A DIFFERENT SIDE OF THE SAME CITY II

I have already talked about the new places I explored and all of the great food I ate and coffee that I enjoyed, but this shorter post focuses specifically on some of the moments that made my trip to London special.

I was expecting London to feel very familiar, considering I had spent a lot of time there already, but somehow I managed to get lost in the city on my first day trip. Even though I had gone to the British Museum several times during the semester I spent there, I still spent about 30 minutes following signs around trying to find it! I had planned to visit all of the museums again, but after going to the British Museum I abandoned the idea. The museum was just crowded and was overwhelming. I wanted to be more of a tourist this time around, but I was not enjoying the touristy spots!

In order to avoid the flocks of tourists when walking around London's most popular tourist spots, like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, I planned my walk for early Saturday morning. And by early, I mean I was out the door before 6:30 AM. Despite feeling sleepy, the empty sidewalks and streets were a sight for crowd-sore eyes. Even if you do not mind crowds, I recommend exploring early in the mornings when there are less people around just because your pictures will be so much better. It is nice to be able to snap the perfect picture without stopping abruptly and annoying the people around you, or without having a bunch of random people in the way.

Big Ben, London. 2015

This is also a good tip for capturing the amazing street art in East London, especially if you want to avoid the scathingly judgmental looks from hipsters who are lucky enough to see it all the time.

Girl with balloons, James Cochran (Jimmy C)

The experience taking the picture was a lot more relaxing than my experience trying to capture Neal's Yard in the middle of the day. 

Sang Bleu Studio, London 2015

Apart from being tourist extraordinaire, I decided to make my trip to London more special by getting a tattoo. This is actually something I wanted to do before I left the first time I was in London, as a kind of way to honor how special the semester abroad had been for me. Two years ago, I wanted to get a small minimalist swan that would pay tribute to my experience of reentering the dance scene, which contributed the most to restoring my well-being while I was abroad.. However, I decided against it because I did not have much money left.

This time around I wanted to get the tattoo that I could not get the first time around, and so I started contacting artists that I liked. I collected a list of artists I really liked by looking at portfolios on social media websites. Then I looked up reviews about their shops to make sure I was not going to walk into a dingy, unsanitary lair. Surprisingly, I heard back for a booking from one of my favorite artists and sent my deposit the second it was requested.

Instead of my swan idea, I decided to get a tattoo that I have always wanted to get. Equipped with a couple of pictures of blossoms and some scientific drawings of flowers, I walked into Sang Bleu's studio on Dalston Lane, which was blasting 90's rap and looked more to me like a art studio/gallery. Luckily, I made it to the studio before the artist because I was running late!

Mimi arrived shortly after I did, and after a short chat he took my reference pictures and got started drawing. The size took me by surprise, even though I wanted a large tattoo. Once I saw the stencil on my body all I could think of was how much I would regret sizing down. After some adjustments I braced myself for my first tattoo.

I will just be upfront about this now. I was a little B-I-T-of-a-wimp 75% of the time I was on the table. The first ten minutes, I thought to myself, "Nah this is nothing." Considering I had gotten a Brazilian wax the week before, this was true for that first half hour. I also got tattooed in one of my ticklish spots of my body, my stomach, so I was simultaneously in pain and also trying not to squirm. Bless your soul, Mimi, I am so sorry. It went by fairly quickly, but next time I get tattooed I will likely bring a friend along to pass the time easier!

In love, and looking forward to adding more.

Well, that concludes my trip to London! I know I am posting this more than a month after my trip. I am going to work on being more consistent with this blog!