London
London
July 9th & 10th
We woke up early on July 9th, bid farewell to Fontenay-Sous-Bois and the charming comfort of Rebekkah's family's house (above and below), and took a two hour train ride from Paris to London.
Our tiny hotel room in London. It was a few blocks from Paddington Station and Hyde Park.
Dinosaur attack at Picadilly Circus! London was incredibly crowded. I don't even remember New York being so crowded.
In Trafalgar Square. Being there, my decision was that, though Parisians are more chic and put together, Londoners are a whole lot more interesting.
The National Gallery. My favorite thing there was William Hogarth's Marriage à-la-mode series.
The best living statue I've ever seen - at Covent Garden.
Souvenirs, including the photo issue of Vice from the Fred Perry store at Covent Garden and a tote bag from Topshop. I can't tell you how incredible and nerve-racking and fun it was for me to be in Topshop on Oxford St. during a massive sale.
JULY 10TH
At Westminster Abbey. We didn't go inside, because even though museums in London are free, the churches cost an arm and a leg. Same goes for St. Paul's Cathedral.
Big Ben.
In front of the houses of Parliament.
The London Eye.
James at the Movieum.
Our cheesey Star Wars portraits.
I was all too happy to be here taking pictures until one of the skaters hassled me. (Or hit on me? I still can't tell.) Either way I left feeling embarrassed of my lame tourist status.
Heading towards St. Paul's Cathedral from the Tate.
Lunch at the Cockpit.
Camden Market.
While James was checking out the photographic potential of a warped mirror, I was distracted by... cute shinies!
This band was really great. They were so energetic, and they played covers of old rock 'n' roll songs.
The "Castley House," which you'll only be amused by if you've watched Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington narrate his trip to London.
Even though I saw some really great stuff in London, my overall impression was that it was crowded and very commercial. I lost track of how many H&Ms I saw. Obviously I was only there for a day and a half and only got to see very touristy parts of the city, so someday I'd like to go back and explore it more, but by the end of the two days I was missing Paris and ready to go back.
Important note: In order to give credit where credit's due, photos by James are linked directly to his flickr and were taken with either a Nikon D90, Kodak Retina, or Rolleiflex. Un-linked photos are mine and were taken with a Canon Powershot SD1000.
Previously: Paris: Part 1
Coming soon: Paris: Part 2