The Epic Eurotrip--Chapter 3: The Other Side (London--Misc.)

This is going to be the last post of London as everyone should get tired of it already (if you're tired of my posts, you can stop reading, but I'll be sad.....or will I......)

The same afternoon after visiting Westminster Abbey, we went to Piccadilly Circus, a main plaza where local people meet (one of those "let's meet at _____" place.) There were a lot of people, mainly just sitting around waiting for people or shopping around. There are many interesting shops around here, and there are, of course, bunch of name brands (H&M, Hollister, etc. H&M is HUGE in Europe for some odd reason, and it's always super expensive. Beyonce is their main model at the moment.) We got to spend around 2 hours (including lunch.......at a Chinese restaurant. I'll rant about Chinese restaurants later, so you don't see too much of this.)

Piccadilly Circus and the famous statue,
Eros, the Angel of Charity.

Apparently this plaza (or circle) is known for the neon signs (according to Wikipedia, your best friend when you need random information.) Since we went there in day time, we did not get to see the lights being lit up. Still, it's quite a scene to see what local people do. There's a Chinatown (more like a block of Chinese stores and restaurants) near the circus. Along this trip, we see many "Chinatown's," and they are always near the busiest or crowded location of a city. These Chinese really know how to choose locations.

The London Chinatown

The Chinese food.......is crappy, and I thought bay area Chinese food is not authentic. Well, at least bay area food tastes okay. The European Chinese food is always either too salty or poorly made. It's like they are saying "eat it or leave. We don't care. We are the only place selling Chinese food around here." Many of our group members went ahead and bought Chinese pastries for dinner (since dinner is not covered.) I skipped that (DUH!) and went around taking pictures.

There is actually another plaza that's very close to Piccadilly Circus. It's called Leicester Square. More stores and more people are here. I really like how all these famous places are pretty much linked together. It makes touring very easy (you just have to walk a lot, that's all.) Like I said before, London is really tourist-friendly as they have a map at almost every single crossroad. It even shows you how far you can walk in 5 minutes and 15 minutes. This additional features wins me over. Trafalgar Square is around this area, too, but I don't get to see it as I ran out of time. I only took some photos when I was on the bus on the way to Buckingham Palace (yes, the posts are slightly out of chronological order. Nonetheless, everything is still on the same day so far.)

A view of Leicester Square......I think. I hope I didn't get
it wrong......

The other day I was watching Fast and Furious 6 with my friend. (Spoiler alert for Fast 6! Skip this paragraph if you don't want to know anything about this movie.) When Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez were racing on streets of London, it was showing all the famous places or tourist attractions around London, and I was like "OMG I was here! OMG I was here, too!" every time they pass something I recognize, I got excited. They even drove on the very street that i almost got lost on (yea, with the maps I described earlier, I still managed to get lost. I could easy get lost if the maps were there though. That's for sure.) It was a nice experience when you recognize places in a foreign city in a movie. Now I guess I have to go to Australia so that I can tell everyone I know this place in the future when we watch LotR.

MI6. Not a nice view, but good enough to see it i guess.

Besides these places, we also drove along River Thames and got a beautiful view of the city. Oh, and we passed by this place. Recognize it? Well, if you don't, you should still know this guy. Not the actor, but the character. Yep! That's the place! MI6! I normally wouldn't get excited to visit a place that's in a movie, but I guess Bond movies are the exceptions. (I once visited the place where they filmed Secret, by Jay Chou, and I didn't feel anything. Then again, this is Bond vs. Jay Chou.......Bond wins for sure.)

We also passed by the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel built in year 2000. It was raining at the time, so I didn't really take good photos. :(

Oh, did you know that most of the museums in London are free? Well I didn't know at least. Apparently this guy, Prince....Albert? Too many names......Anyway. Let's just say Prince Albert is the guy. He made tons of money for the Expo in.......1851? So he's like "well, as a gentleman in England, I will do something nioce aboot ze monay. I will make all museums free!" and he did, to help those poor kids and give them a chance to learn. We should make a Good Guy Albert meme for him.

Okay, this post should end as I run out of things to talk about London. There IS one more picture I want you guys to see though. See if you can recognize this place.

You might have to enlarge it to see the name.