It's starting to become a habit, beginning a post with an apology... In any case, yes, finally! The post that should have been up last weekend is here. Looking back I've been to London 4 times now...some places are so familiar now it sometimes feels like home.
I guess when people think of London it's typically icons like Princess Diana, the Queen, Paddington bear (?), Thomas the train, and really touristy things like Big Ben, Buckingham palace, London Bridge and maybe the London Eye that first come to mind. Well, there's Prince George, and also the shard now, to add to it...

Big Ben, what else?

These things, aside, there are plenty of attractions in London. Here's a short post on some of them: 


1. Visit a Museum.

Always busy near the National Gallery

Natural History Museum: a dino lover's dream come true

Artefacts from any time and date- you name it, at the BA. 

London is full of them. Art, Natural history, artefacts, fans, transport systems, drains, kinky objects, - there's no shortage of museums to keep you occupied. A couple of the standard must-gos include the Tate Modern for contemporary art, National Gallery for paintings, British Museum for artefacts and historical pieces and the Natural History Museum for archeology/history.

Alternatives/Personal favourites: London Transport Museum, which is very conveniently located at Covent Garden and has a lovely souvenir store, the quirky Wellcome collection (near Euston Square tube station) and the photographer's gallery, located just a brisk 2 minutes from mad oxford shopping street. If you have the right tuesday evening free, it's worth a visit to Sir john Soane's Museum for their evening candlelit opening as well.

2. Shop at a departmental store.

Harrods- Iconic, still.

All smiles outside Liberty.
In recent years, Harrod's, possibly London's most well-known high-end departmental store, seems to have lost much of it's charm that once attracted many. Locals now flock to other stores, but it still remains must-do for tourists to shop at Harrod's (at least by the number of tourists getting off at Knightsbridge station, it seems to be...)

Alternatives/Personal favourites: Visit the cheerful Selfridges, just 10 minutes from Marble Arch station, where you can shop for branded goods & skincare brands like Aesop or indulge yourself with some macaroons you still can't get in Singapore. There's also Liberty, compact but pretty, a stone's throw from Oxford tube, or  Fortnum & Masons,  where, you can get some tea, jam and a tin of their most lovely rose biscuits (trust me, it's worth the price)

3. Take a stroll in the park.

Hyde park in fall is a picture of serenity 

London's network of parks is amazing- Hyde park, St Jame's park, Regent's park, the list goes on... it's a paradise for picnic-ers and joggers. Loads of activities available for the sporty in you- pick up horse riding at Hyde park, rent boats at Battersea Park or play tennis at Clapham Common.

Alternatives/Personal favourites: Definitely the massive Hyde park, home to periodic art installations. If you have an entire morning, get off at Knightsbridge tube and shop at Harrods, then walk along Kensington Gorge across Hyde Park to enjoy the greenery and fresh air. Follow North carriage road and it'll take you all the way to Marble Arch, in the middle of the shopping madness.
Or maybe wake up early and make your way to Battersea park to watch a monk make his way to the Peace Pagoda, or do some deer-watching at Richmond park. It's definitely on my to-do list for my next trip.

4. Eat at a market.
must eat amazing cheese-thing at Borough market. 

 If you love eating snack food from stalls, and browsing through vintage finds, you're in luck- London is market heaven. Your weekends will never be the same- ostrich burgers from Borough market, amazing cupcakes from Portobello market; vintage finds from Brick lane market and affordable art and crafts from spitalfields market- the list is enough to keep you occupied for months.

Alternatives/Personal favourites: The indie-cool Brick Lane market is by far my favourite; It is the place to people watch; to see others and be seen. I don't even have any photos to prove it- I was so absorbed in the sights, sounds, stores and people I couldn't bring myself to photography anything. It is also home to the amazingly cheap and cheerful Brick Land beigel, a no-frills bakery that dishes out mean bagels.
I also have a soft spot for Portobello market, which is very near the lovely Hummingbird bakery and quirky museum of brands. Next on my to-do list is to jostle with office-workers during lunch hour at Leadenhall market, or more fondly known as the setting for 'Diagon Alley' in the first movie of the Harry Potter series.