Am I the only one that has this song by The Clash stuck in my head every time I go to London? I know it’s such a cliché but I can’t help it, I just love the song.

Back in 2015, this was my first trip to the UK and my first big trip on my own. I was very nervous. I found my old diary from the trip and here is a little excerpt I wrote one week into my journey:

”My journey started at the BTS airport. I was so excited to finally visit the UK but at the same time effing scared to go alone to a foreign country for three weeks. But it’s my life changing journey, I just know it is. You can’t just go on such journey, meet so many amazing people and come home unchanged. I really needed that journey to figure out who I am, who I want to be and most of all what I want to do with my life. Has it helped? Of course not. I’m even more confused now. I feel sad, there’s tears in my eyes actually. They were there at the airport as well. Maybe because I had to wait six hours for my flight. I was really upset. They literally stole one of my days in London. You know that feeling when you’re too tired, sad and something happens that upsets you and you just want to cry but can’t because of all the people out there waiting with you. You tell yourself you have to be strong but it’s hard because you just don’t care anymore, you’re too exhausted to do anything. That night I slept only one hour so I was tired and not in a good mood. I was supposed to be in London, not waiting at the airport. I kept telling myself that everything bad is actually good for you because it might lead to something better. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Some situations just need to happen in order to bring you what’s out there waiting for you. Ok, let’s get back to my story. I was not even upset when they delayed the flight for another four hours. I just couldn’ care anymore. I was just afraid that my journey, my big trip would not happen. Then I started to think: Should I cancel all this? What if I’m not meant to go to the UK?”

I’m glad I didn’t cancel the trip. I had a great time, I met so many interesting people, saw countless of beautiful things and experienced new things. I am glad I was brave enough to go alone on this journey. My first trip to London didn’t start very well, so what? The next day the situation was way better. I managed to see a big part of the city. I also found out two important facts: London is overcrowded with tourists and I can’t take a decent selfie (trust me, I tried many times). I started at the Waterloo station and made my way over the bridge to admire the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. They looked majestic. So did the Westminster Abbey. I didn’ go inside because I wanted to save as much money as possible (you know, I was a poor student) 😀 Too bad I didn’t have a chance to attend a service there for free. Maybe next time…I still haven’t been there and I’ve been to London maybe 8 times by now, lol.

Next attraction on my list was Buckingham Palace. I was quite dissapointed as I had always imagined it bigger. From there I went to get some lunch from a supermarket and ate it at the beautiful Trafalgar Square. Also I was a bit dissapointed by the size of it. I don’t know, maybe everything looks bigger on pictures than in real life? 😀 As a big fan of art the obvious choice was to visit the National Gallery next. It is located on the same square. The best thing about the UK is that most of the museums are for free. I had a blast at the Gallery. My favourite paintings by Constable and Turner were there. Ah, I could admire them for hours…(making a note to myself to visit National Gallery next time I’m in London)

As a poor student back then I obviously chose free or very cheap attractions to visit. One of the cheapest ones was The Monument to the Great Fire of London. It commemorates the Great Fire of London of 1666. I had to walk around 300 steps to the top and after I got down I got a certificate of successful completion. The views from up there were amazing.

My next plan was to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral at 5 pm. I wanted to attend the evening service, as you know, that was for free 😀 The cathedral was stunning from the inside. I even managed to sit through the whole service, it was interesting after all. Fun fact: St. Paul’s Cathedral was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1963 and it is the second largest church in the UK (after Liverpool Cathedral). From there I crossed the river Thames on the Millennium Bridge, saw the famous Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and headed in the direction of the Tower Bridge. I had a nice walk along the Thames.

I was staying at a couchsurfing in Kentish Town. My couchsurfer host took me for a walk around the area up to the famous Camden Market. Located in the historic stables, the market looked awesome. Like a beautiful mixture of everything, people, clothes, jewellery, antiques, shoes, food from all over the world, yeah even langos 😀 From there I decided to walk along the Regent’s Canal and up to the Primrose Hill. It’s a really nice area to relax and the view over London is fantastic. That day I also visited Regent’s park and Hyde park.

I feel like I haven’t seen much of London on my first visit. One of the reasons is that I completely missed the first day because of a 10 hour delay of my flight. The other reason is that London is so huge that it’s not possible to see everything in a few days. I’ve been there several times after my first trip and I still haven’t seen it all. It’s just not possible. At least I always have a reason to come back 😉