The day started off spectacularly, with the sun shining, no clouds, and decent temperatures outside! I woke up and decided to knock a Taylor Swift destination in London off my bucket list! I went to The Black Dog in South London and it is a cool pub that does Sunday Roast. Later, I went to Notting Hill to see the well-known Portobello Market and colorful houses. Then at night, I decided to go with my friend to see The Tower Bridge and the London Downtown at night.
Since our day was completely free, I knew this was a perfect time to get as much done as possible. I have quite a few things on my itinerary checklist, so I had to make this day busy but productive. I also realized that this is the last weekend I will have in the United Kingdom, which made me really sad. I don’t know the next time I’ll have the chance to come across international waters and I’ve fallen in
love with this city. I’ve constantly listened to Taylor Swift’s London songs, such as So Long London, London Boy, and The Black Dog. Seeing The Black Dog in person connected so many dots in my brain, considering how the song is about her ex-boyfriend cheating on her with some other woman in this very restaurant. I found it fascinating and funny that the restaurant has taken full advantage of this and put some of Taylor Swift’s lyrics on the windows and were even selling Taylor Swift Merchandise! It was a short visit, then we made our transition to Notting Hill.
Notting Hill is this well known neighborhood in London due to its uniform beautiful homes and some of the streets has houses painted all different colors. It is as if they laid out the rainbow and applied it onto all the homes here. On one street, below these colorful homes had some of the coolest markets I’ve ever seen. It was called Portobello Market and is only open certain times of the year, but I was lucky to be here when it was open! They sold such unique stuff such as hand knitted airpod cases, purses, and of course Notting Hill Tote Bags. The color of the items inside these tents brought more than just a rainbow to this neighborhood, but an extravaganza of colors and beauty. Lastly, we went to the popular Notting Hill store where they filmed a movie Julia Roberts was in there! I bought a Notting Hill Tote Bag and went home to do some homework before night fell.
When night fell, me and my friend named Berkelee wanted to go out and explore the rest of London! We didn’t want to have any regrets on missing out on anything, so we thought the perfect way to prevent this was to go see the most popular spots of London at night. We finally got here after a long tube ride, but then I was looking at the one of the most famous landmarks in the world called The Tower Bridge!
It is tall, grand, and has blue metal connecting each end, and has history older than any human alive. I am standing, while leaning on a large cold stone wall on the South side of London at an area called The Queen’s Walk. Right as the lights at The Tower Bridge reach max brightness, the sky is barely completely dark, because of summer solstice. The blue and white lights from the bridge turn the dark black river into a colorful landscape. I turn my head and see the London Skyline touching The Tower of London. I am in awe how modern present-day architecture is touching thousands of year-old architecture. A boat passes by bringing waves as if the river turned into an ocean. The sounds of waves crashing the rocks below me induced such an awe that I’ve never had before. Seeing all this at night is an absolute must, no matter how tired you are at the end of the day!
