The time I spent 48 hours in London

Forty-eight hours spent in central London... that's all we were given. Luckily, my travel buds and I had the same mindset - to let sleep take a backseat to soaking up as much of London as we could. As tired as I am this week with work, it was completely worth the fatigue. We packed in a LOT. Below are some gems:



The Tower of London. The price is a bit steep (about 17 pounds per adult), but well worth the money. I'm all about all things treason, deception, mystery, and death; I was a kid in a candyshop. A candy shop filled with barbaric tools and suits of amour, but you get my point.


The view of the north side of the river from the Tate Museum balcony. We spent all morning exploring the Tate's modern art. I am not a fan of Renaissance art, so the contemporary pieces were more my style. Excellent exhibits!


This particular piece is one I had read about on the Internet. Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist who modeled this artwork after a popular street snack in China - sunflower seeds. Even though these millions of seeds look realistic, each seed has been individually crafted from porcelain! His decision to make the seeds from porcelain reflects its status as one of China's most prized exports.


Close up of the sunflower seeds.


Myself, Lane, and Laura on the Embankment in front of the river


I was lucky enough to meet up with a one of my most favorite family members - my second cousin Marty! He happens to be studying abroad in London for the semester and was kind enough to meet me and the gang for burgers at one of London's foodie hotspots, Gourmet Burger Kitchen.



Laura and I posing with two of the Queen's animals - swans. She and I took a stroll through Hyde Park, which turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the weekend!


Goofing off in the famous red telephone booths.


Nicoise friends we met up with in London. This is the gang headed back from a pub Friday night on the Tube (we minded the Gap at all times).


Obligatory photo in front of Big Ben. It was FREEZING! This pic was taken Friday evening, but on Saturday it snowed in central London for the first time in a few years!


Laura, me, and another friend of ours, Steffi, in front of Harrod's Saturday night. We had only just stepped outside when it began to snow. The Christmas lights around Harrod's and the snow made me very nostalgic for home and proper Christmas weather.

We were nervous we weren't going to make it back in time for work Monday morning but our flight was only delayed a half hour.


As one Londoner put it, "What! You're only here for the weekend?! That's certainly not enough time to explore London!". He was right. Which is exactly why I plan on returning!