I had my visa interview at the Chilean consulate in
London this week, meaning that I had the chance to do my first little bit of travelling of 2022! It was great to have a change of scenery for a day, and it's also nice to get to blog about an actual trip for the first time in over two months. For various reasons, I've barely been on any trips at all, even locally, since August last year, and I've really missed being able to explore new places. Fortunately, this situation is now beginning to change!
When I arrived in London on Thursday morning, first I had to make my way over to the consulate, which is located next to St James's Park and Westminster Abbey. I arrived nearly half an hour early for my appointment, so I had a little walk around the area, which I know very well by now, having been there several times since 2018. As usual, I went to Parliament Square, and was happy to see that Big Ben is now returning to his former glory!
The visa interview took a long time and involved a lot of waiting, but in the end, everything was fine with my documents. Now my application has been passed on to the final stage, where it will be approved by an office over in Santiago. This should take two or three weeks, and after that I'll be back in London to collect my visa, and then I'll finally be off to
Chile around the beginning of February! It's hard to believe that it's actually going to happen after so many months of waiting, but I am so ready for it!
After the appointment, I had a few hours to enjoy some sightseeing before going home, and I decided to visit a part of the city I'd never been to before. During my recent trips to London, I've been discovering some of its lesser-known attractions, such as Holland Park and Little Venice, and during this trip, I chose to explore the Battersea area.
Battersea doesn't really feature on most tourists' lists of places to visit, and it hadn't been on mine either until around a year ago, when the Battersea Park Peace Pagoda was mentioned in a radio programme I was listening to. I thought it sounded like an interesting building to see, and so I decided to try to visit it at some point in the future, along with the subtropical garden that is also located in the park.
On my way to the park, I passed a couple of the area's famous landmarks, including the power station and the dogs and cats home. I was very tempted to go inside and find a new kitty, but I managed to resist!
The park was a very nice place to walk in, with various things to see, including a lake, a bandstand, and lots and lots of dogs! It was the first time I'd had a proper long walk in ages, and I really enjoyed the experience.
The subtropical garden was a place that made me feel a little bit like I was on holiday somewhere more exotic, despite the cold, English weather. I've always really liked palm trees, and there were certainly lots of them there!
The Peace Pagoda also gave me the feeling of being somewhere else, more specifically somewhere in
Asia. It's one of only 80 Peace Pagodas in the world, and features four intricate, golden statues of the Buddha. It's also one of the rare places I've visited that is actually much bigger in real life than it looks in photos, so I'm really glad I went to see it.
The pagoda is right next to the river, and from there you have some great views, including a view of a row of Dutch-style buildings on the opposite site, which are very reminiscent of
Amsterdam.
I walked a little further along to get a closer look at Albert Bridge, yet another place that reminded me of a different part of the world. It made me think instantly of Brooklyn Bridge in New York, and my boyfriend Claudio said the same thing when I showed him the photo later!
Eventually, it was time for me to make my way back through the park and onwards to the tube station. En route, I came across this group of three adorable squirrels, all of whom jumped up on to the fence to say hello to me. I love squirrels, and these three were especially cute!
The end of the day was a little dramatic, as tube delays meant I missed my train home, and had to spend nearly two hours in Paddington Station waiting for the next one I could catch. But overall, my day out had been a lot of fun, and a real escape from what has been quite a monotonous routine recently. I was a little sad when leaving, as I always am when leaving London.
But the good news is that I'll be going back again shortly! I hope to have a little longer there next time, and visit a couple more places that are new to me, as well as a few old favourites, if possible.
And of course, after that I'll be moving on to some bigger adventures! ✈
Read about London: Part One here!
Read about London: Part Two 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 Seven here!
Read about London: Part Eight here!
