48 hours, a free room, and instructions to be in the lobby at 9 a.m. the next morning… Now what?
Traveling with a group of other students, I assumed there’d be plenty of planned events and excursions, and to my pleasant surprise I was wrong. That being said, I had 2 days in London, and no earthly idea what I wanted to do. So here’s how my friends and I made the most of our time in the U.K., as well as some tips for anyone on a budget!
Tip: Utilize the Tube
Where We Ate
NANDOS!
Nando’s has been on my bucket list for quite a few years, but once we got into London, I completely forgot (I’ll blame it on the jet lag)! As we were walking around who-knows-where in London, I saw the sign out of the corner of my eye and made a hard left into the restaurant.
It wasn’t what I expected, which was a burger place. I don’t know why I thought it was a burger place, because it’s quite different, and thank goodness I love chicken.
Also Pro Tip try European Fanta because it is my favorite thing in the world.
Le Pain Quotidien
Le Pain Quotidiene reminds me of something from California, but maybe that’s because Kirby and I both got avocado dishes. We ate at the one inside Covent Garden and people watched.
Laduree’s 
Macarons are among my favorite desserts, so when we passed by Ladurée, I couldn’t resist. My personal favorite flavors were vanilla and rose petal, and they just melted in my mouth! I’ve never had such a good macaron in my life.
Where to Go
With only 2 days in London, there’s so much to see in so little time. So we ended up seeing the sights and mostly touristy buildings, but they were amazing and I’m so glad we got to see these
Buckingham Palace
Taking a tour of Buckingham Palace would have taken up a lot of our limited time, so we settled for spending a few minutes taking in the amazing exterior. The queen’s residence is stunning in all senses of its extravagance and grandeur, I can’t even begin to fathom how it looks inside.
London Bridge
Contrary to popular belief the bridge shown in this picture is not London Bridge, but if you find yourself on London Bridge (as we did) you get a spectacular view of Tower Bridge and the Thames River.
Queen Elizabeth Tower
Queen Elizabeth Tower is home to the famous Big Ben bell, and also a large grassy square that we sat in to rest our legs and admire the beauty of Big Ben and the surrounding Westminster Palace.
Can we also just take a minute to admire the beautiful blue sky? I know England is known for its cloudy, rainy days, but we were so lucky to be there for the beautiful summer weather!
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a mix of an indoor and outdoor shopping center, with restaurants and clothing stores and souvenir shops and the like. This is where Kirby and I ate lunch at La Pain Quotidien. Everything about it looked elegant and I wish we’d had more time to browse the shops.
National Gallery
I loved London and having the opportunity to be independent and see London the way I wanted to was so fun, and the little taste I got of the city just made me anxious to go back and see more.
Maybe someday!
xoxo,
Ashley
Ashley Whitwell 