I feel like Americans have a weird infatuation with the United Kingdom. We mock their accents, we love television shows based on their culture and countless other references to British culture in everyday American life.

So, in April 2017, I went to experience the country for myself. First of all, no one says “Cheerio!” so don’t embarrass yourself. Secondly, the city is super cool. Similar to any major city, there are lots for neighborhoods that each have their own vibe. The people are friendly and helpful, some directions were confusing so this was great. The spring weather in London is just like the weather in the northeastern United States. Sunny and warm, with a slight breeze. It rained a little but it stopped and didn’t ruin our plans.

As with all my best adventures, I was traveling with my old sister Stephanie. We started off at the Natural History Museum. They have a bag check and it’s free. If you need a place to go before you check into your hotel/Airbnb come here first. There are so many different exhibits you can easily spend 3 to 4 hours in there. However, if you go through quickly you’ll be done in an hour and a half.

Next, we went to Patisserie Valerie for breakfast. They have one of these restaurants on every corner in London. They serve a traditional English breakfast and that is what I wanted to try. The eggs and sausage link tasted good, everything else needed seasoning. In London, they also have this interesting condiment called HP sauce. If you get a chance to taste it, go for it. For dinner that night we ate at Number 65 and King restaurant. The food was okay but the atmosphere was cool.

Traditional breakfast at Patisserie Valerie

The next morning, we woke up early to see the changing of the guard. It gets very crowded quickly so you want to get there early if you can. There is nowhere to sit so that’s another thing to be mindful of. The actual ceremony takes 10 minutes and will be over before you know it. If you’re not into pageantry or history then you may think this is a total waste of time.

We got around London by taking London Underground (the subway), Ubers, and Big Bus. I’m glad we paid the take the hop on-hop off bus because we got so much more than just a ride. London’s different communities all have some connection to the royal family. The recording on the Big Bus gave us so much knowledge about which Duke started which community and how the communities have changed over the years. This is really the only way to get this kind of insight is from a tour.

The Underground is one of the cleanest subways you’ll ever ride. There are no performers on the trains and trains come every 2 to 5 minutes. If you’re from New York it’s like a dream come true. Another difference is that they charge by distance. The best way to figure all this out is to pre-plan where you are going. If you’re going to do a lot of traveling in one day then you may want to consider getting a day pass. The must visit train stations are King Cross station and Paddington station. In Paddington Station, there is a huge gold statue of Paddington the bear and a store featuring all types of Paddington bear paraphernalia. King Cross station is home of platform 9 and 3/4 and the official Harry Potter store.

I love shopping so I had to go to Oxford Street and Harrods. Harrods was less about shopping and more about an experience. There are so many floors and each one is handsomely decorated. Even the ceilings have intricate tile patterns that will blow your mind. You have to visit Harrods. Most of my shopping happened on Oxford Street. I was introduced to Primark which is top 5, one of the best stores on earth. They have a lot of different fast fashion stores with unique items that you won’t find in the states. Technically the prices are bad, however, since the dollar is weaker than the euro you probably won’t really be getting a deal. Once you’re done shopping go to Carnaby Street to find lots of interesting places to eat.

The bejeweled ceiling on one of the many floors of Harrods

At the end of your day in London, ride the London Eye at dusk. If you buy a Big Bus ticket you can get a discount on the London Eye. Without a discount, the tickets are around $40. It’s the best view possible in London. While on the ride you can get the perfect picture of Big Ben, Parliament, and many bridges. The whole city looks so beautiful from up that high. The ride is an hour long so use the bathroom before you even get in line.

One of the amazing photos I took while riding the London Eye

For high tea, we enjoyed Fortnum and Mason. It’s a fancy candy store/restaurant that has a modern twist on classic high tea. The desserts are also really good, so get a slice of cake too.

Now for the trap party. One evening we meet up with some of my sister's friends and went to a party that was going to be featuring hip-hop of the trap music variety. The party was hosted by promoters under the name Supa Dupa Fly. The party was so much fun. Although the played some American rap, the highlight of the night was when the dj started playing the unique brand of British hip-hop that I never heard before. The vibe of the party was great. Even though the club was far from the tourist districts I felt safe.

The best dessert of my whole trip. Cake at Fortnum and Mason.

In addition to London, I also visited Windsor, Bath, Laccock, and Stonehedge. They have many day trips that will take you to these destinations and it’s totally worth the money. Driving through the countryside was beautiful and I got some pretty cool pictures. Our first stop was Windsor. The town is very small and Windsor Castle takes up most of it. Touring the castle was cool to see all the historical artifacts. The Queen was there on vacation when I visited but we didn’t get to see her.

Bath is half roman classic architecture and half old-time town. Some of the streets are blocked off from cars so you can freely walk around. The Roman Baths are the most popular tourist attraction but we decided to skip them. Instead, we went to the shops and walked around. In Laccock I had some of the best Fish and chips in all of the United Kingdom at a restaurant called The George Inn. This little town has different kinds of historic significance, including that they filmed one of the homes in town as Harry Potter’s home in the movies.

Stonehenge is a must see. This wonder of the world is absolutely breathtaking in real life. To think that with no modern tools people were able to build these structures. The learning center provides so much information and you’ll leave feeling so knowledgeable.