I am going to share some of what I did yesterday and what I did today! After I explored King’s Cross and Regent’s Canal, I went into the British Library which had many people in it and galleries of history. Some documents date back to the 1200s. The next day, I went to Neil’s Yard, Covent Garden, and Leadenhall Market. These were all must-see places to go to while in London.
I went to the British Library due to its proximity to where I left off on my journey. It is only a few minutes walk from King’s Cross Station, where the Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4 is. From the outside, the British Library looks like an ordinary building, but once you get inside, it is very open and has a modern slick look in my opinion. It was completely free to get into which is very nice. There was a gallery in here, that had historical documents, education sheets, old print art, and much more. They even had some of William Shakespeare’s work including the Second Folio and Later Folio editions. Even though there was glass protecting the work, I could imagine the smell of old paper. One work that amazed me was The Owl and the Nightingale, which was created around 1250-1299. Hundreds of years were in the palm of my hands.
The next day, I decided I wanted to do more sightseeing and discover restaurants in London. I went to Covent Garden since I had heard this was a popular spot people
go to and something any person should walk through. I got here and you are automatically welcomed by these metal arches in the roof and old vintage lighting hanging down, as if you were visiting this place when it was first created. It felt like a teleportation to back in the day when Covent Garden first opened. There were many shops and sit-down restaurants that had vibrancy and energy screaming from them. Many people were socializing, eating, and enjoying the surrounding environment around them, which was extremely nice to see in such a busy city where people don’t take in the environment around them.
I went to Neil’s Yard which was exactly how I expected it to be, full of color and beautiful. As small as it was, it was great to walk through because you felt like you had a small part of London that was hidden just for you. Neil’s Yard is a place that many people don’t know they should see when visiting London, so that makes it even more special for you if you go to see it! For dinner, I went to Leadenhall Market and was in straight awe when I came up to the entrance. Also, to see it dated all the way back to the 1400s was absolutely crazy to me. I began distracted by the different amount of foods I was beginning to smell, the voices of people chatting at the pubs after a long day of work, and the warm lighting. Every restaurant or pub in this market is beautiful and has intricate old detailing, but it comes at a price. All the food here is fancy and delicious, but I recommend coming here for a date night instead of a grab-something-quick meal. I ate at Pizza Express and I got the Pello Pasta, which was delicious but ended up costing me in total of 27 pounds. Overall, every place I went to is definitely must sees in London!
