#207-London day 1

Flew into Gatwick from Shannon. Landed about midday and went to the hotel before some sightseeing. 25 years so close to London and I’ve never gone, I wasn’t off at Victoria station long and I was already loving what I was seeing. The building’s were hundreds of years old and the architecture and attention to detail was unbelievable. As soon as I saw the black cabs and red post boxes it just felt exactly what London should feel like. We checked in and went right to Buckingham Palace, it was only a 20 minute walk and it was very impressive I gotta admit. There was a sense of history and importance to the location. Buckingham Palace and the Princess Diana walk I think it’s called was incredible.

Then I went down to the Southbank market by the London eye. It was mostly food stalls and mulled wine but in fairness I only googled the place when we got there and it did say that online so that ones on me. There was a great vibe down there it felt very festive and the lights all around had the entire place lit up. I didn’t buy much down here but I did find a couple of Bukowski books that I didn’t have so that was a great find. It’s difficult find much Bukowski and anytime I’m on holidays I try search out a couple and this time I got lucky.

London was a great place to walk around and discover. Right as I got to the market I sat with Eva and we had mulled wine by the river and overlooked the London eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Shortly after the market I headed for Soho and Chinatown. Walking around the streets here at night felt like being in a Guy Ritchie film at times. The biggest surprise to me was how little covid seemed an issue. There were some signs about mask wearing and some people wore masks too but overall it was like going back in time 2 years pre pandemic. Day and night 1 in London was great and it totally exceeded my expectations. In my head before I left I had thought maybe it’d be like a massive version of Dublin but it wasn’t like that at all. The sights, the building’s,the history and the asthetic of the city was breathtaking. I really am surprised at just how much I liked the city and the entire experience of London. The shops,the food and the drinks all added so much to the experience. Grabbing pints and a few other drinks in Shakespeare’s bar and testing some English IPA’s was a lot of fun. Day 1 was great and I couldn’t wait for the trip to keep going. I signed and dated my Bukowski books so I remember just where I was and how I felt that night in Westminster.