Hello London: Day 13- London
By the time we arrived and checked-in at YHA yesterday, it was already 12 midnight. ZE woke up around 9am on Day 13, and was still tired.
As for me, I woke up earlier, when our South Korean roomie was getting ready to go out. She apologized for waking me up, explaining that she had to join a tour; the early morning. So polite and considerate, I like it. ZE commented that Koreans are polite, whereas Japanese are neat.
We both got a refundable Oyster card £5.00, and additional £15.00 credits. I only managed to activate ‘Young Visitor Discount‘ for ZE at Notting Hill station, which gave her 50% discount on her fare.
We decided to go to Portobello Market, at Notting Hill. It was super crowded, as we went there on Saturday, which was the main day. It was too crowded and difficult to walk. Not exactly my favorite market. If you go there, I would suggest an early morning outing.
We tried nutella and banana crepe £4.00, recommended by a blogger. Too much ooh and aah over an ordinary crepe, I thought. It was just okay.
We bought a loaf of bread and some fresh fruits and veges from Portobello Market. There are street foods option near those vegetable stalls.
After that, we went back to hostel. ZE was visibily tired, and I advised her to rest and have a short nap. We have booked a 7.30pm ballet performance, and will end around 10.30pm.
On the way back from Portobello Market, there was a delay on the tube. I sort of expected that we will run into difficulties later on, for our ballet show.
She did as was told, whilst I spent time on internet and also cooking dinner at our hostel’s kitchen.
London was always a rush. I think the three hours delay coming in, had snowball, and ZE’s energy was all-time low.
We were running a bit behind schedule, and tube still had problem in the evening. We ended up with taxi £9.00, from Oxford Street to Royal Opera House.
We booked Romeo & Juliet, a ballet performance, as ZE loves ballet. We paid £69.00 for balcony seat. We collected our tickets booked via online earlier. Credit card used for booking was shown to verify booking / identity.
As we still had a bit of time, we walked to check on Shaun the Sheep exhibition at Covent Garden.
ZE had a helluva time. The show was just okay for me, but I appreciate the grandness of Royal Opera House.
After the show, we thought that we can walk back to hostel, but we were a bit lost. Along the way, we went in to M&M’s massive store at Leicester Square. The music gave ZE a headache, so we left after checking out two floors.
We ended up taking tube back to hostel. Along the way, we came across a drunk man, so that spooked ZE. But we managed to get back to hostel without any untoward incident.
Good night, London.
