The London Centre is beautiful. It was built in the 1860's or 70's, so think Queen Victoria and Brigham Young. It is packed into the city of Westminster, close to Kensington Gardens.
This is the servery where we eat meals together, prepared by our amazing cook, Thais. I'm pretty sure she could run her own restaurant and make a fortune. Today we had Chicken Tikka Masala that was to die for.
The front room. I love sitting in here. Besides, it has one of my favorite paintings. The only problem is that I will have to move back to Provo and live in student housing again. I'm getting a little spoiled...
The view from the front room.
The carvings on all the stairs. There are seven stories... I am on the sixth. That means 66 stairs every time I forget something, which knowing me, will be a lot.
I think mom will have to tell me what this tree out our back window is, but I thought it was cool.
The back deck...if it is ever dry enough to sit on.
Somebody has a rooftop garden next to us. In case you were wondering, everything in London appears to be made of brick. Brick outside, wood inside.
See? A lot of stairs. We petitioned for a slide.
My bunk. That bed is never going to be made by the way, even though it is just a duvet. If you ever want to confuse me, by the way, just hand me foreign bed linens right after I've gotten off a plane and have had less than three hours of sleep. It took me way longer than was necessary.
The front view from our sixth floor bedroom.
The toilets gave us all a good laugh. We poor jet lagged travelers all thought that at least the plumbing would be the same, but nope!
The neighborhood we live in is really posh. Seriously. I mean, Kate and William are pretty much our neighbors. However, it actually used to be owned by a slumlord who let it to AfroCarribean immigrants. Apparently we came on the day we did because they didn't want us here during Carnival. I'm going to guess that it's like the one in Brazil...not Mormon territory.
Saint Sophia's Cathedral. We didn't have time to go in, but someday we will, and I will find out who Saint Sophia is.
Pretty houses. There are lot of pretty houses, so there are a lot of pictures. The fronts are usually painted white, or red brick. Often they paint their doors bright colors. Also, geraniums must be very popular here, because everyone has them in pots or by their windows. They don't have individual gardens. Instead, each neighborhood has a private garden that they have the key to. They are gorgeous, or at least they are from the gate...
Kensington Gardens. Hopefully I will get to enjoy them soon.
All by itself on a wall by a bakery. I don't know the reason, but it's a very charming little detail.
We ate at Nando's for lunch. We were told that the British don't food as spicy, but when I ordered hot, it was actually hot! I want to try a different restaurant every week just to taste a little of everything. Since Thais is such a good cook though, I'll probably just try little things like desserts.
Everyone seems to have geraniums and these little topiaries. But look how cute!
One of the private gardens. These pictures were taken through the gate.
A not so passive aggressive post-it I found on a bicycle locked to a street sign.
Outside the Centre.
A beautifully English pub that I want to try. Pubs are more like cafes than bars, in case you were worried.
The British flag on top of a mall.
This is Porchester Hall. The words got cut off because I was in a hurry. There is a little public library in here. They gave us all our own library cards that work all over this neighborhood. We felt very special, since you usually have to live in a place to use the library.
Everything is great here, and I am making some really good friends. All London needs is some Utah sun and everyone I love to be here with me!
I'm so glad you are posting your pictures on your blog! I am going to check it every day! Brings back so many memories of when we were there with Suzy. Such a great experience!
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