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12/30/12

The second day of our trip started off with breakfast at Westfield Mall in Stratford. I know what you’re thinking — a mall? I tend to avoid malls whenever possible because I dislike the crowds and glorification of materialism everywhere, but this mall is quite impressive as the largest shopping mall in Europe. I mostly was thrilled by the World Food Court which served cuisines from all over the world, including Indian street food at a place called Indi-go, Chinese street food, Vietnamese pho, and of course, fish and chips! It also housed full restaurants with bars that felt like they were housed in their own world, far from a shopping center. A large bowl of pho was the perfect breakfast on a cold winter morning, especially as I was fighting off the last of my cold. Nirav went straight for the fish and chips, simple and tasty.

After breakfast we made our way on the Underground to Westminster Station, where immediately upon exiting the station we found ourselves staring up at Big Ben! There were hoards of tourists snapping photos of the clock and the Houses of Parliament, but it was not too difficult to snap our own photos. We then crossed Westminster Bridge and walked to Buckingham Palace, through Green Park, and along the Mall, the long road leading to the Palace. After walking around a great deal, we headed back across the bridge and purchased our tickets for the London Eye, the tallest ferris wheel in Europe. It is absolutely beautiful at night, reflecting blue lights off of the River Thames and giving its passengers a bird’s-eye view of the city. It was a magical experience for sure!

*All photos taken by my husband unless otherwise specified