Greetings from London!

Me dancing and chanting around Soho with monks

Almost three weeks into my trip and I finally have some time to update my blog! For those of you who have been patiently waiting for an update "I'm Sorry!" I've just been having far too much fun and I haven't been doing a great job at taking pictures... But here are some of my favorite images of London!

On my first day, I managed to wake up (relatively) early, jumped on the tube and made it to Portobello Market. If you're ever in London, do yourself a favor and visit this market. It's probably one of the best flea markets I've ever been to. Located in Notting Hill I was first attracted to this market because it happens to be the location of one of my favorite movies "Notting Hill" (with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts)... Anyway you can find everything from vintage, random, souvenir shops, classic British pubs, bakeries, cheap street food and live music venues all wrapped into one smart little street... In many ways I'm absolutely thankful that I overpacked because I know for a fact that I would have bought just about everything in site.

My host from Couchsurfing

Fish and chips... not for the faint of heart

Me and my couchsurfing host Alessandro!

Ceiling of a random pub in Soho

Camden Market

So crucial! Can't tell you how many times I almost got hit by a crazy drive

Getting ready for my 8 hour bus ride to Paris

London is an extraordinarily expensive city. And if you're traveling on a serious budget (like me!) this city can so easily cut right into it. But I still managed to see and experience a lot of this beautiful city without going broke...

London on the cheap

1. Couch Surf: accommodations (even hostels) are not cheap! Before landing in London I decided to register with couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is a network that connects you with fellow travelers and locals who can host you for a few nights... I lucked out, I had the most most amazing person host me for 4 nights. I ended up only having to pay for 1 out of the 5 nights I was in London.

2. Do yourself a favor and over pack: Actually I'm not kidding! There are so many cute little shops in London that fighting the temptation to go shopping is almost impossible. Mind you there are some relatively affordable shops like Primark, River Island and H&M (it's so much better there than it is in the U.S.) but the pound against the U.S. dollor? I don't think so. The fact that I over packed and I literally had no room in my luggage for anything helped me stay on top of my budge.

3. Don't eat: I know this is a little extreme, don't get me wrong there is definitely a long list of super cheap places to eat in London but honestly I was a bit under whelmed with English cuisine. The thought of spending $ on food in London felt like a bit of a waste (I know I'm a bit of a food snob, but coming from San Francisco how can I not be?). But also I was extremely lucky to have been in London during a heat wave! When it's scorching hot in a city like London forget about having an appetite! I consistenly lived on beer, ice cream/popsicles, and the granola bars I packed in my luggage... But I will recommend trying the fish and chips, I probably won't ever eat it again but it was good to try it.

4. Free Fun Places to See: British Museum (check out the Ancient Egyptian exhibit... brilliant!), Hype Park, Green Park, Portebello Market, Camden Town... and a lot of the main tourist attractions (like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben...)

5. DON'T FORGET YOUR BLOODY FREAKING FLOSS!!!: If you're anything like me then you're one of those people who is obsessed with flossing. If you happen to forget your floss at home expect to pay almost $10 on floss. Out of pure and sheer desperation I had to buy floss in London, only to have it stolen by pickpocketer (because I put it in my jacket pocket, not my purse) I was not trying to spend another $10 on floss... I don't even spend $20 a year on floss!

* currently in Madrid... will post update on my stay in Paris by tomorrow!