park area, all the viewing areas along the street the Procession after the service would be coming down were full. We decided to go into Hyde Park to view the funeral proceedings on the big screens that were set up all around the park. As an American, it can sometimes be difficult to understand the "point" of the monarchy and how it is still in existence today. Being there surrounded by thousands of (mostly) British citizens, I could see and feel the significance of the Queen to them. It was remarkable to witness such a historic moment. |
Kaylee MikiI'm a college student from Hawai‘i studying abroad in London and looking forward to traveling around Europe and sharing my experiences. Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|