Short and sweet - would be the perfect words to describe this trip to London. 

When we decided to come back to the UK for my graduation, Maryam would be 2 years older than when she left, so we felt we just had to bring her to see London. I had already thought about taking her to various museums, ducks and swan-feeding in Hyde Park, take her to see Big Ben and the Tower Bridge (especially because she's obsessed with Peppa Pig at the moment and taking her to London just seem like the right thing to do!)

To be honest, visiting London, during this 'Covid time' didn't seem much different that pre-Covid days.  This is because London, or England was one of the earliest countries to have moved into Covid-endemic phase - that being said, people were no longer required to wear masks  and there were no (or very minimal) restrictions whatsoever. Even if you are tested Covid-positive in the UK, you are no longer required to self-quarantine. So, it felt very 'normal' to be walking around London, and Oxford Street was as busy as ever. And BECAUSE of that, we also contracted Covid while we were there. Post on this coming up soon. 

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Natural History Museum

We had booked an accommodation very close to the Natural History Museum and Hyde Park, which made commuting to these places very easy. The museum however, were jammed packed with people. Anxious was the word that I would associate with this visit, and, we couldn't really enjoy the museum because there were too many people. 

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Tower Bridge

One of the things that I was excited about visiting the Tower Bridge was to see the Tower of London's Superbloom. The Tower's moat will be filled with vibrant and colorful field of flowers (20 million seeds are sown) by around June 2022 to celebrate and as a tribute to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. And what's more exciting is that the planting designer is none other than Professor Nigel Dunnett, one of my lecturers from the Dept. of Landscape, Univ. of Sheffield (so proud!) 

Trafalgar Square

We actually just walked by Trafalgar Square, and took some photos along the way. There was a demonstration at the square and we really didn't want to get into the crowd. 

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Hyde Park

We didn't spend much time in Hyde Park, mainly because it was FREEZING cold. We had to put Maryam in 2 layers of pants (at the park) because it was so so cold. Nonetheless, Maryam actually enjoyed it there (I mean, which kid does not enjoy Hyde Park, right?). We just took her to see the ducks and swans, and then off we went back to the street to get a nice warm cup of coffee - hence why there are not many pictures. haha. 

To be honest, I don't know when we will ever be back in London, and looking at these photos really warms my heart. So here I am, at 1:55am trying to make sure that I finish writing these posts that have been kept in my draft for quite some time. Hopefully, by looking back at these posts will keep our memories alive. Until next time London, hope to see you again...