Olga lives off the Stoke Newington stop on the National Express train line. This is pretty far from the city center, but it doesn't matter because the public transportation in London is so ridiculously amazing. You can get anywhere! All the trains and buses were so clean, so well-labeled, so prompt. It was so easy to get around and enjoy the city.
On the bus:
On the tube:
We really enjoyed just walking around Olga's neighborhood too. It was an incredibly diverse area, with every ethnicity you can imagine, as well as religious Jews and Muslims. It's an area that is undergoing gentrification. So, while it still feels like an old community, there are also tons of cute coffee shops and cool pubs.Pointing to Olga's front door:
Behind Olga's building, this street:
Our train stop:
Waiting for the train to go into the city:
Just three or so blocks from Olga's apartment there is an incredible old cemetery that functions as a park. On the old trails we saw people jogging and families with their kids enjoying the nice weather. It was unlike any other cemetery I'd ever seen. It felt like a set of a movie, like a forest growing over old tombstones from the 19th century. It was an extremely beautiful place, and very peaceful.
One of the things Ryan wanted to do was get fish and chips. So we met up with two of Olga's friends and went to their favorite fish and chips spot. We ended up spending the whole afternoon with them! They were awesome guys.
Fish and chips:
We walked around Covent Garden:
We spent hours walking alongside the Thames River. There was such a neat mixture of old, impressive buildings and very new, modern ones. It was so pleasant to be outside, with so much great space for pedestrians.Lovely views all day long:
Hours of walking and talking with Olga:
Big Ben:
Admiring the Palace of Westminster:
Park beside the Palace of Westminster:
In the evening, it was nice to unwind at this really cool pub in Olga's neighborhood that had tons of local beers and ciders:
Ryan discussing the local brews with a nice old man:
Enjoying the local ale, served warm:
On our last night in London, and the last night of our trip, Olga took us to her favorite restaurant in London, a Pakistani place that had food quite similar to Indian food. It was delicious!
On the morning of Tuesday, May 24th, we woke up at 4:30am after three hours of sleep and my heart started racing with fear. Sunlight was pouring into the room and I was sure we'd overslept and missed our flight. But, no, it really was 4:30am, and the sun had already risen in London.
We stood in the freezing cold morning waiting for the train. Then we transferred to the tube, and transferred once more. At 7:15am, we arrived at the airport, checked in our bags, and looked at each other with a mixture of relief and joy and disbelief and excitement and maybe a hint of sadness or anxiety. We were going to cross the ocean one final time, complete the final leg of our journey.
Ten hours and several romantic comedies later, our good friend Trent picked us up from the airport in Houston, and shortly thereafter we made our way to Rudyards, our favorite Houston bar. Over the course of the next 8 hours (literally) at Rudyards, so many of our loved ones came to spend time with us and welcome us home. I think we were smiling for 8 hours straight. It was an amazing feeling to return to such good people.
There is no way to sum up of our feelings of our 10-month trip in one final paragraph. I simply don't know how to do it. No number of adjectives will suffice. What I can say, though, is thank you to our readers. Your comments on this blog, through emails, and in conversations, have made sharing moments from our travels so meaningful. You added significantly to our experience. Thank you.
Looks like you guys really lucked out with the London weather!! Usually London photos are grey and drizzly. This is the first time I've seen the Thames by sunlight!
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