The intercultural life in London
One of the first places I traveled to after Hungary is the UK, London. It was where I usually reunited with my family during the summer holidays.
We almost always stayed at the Hilton Metropole Hotel because of its excellent staff and rooms. It also helped that it was located near Oxford Street (which I consider the city center of West London).
Because London is so big and busy, one of the first things I think any tourist should do is get familiar with the city. The big bus tour with hop-on, hop-off services is very popular there so you get all the historical information and see major stores (which I suppose is usually the main purpose of visit), like Harrods. Me and my siblings also took a boat tour down the Thames river, saw the Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham's Palace and the London Eye, to name a few. There are a few historical sites and stories pertaining to London's involvement with other countries, more specifically, France.
Now, if you're a big Harry Potter fan, like my younger brother and sister, you would also find Harry Potter walking tours or better yet, visit the Warner Bros studios for a more animated experience.
The good thing about London is that you can never be bored, (unless you want to be). A 360 degrees view of the city from the London's eye is also recommendable but be warned, you need to go early to avoid the long queue. As I recall, I had a combined ticket to the London Dungeon, the Coca-Cola London Eye, and another attraction I seem to have forgotten because it was the least memorable of the three.
If you do have time, you may even dare to venture outside of London to Thorpe Park, if such thrills excite you. Unfortunately, after extensive planning, we couldn't make it there as our stay came to end but hopefully the recession and economic instability in my beloved country, Nigeria would be over soon and I will return for my thrilling ride.
London is a very multiethnic city. This is either a good or a terrible thing depending on individual views. There are so many different types of restaurants like Lebanon and African and you will see a halal store practically every 500 m or so and a shisha bar on every corner in Edgware Road. The streets are busy and perhaps not the cleanest but they are definitely interesting. The probability of running into another Nigerian, Persian or even Colombian is perhaps the same as an English man and that's what keeps this city top notch.
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- Español: La vida intercultural en Londres
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