During my summer in Paris, I took a long weekend to visit a two friends in London. I arrived by high speed train at St Pancras International, a dramatic red brick building and a memorable first impression of the city. I dropped my bag at the apartment of a friend and went out to explore.

I met up with a friend from architecture school who was interning at Robert Adam Architecture, and we spent the day exploring. We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, which remains my favorite museum in London. From there, we made our way through the city: Borough Market, the London Eye, Millennium Bridge, and St Paul’s Cathedral.

The next day I saw the 30 St Mary Axe (the “Gherkin”), Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the iconic red telephone booths, and rode a double-decker bus through the city. I walked through Camden, and spent time on the Tube seeing other parts of the city. I was immediately aware London was not walkable the way other cities like Paris and Rome are, due to it’s larger size.

My last full day I met another friend to walk along the Regent’s canal lined with houseboats and ended up at a flower market.