London Calling

We’ve just left the hectic aisles of London Heathrow Airport and have flagged down a cab. We stare out the window as an entirely new world opens up before us.

Attractions

• Warner Brother’s London Studio Tour: I mean, if I’m going to London, then obviously I’m going to embrace my inner Ravenclaw.

• London Eye: I have a confession to make: I can’t stand heights. And I absolutely hate Ferris wheels. But one of my favorite lyrics ever goes, “Open up to disaster/and paradise,” so I’ll be damned if I go to London and chicken out about the London Eye.

• Leadenhall Market: This market is where they shot scenes at Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! The truth is, I’m very tempted to make this a Harry Potter trip and not a trip to London at all. So I think it’s really impressive that I limited myself to just two HP-themed attractions.

• Harrods: Is it even a vacation if you don’t do some shopping? The answer: no.

• Hyde Park: Right now I’m on a Victorian Era kick. If there’s a book taking place in this time period with a smart, brave, and witty heroine, I’m reading it. So I’m most certainly visiting the park mentioned time and time again in those books (I kind of get the feeling there wasn’t much to do in the mid-1800s?).

• Buckingham Palace: In my dreams I’m the free-spirited soul who re-enacts the cliché movie scene where you go up to one of the Queen’s Guard and try to get them to crack a smile. In reality, I’ll politely watch from a distance.

Honourable Mentions

• Tower Bridge

• Houses of Parliament

• The British Museum

• Westminster Abbey

• The National Theatre

• Shakespeare’s Globe

Restaurants

• For local cuisine: The Golden Chippy. Three words: fish and chips. Or, if you’re looking for something a little less greasy, they have a variety of other cuisine, like burgers and pies

• For breakfast: Kennington Lane Café. I’ve heard tell that baked beans and breakfast are a popular combo in England. And you know what they say: When in Rome.

• For bao: Bao Fitz. Because I never don’t want bao.

• For an adventure: Sexy Fish. I’m not really a cooked fish person, but this restaurant has quite possibly the weirdest name of any restaurant I’ve ever heard of, so how can we not go there?