High Five (Days) in London

If you are a desi, whether from India or Pakistan, muslim or hindu, and you are asked about your one fave travel destination in the world, it got to be London.
London is everyone’s fave for several reasons.  The top one being the ease of mobility thru a well laid public transport system whether its trains, tubes, buses or for that matter even cabs, it doesn’t take a lot to understand how to get around.  That is why many older people, including my mom, find London as a very tourist friendly city.

No visit to London is complete without a quick run to Marks and Spencer M&S and grabbing something typically european as a souvenir for your good self. After that I insisted that we take a trip to British Museum because that is one museum, I can never get enough of.  To be honest, I love their cafe as well.  The organic sandwiches are highly recommended, not to forget the divinity of sipping tea discussing our fave parts of the museum is one of my fondest memories from there.  However, if you are not too tired, it would be worth it to go to the beautiful Chinatown, london from there to grab a bite. In the evening my sister and I took a quick hop to Regent street to check out one shoe I needed. Coming home to family ready with warm food and hot game of cards was just the perfect way to end the evening.

Next Morning, I asked my sister I want to have puri Halwa and guess where we headed to Tooting Broadway to a restaurant called Dawat. The food was outstanding and bathrooms really clean. I came out a happy soldier, battling with my cravings, giving in to the best (Halwapuri) and curbing others because of my exploding belly.  I also had the opportunity to browse some very interesting markets there while my sister went grocery shopping.  Also there is a huge Primark in that area, my haven for kids night suits.  I grabbed a “Friends” sweatshirt from there.  By the time we got home, all the calories had already burnt and we were ready to go again.  So then our big fat desi family headed out to “Nandos”, it’s so fascinating to see that London has so many good Halal restaurants, including this one.

Next morning, we grabbed our Oyster cards and headed to St Paul’s Cathedral. It’s the most iconic dome and one of the most famous cathedrals in London.  We didn’t go inside since I had many things on my list that day.  But you can take the famous telephone booth photos here alongside the one next to the cathedral.  As you walk in front of the cathedral, you will find yourself standing in front of the London Fire monument which instantly takes you through the history of the misfortunate events.  Further down is the world famous Millenium bridge where you can stand and see all the other bridges in both directions. Also remember the death eaters from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, this is the filming site of an attack.

Then we headed to another destination, I hadn’t been before”the graffiti tunnel”. It is so funny that my sister has lived there for so many decades but still comes across new places with her guests. On the way, guess what caught our eye the London Eye”. Of Course another photo op, not to be missed. The Graffiti tunnel was above and beyond our expectations, a place where new and budding artists could breathe life into the walls and ceilings as they pleased.  New artists got opportunities almost every week to come with their supplies and express themselves to feel actualized.

They even had a few restaurants and a star bar kinda place where they gave opportunities for other forms of art like singing and acting as well. We had so much fun there and came out laughing,  giggling and hungry.  So we had a samosa and chai break at one of the local restaurants called chilli chutney.