DIS Trip to England Part 1: London

I spent the past week in England with my European Sustainable Development class. We spent Sunday through Tuesday morning in London, and Tuesday afternoon to Friday in Devon (southern England). Following are some photos and highlights from my trip!

Sunday, March 3

1. Brunch at Del'Aziz, SW London
2. Four-hour Royal London Bike Tour!


Fresh vegetarian breakfast (scrambled eggs, spinach, baked beans, mushroom, and tomato). Beautiful pastries in the window.

Queen Victoria in Kensington Garden, Kensington Palace, Mr. Wellington, Wellington Arch, Peace Descending on the Quadriga of War (statue on top of Wellington Arch), and bikers!

The Quadriga on Wellington Arch

Me at Buckingham Palace on a very sunny Sunday!

The Queen Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace



I didn't get to see the changing of the guard, but we can pretend I did.

Sleepy guard?

Me biking around London

A very busy and touristy Trafalgar Square.

Touristy and cliché, I know, but I had to make some phone calls! ;-)

Westminster Abbey!

Old Big Ben

Riding through the park. Such a beautiful day!

Princess Diana Memorial

Prince Albert Memorial (under renovation)

 3. Dinner at Bumpkin

"BRITISH FOOD IS AT THE HEART of everything we do at Bumpkin - we work closely with the farmers who supply our ingredients to make sure they're ethically sourced, sustainable and, most importantly, are the best we can find.  All our kitchens are open-planned so you can watch the chefs working with this great produce to make everything on the menu from scratch."

Monday, March 4

 

1. The National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square

 

Saw the new Kate Middleton portrait by Paul Emsley. Far left by David Hockney, and center of Anna Wintour by Alex Katz

2. Visit to the Carbon Disclosure Project office, an NGO that provides a reporting system for businesses and cities so that they can decrease and disclose their carbon emissions, especially within business supply chains, for investor reference.

 

3. Visit to the London School of Economics and lecture with Fatma van Hattum, a representative from FairFood International: "Advocating and Campaigning for Change in the Food System." Learned about critical steps in the campaigning and advocacy cycle, as well as insight into Fairfood's initiatives in environmental and social advocacy in the Moroccan tomato sector.

 

4. Evening with Amanda Quigley!! So wonderful to see a familiar face! We went to Harrods, Wagamama's Noodle Bar for dinner, took a long walk around Piccadilly Circus, window shopped on Oxford Street, navigated the crowded tubes, and finally got to catch up after about 9 months of not seeing each other! =D

Exploring and getting lost in Harrods! Such an amazing place! We came across the room displaying Cinderella's slippers, and we couldn't resist being princesses for a minute =)

5. Managed to not get lost on the tube on the way back to the hotel!

 

Tuesday, March 5: Last day in London and travel to Devon



 

1. Notting Hill



George Orwell's prior residence on Portobello Road.

2. Paddington Station

Yes, I did in fact visit the Paddington Bear Store!

Busy Paddington Station before we headed out to southern England!