Reminiscing England

Norwich and London some tips

As I sit here stuck in a room, I often think about all the places I want to go to. Luckily, I had the pleasure of traveling to London, England, in January 2020.

This trip was something out of the ordinary. I usually plan all my trips WAY in advance. I was curious to see how much a flight was to Europe in January. I wanted to do a trip solo in January before school started- a little early graduation present for myself, really. Initially, I choose to go to New York, but everyone convinced me otherwise. So, I looked into other places to travel to, and I looked at London; it’s a place I’ve always wanted to go to, and most importantly 

it was an English-speaking country, so I didn’t need help with translations even if I went alone.

I remember this vividly. I was in the Long Beach gym and decided to look up flight prices on Skyscanner. I was astonished to find a flight a little over $300. I messaged my best friend, Emily, who is quite the traveler herself, to see if the deal was fair. In short, she said, “If you don’t go, I’ll go!” So, I decided to make my destination London, and Emily asked who I was going with and replied that I was going alone wouldn’t mind the company, so she came along. That was the beginning of my spontaneous trip. Again, something entirely out of the ordinary for myself, but it was one of the best decisions I made for myself.

Weather/Time of Year to visit:

I visited England in January. It was frigid, and it was an average of 40-50 degrees. My biggest concern was the rain and cold weather combined. I bought a lovely coat from TopShop and thrifted many turtlenecks, wool, and cashmere sweaters from depop. I wore long warm thermal socks underneath my pants. Kevin’s mom generously lent me her snowshoes that were perfect for my outfits and saved my feet from being cold. I also had one scarf and beanie I would ear when it got colder. Perhaps the one thing I wish I had was a waterproof trench with a hoodie. We got caught in the rain only a few times, but it was “spittin” as they say. Also, an umbrella is useless because they have strong winds most of the time. Mittens are also an excellent thing to bring. I had a big tote where I had my camera and items I bought throughout the day, but I carried all my essential things such as my wallet or phone in a fanny pack hidden underneath my clothes.

Airbnb:

So the AIRBNB we booked actually is no longer listed. It was a cute Airbnb that had everything you needed. Emily’s recommendation is to stay close to the city, especially to train stations. We were also making a trip to Norwich to visit a good friend of hers, so we needed to stay close to the train we were going to take to Norwich. Location is key when looking for a place. We didn’t need to rent a car, be honest, and were scared to drive anyway, but the transportation system is so good!

Oyster Card:

You’re probably wondering what the heck is an Oyster card? In short, it’s similar to a metro tap card, but for England. Every traveler needs one, especially if you’re going to use public transportation. I was a dummy and lost two, so make sure you keep it on you in a secure place-I accidentally dropped the first one, and the second the WIND LITERALLY TOOK IT FROM MY JACKET POCKET. You can order the card ahead of time or get it at the airport. If a friend has one, you can also use theirs, and the balance never really expires and isn’t just stuck with one individual.

Student discounts:

Listen up! If you are a student or have a student ID with no expiration date, ask for student discounts. I didn’t use it much, but I thought it was cool that it was offered. We used it for our admissions to the Tower of London, and we saved some money that way.

Food:

So a lot of people told me that English food isn’t the best. Personally, everything I ate here was fantastic. Almost every place I went to had a vegetarian option-something I don’t see much in the states. The English Breakfast is perhaps my new favorite thing. Just like us Latinx, they eat beans in the morning as well! It’s a sweeter bean, though, but I still loved it. A proper English breakfast comes with bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, and bangers, aka sausage. Perhaps the one thing I decided not to try that is traditional here is blood pudding. I’ll have restaurants linked to this post. I usually just look at yelp and see what most people say. I have two rules when it comes to eating and traveling. One, I will never eat something that I can eat at home. For example, I’m not going to buy Starbucks, subway, or McDonalds; I’m going to try the local flavor wherever I go. Two, I will eat something that has meat in it; if there is no vegetarian alternative on the main dish, I will still eat it. I don’t want to be disrespectful to culture because of my personal eating habits.

Norwich

If you ever have a chance to visit Norwich, please do! This city was so beautiful and quaint. We went to see Emily’s long time family friend, Becky and Will. We took a train from London, and that was a really cool experience. We saw the countryside and arrived swiftly. Becky showed us around the town. We stopped at Adam& Eve, the oldest alehouse in town right behind the Norwich cathedral. It was small and friendly; I even had my first proper fish and chips here! Once we finished lunch, we visited the cathedral. It was beautiful and almost looked like it belonged in Hogwarts. Becky and Will were ever so lovely and showed us around the town by pub hopping!

We first started at The Plasters Arm for pizza and beer; it was delish! We then went to The Playhouse Bar, and it was pretty cool; they had lots of fun knick-knacks here. I was so jet-lagged I was having a hard time staying awake until I got a Shandy, and it woke me right up! I also tried a snakebite for the first time- at least that’s what I think it was called. It’s a mix of cider, lager, and black currant-a Norwich AMF if you will but better. We ended the night at a cute little cafe/bar called The Bicycle Shop! It was one of the most memorable ones for me because it had candles dripping on each table. The food was pretty good here as well; we had a delicious breakfast from The Unthank Kitchen, Indian food, which I sadly can’t remember the name of because we did take out. I honestly preferred Norwich over London.

London

London Eye/ Big Ben:

The London Eye was cool to see! We didn’t pay to get on it. We just viewed it from afar. Big Ben was also cool, sadly it was under construction, so we didn’t see it in its full glory, but I can imagine myself flying away with Peter Pan still.

Buckingham Palace:

Buckingham Palace was really cool. The flag was up, which meant that her majesty was home. It was also during the time that Megan Markle and Harry announced to leave the royal family. There was a lot of press and tourist there. Another thing to note, it’s very common for people to get pickpocketed here. Always keep your valuables in a fanny pack underneath your clothes or on you at all times. We saw the guards’ changing, and there was also a parade we saw, and it was really cool to see. This is something my dad was super fascinated with, so I had to take some footage.

Another funny thing I noticed in the parade, the music they played was Disney music. I’m not sure if Disney took the melody or what, but they literally played Disney music, and I thought it was hilarious. Afterward, we walked through Hyde Park and just strolled along.

Tea time:

One of the most exciting things I wanted to do in London was to drink TEA. I f you know me, you know I absolutely love tea. I prefer it over coffee and water. On our first breakfast, I asked for an earl grey. Usually, in the states, I would ask to leave some room for milk; here, I asked once and then realized that it was just the normal thing to do in England. My friend jokingly says I belong in England for that alone. I wanted to go to afternoon tea. I researched and didn’t care for anything extravagant; I just wanted a nice pot of tea and scones for the first time. I stumbled upon The English Rose in London. It was super lovely and relaxing. The pastries were super good, and I was super excited to finally try those cucumber sandwiches I’ve always seen.

On our last day

We decided to go to Abbey Road and do the Iconic Beatles retake. It was charming and quiet. There were a lot of tourists here as well, so it didn’t feel awkward at all! It’s said that the best time to go is during the middle of the day where there won’t be as much traffic. We then decided to visit Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross. Yes, it actually exists! Here you can take a picture with a trolly as if you were to go to Hogwarts. They do have the Harry Potter studio in England, but this was the cheaper alternative.

Tower of London:

The one place I think is super cool for tourists is the Tower of London. My friend Eric actually recommended it to me. I love museums and castles, so I thought this would be super cool. I didn’t understand how massive this place was. I think we got lost multiple times trying to find a different exhibit. It was really cool to see the crown jewels here. They were HUGE. I honestly can’t believe how these crowns were worn by people. Growing up, I had a slight obsession with the Tudor era and Anne Boleyn. When I saw that Anne was executed here, I was slightly excited and paid my respects on the spot. We both love learning about new things, so we spent a fair amount of time in each room reading each plague and the history and significance between the rooms. I was also fascinated with the way they depicted the story of the two princes in the tower-read about it; it’s honestly fascinating and sad. They also had a place where the ravens were, and it is said. It is said that the kingdom and the Tower of London will fall if the six resident ravens ever leave the fortress. Of course, they are cared for and caged, and I think it’s interesting.

There is also a really cool place to get a nice pic in front of Tower Bridge. We were there until closing, and it was our last night in London. I got a cute little mug and keychain from here. Wherever I travel, I must always bring a mug back.

I look back at this trip and miss it so much. My entire life I wished to travel to new places. I feel blessed that I was able to do so earlier this year. I can only hope that more trips can come in the future after COVID0-19. As much as I love London, the countryside calls my attention more and I wish to explore the country more. I definitely want to check out Stonehedge, Jane Austen’s birthplace, and where they filmed Pride and Prejudice.

Have you ever been to England? What did you think? let me know!