I went to London last weekend to meet up with Sandra, an old friend from Denmark. I arrived Friday morning and left Sunday afternoon, and the trip was much too short– I wish I had at least another day in the city because I loved London! Perhaps I’ll go back before I leave in December…

For one, it’s a great destination for an English major like me– it not only has deep literary roots, but a great book publishing industry as well. There were so many bookshops I nearly swooned, and lots of adorable stationary shops like Paperchase that sell cards and pens and cute writing knick knacks.

The best book experience of all, though, was The British Library. The greatest tragedy of my weekend in London was that I only had 30 minutes in this magnificent place. It was right next to St. Pancras International Station, so I popped in before I had to check in at the station on my last day. It was amazing. Their literary treasures room is stock full of letters from authors, first drafts of famous works, medieval bibles, printing press relics, Shakespearean mementos, etc. I swear, I’ll go back to London just for the British Library, and just to have more time in bookshops like Waterstones!

One of my favorite London moments was definitely afternoon tea at Café Liberty! I get starry eyed just thinking about it. Sandra and I had English Breakfast tea with cream and scones and butter and jam at the swanky Liberty department store in Soho. It was divinely British, and I’ve never been happier. I’ve always romanticized afternoon tea, and sitting there with my tea pot and pastries I made a resolution to throw some wild (tea) parties in the future.

When one is in London, one simply must go the theatah. So, Friday night we saw Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales, and it was absolutely hilarious. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack on repeat all week, and I think the smiles the songs evoke have unsettled some poor French pedestrians I’ve passed on the street.

Other top notch experiences: the massive British National Museum and lunch at the intricately decorated Thai Square, as recommended by a friend. Located just off of Trafalgar Square, my red curry with rice was the best Thai food I’ve ever had.

The first time we visited Trafalgar Square it glistened in the sunlight– it had rained a little bit earlier so everything looked fresh and vivacious. There was some very fun live music in the square, and when we went to Covent Garden to window-shop afterwards the live music only became prettier.

Saturday night we stopped by a Pret a Manger (a yummy vegetarian store on every street corner) to buy sandwiches, and a grocery store to buy a bottle of red wine. Then, we crossed the Waterloo Bridge and admired the city skyline sparkling over the inky black water of the Thames. From Waterloo Bridge we took a right and wandered through the SouthBank center, a fun and youthful spot at night that is dotted with restaurants and food trucks and a graffiti-d skate park. We found some comfy chairs behind a frozen yogurt truck and ate our sandwiches and sipped our wine for a long time in front of the river, watching the colorful lights of the city and the slow movement of barges and boats.

Sadly, Sunday was our last day; we visited the National Gallery (and the National Portrait Gallery, which I realized was something different after a good two floors of browsing…) We had espresso in the Gallery café and enjoyed the creative music of a guitar player in Trafalgar, and then we parted ways to catch our respective planes and trains. It was a wonderful weekend in a very cool city, and I can’t wait to go back one day.