Highlights of My 4 months in London

To celebrate the fact that I can now upload 20 photos per Instagram post, I’m sharing the highlights of my 4 months in London. 

There are definitely more memorable highlights than these selected 20 photos. But for now, I’ll settle with these and will upload more in due time. 

I finally get to visit Old Trafford. Although it was not planned, we managed to get the train tickets from Liverpool to Manchester after the strike ended for that weekend.

For the many years I’ve been married, I opted out of English football because as most of you here know, my husband is a die-die fan of the arch nemesis, Liverpool. 

The beautiful sunset over Victoria was caught over the Lunar New Year. That was the best sunset we experienced in London over the 4 months. 

Wan & I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary early that morning having breakfast supposedly overlooking London from the Sky Garden. But it was a typical gloomy day. So we walked around like the tourist we were, and took a photo with the Tower Bridge in the background. 

When we saw social media updates on the cherry blossoms in London, we took the opportunity to find the row of them in Battersea Park – which was the nearest to us. This photo was taken by a kind stranger. 

One of the mornings where my sister got us up for a walk, this time around Battersea Park by the River Thames. 

We balloted for tickets to attend iftar at Windsor Castle. What an experience to have. I was in awe throughout the tour. 

And of course, our memorable Syawal in London had to be documented, early in the morning across River Thames.

We spent 5 days in Paris. Bestie was in Paris for her Masters then, and she spent most of our days there together. 

My sister planned for this Giverny trip to visit Monet’s Garden. It’s such a surreal experience having to see the garden in his famous paintings in person. 

I was in awe of the Paris Grand Masjid that I requested for us to visit the masjid once more before we left Paris. There’s a beautiful floral garden in the middle of the masjid. And in another corner, they have a restaurant. Such a functional masjid!

London Central Masjid, after Friday prayers. It was my first Friday prayers ever in my life. It felt familiar though. Seeing sisters of multiple races with so many different languages spoken was comfortingly reminding me of Madinah & Mekkah.

Royal Albert Hall – this was the night of Letters Live. We were seated behind the stage and had a really good view of Benedict Cumberbatch!

Royal Albert Hall – we went for an orchestra night this time seated in the middle farthest from the stage. Thankfully I bought the binoculars from the gift shop. It was the best buy ever!

Greenwich Painted Hall – it was an all-jaw-dropping visit. The massive paintings across the halls make me wonder how did the people of the yesteryears achieved that!

Seven Sisters White Cliff at the Birling Gap. If I could choose 1 highlight of my 4 months stay in London, THIS is it. I’m so glad my sister planned for this hike to happen. There’s something about nature which heals your body and soul, inside out. 

Victoria & Albert Museum – my best highlight of visiting V&A was of course having to witness a pianist playing a beautiful number or two. 

Word On The Water – the bookstore that’s inside of a boat. Quirky and unique all at once. We managed to score a beautiful book here.

Anfield, Liverpool – While it was Wan’s lifelong dream to visit Anfield, I was overwhelmed with emotions that I get to witness him going through the motion of finally being there. 

Chelsea Football Club Stadium – this was just one of 4 other football stadiums we got to visit within London. Chelsea was the nearest to a train station and easiest for us to get to. 

We signed up for RideLondon and finally get to cycle around London for a morning.