One Week!

I've been very busy in the past week or so with school winding down, finals coming up, working on scholarships for South Africa, starting a new job at a travel company and...prepping for London! One week from today I leave for my favorite city! I haven't been back since 2012 so a visit is way overdue. I can't wait to see old & new friends, my school and housing and to be able to come back and share my adventure of a week in London with you all!

So I've been getting all of the essentials for a trip abroad ready to pack. I recently got a new camera and am so excited to use it to document my trip! I don't think it will hit me until I get to the airport next week that I'm going back to London...

So this time next week I'll be on a plane bound for Iceland (sadly just a short layover) then off to London! Wish me luck and send positive travel vibes my way! xx

Around the neighborhood: Victoria and Westminster

Victoria is a small district located in the borough of Westminster in central London, appropriately named after Queen Victoria. In addition, it will also be my future neighborhood whilst I am in London for the year.

Here is a look at some well known spots around my future neighborhood of Victoria, and the borough of Westminster (shown above):


Big Ben

Big Ben: arguably the most recognized symbol of London out there. Big Ben isn't actually the clock itself, like most think. It's actually the bell inside the clock that chimes on the hour that it refers to. Once I reach the end of my street, I take a right and walk straight on for about 15 minutes to reach Big Ben. Totally okay with it.

Buckingham Palace

Another well recognized monument of London, Buckingham Palace: the home of the Royals. This is the closest monument to my building, and my point of reference when I tell people what part of London I'll be residing in. I tell them I'll be living less than a mile from the palace, and even if they do not know London very well, they know generally the area I'll be in.

Westminster Abbey

Along with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey is another must see tourist attraction for those coming to London. The Abbey is most known for the famous royal weddings held here over the years, as well as royal funerals. It's going to be so strange living so close to here...maybe I'll be able to hear the bells  from my building...

Victoria Station

Victoria Station is the main train/underground hub for Westminster. From this station you can get to Gatwick Airport and to Brighton, plus many other places in-between. I predict many a trip across Europe will start here, with me taking the train to Gatwick to hop a flight on Ryan Air or EasyJet to many of the countries available to me.


St. James's Park

St. James park is one of London's famous parks that finds itself running alongside the mall and Buckingham Palace. This is the closest park or green space to where I'll be living and I'm hoping to make this park a part of my routine while I am in London.

As you can see, I'll be living extremely centrally. I've wanted to live in London for so long. I had passed up other opportunities to live outside of London because it wasn't London itself. I knew what I wanted, and didn't want to settle. It was central London or nothing. If I was moving to London, I want to live IN London. While 'central London' can mean lots of different neighborhoods, I feel like where I'll be it's hard to get more central than that. I think even after day 365 of this journey, I'll still be pinching myself that I live in such a good location. I truly could have never dreamed I'd be living in Victoria or Westminster and I cannot wait to call it my neighborhood, my home.

Victoria Station image via Wikipedia.
Buckingham Palace image here.
Other photos by me.