Like the previous time, the main purpose of my trip was to go to the Chilean Consulate because of my visa application. While I was there I found out that the visa I was applying for has been raised to such an extortionate price that it's no longer really an option for me. So that was a bit of a horrible surprise! (I will now apply for a different type of visa, but it'll probably be some time before I get it.)
After the stress of the morning, doing some sightseeing was the perfect way to take my mind off things. Firstly, I walked through St James's Park like I had done on my previous visit. From there, you can see great views of Buckingham Palace and the London Eye on opposite sides of the lake. The park also has pretty flowers and lots of cute ducks, geese and swans. I even saw a heron!
I walked over to Buckingham Palace, where the changing of the guard was taking place. I have to say, as far as palaces go, it's not the most interesting. The royal palace in Madrid is definitely more beautiful. But maybe I'm biased because I'm fed up of the Windsor family and the way they're treated as superior to everyone else!
On my way to Trafalgar square, I passed a long line of trailers with the words "Movie Makers" on the side and character names attached to the doors! I'm very curious to know what they were filming!
Then a long line of men on horseback came past on their way to the palace, dressed like soldiers from the past. Fun to see, but a little bit silly, in my opinion. Maybe because I don't see the point of still having a "royal" family in the 21st century, when we are supposed to be equal regardless of our background...
Next I went past Admiralty Arch and entered Trafalgar Square, which is always such an impressive sight to see. I couldn't resist taking a photo of one of the iconic London buses!
I then visited St Martin-in-the-Fields, a place that my mum had told me about. It's a church that does a lot of work to help the homeless. In addition to the church part of the building, there's also a restaurant and a big gift shop. I'm not exactly religious, but I found it an interesting place to visit. When I went in, there were two opera singers rehearsing a song, which was nice to listen to.
Next I walked through Leicester Square and passed lots of theatres, which was pretty exciting, speaking as a former theatre kid and someone who still loves musicals. Then I explored Chinatown, which I'd never been to before. I found it such a fascinating place. Even the names of shops like HSBC and Betfred are written in Chinese!
When I came out of Chinatown, I found this Danish café called Ole & Steen, where I had a vegan "cheese" toastie! One of the things I love about London is how there are so many cultures from different parts of the world all in one city. It's so different to where I live!
In the time I had left, I looked at some shops, including a Harry Potter shop! My favourite shop that I visited was the bookshop Foyles, which is an amazing place. It's five floors high and has a huge foreign language section. I had a short browse there before I had to go back to Paddington to catch my train. To be honest, I didn't want to go home! I love being in London and think it would be a great place to live.
A few days later, I was in another famous English city, Oxford, with my family. That was probably the last bit of sightseeing I'll do for quite a while, so I definitely appreciated it. We saw several attractions, including the castle, and I'll be writing about it all next.
Read about London: Part One here!
Read about me and Claudio's trip to London here!
Read about London: Part Four here!
Read about London: Part Five here!
Read about London: Part Six here!
Read about London: Part Seven here!
Read about London: Part Eight here!
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