We can all agree that London is an iconic city. It's home to the Queen, Buckingham Palace, the Big Ben, and many other British culture. Coming from a family of five, native to the tropical bliss that is Indonesia, I'd never imagined visiting other countries, let alone visit London.

How did I get so lucky? Well, it started off here, in Indonesia. My family had lived in the UK before, but only for about two years. My parents had just gotten second scholarships and from 2009 until 2014, we lived in Newcastle upon Tyne.

I'd been to London about four times during the four years I'd spent in the UK. All four visits were fantastic. But the last visit (2013) was magical. Although it was only a one week visit, it felt like we'd lived there all our lives. I guess that's just the power this city has. It draws you in like a magnet field. We all knew that this was the last time we would step foot in London for a long time, and that when we get on the train heading back to Newcastle, we would have to finally say goodbye. However, that didn't bring us down and we still had the time of our lives.

Now, I don't really remember the full story of this visit because it was 3 years ago, but this is roughly how it went...

We stayed at a beautiful house in central London. It wasn't huge, but it was cozy. The first night there, we spent our time playing with a black and white cat. It was a relaxing evening, A chance for us to gain our energies back for the busy day that lay before us.

After breakfast, the next morning, we got ready for a busy day of sightseeing and food tasting. Of course, our first destination was River Thames. We'd been there three times before but this fourth time was probably the best. First, we walked around for a little bit. Then, we took a ferry to Greenwich (a beautiful little town just beyond the River Thames). Even the ferries here are elegant. While we waited for the ferry, we sipped on thick hot chocolate and snacked on popcorn in various flavors. The experience we had in Greenwich was amazing. Back in River Thames, we couldn't stop talking about how beautiful Greenwich was.

After that, we stood by the edge of the river and waited for the Tower Bridge to rise. The Tower Bridge rose (opened up) when a big ship passed underneath it.




Because it was a cloudy day, we decided not to go on the London Eye. So, we went the next day. The view from up there was stunning. I can still remember the look on my mum's face when she looked down and realized just how high up we were. We could see the whole city from up there. On the streets, people looked like little ants wandering around carelessly. As a young kid, I used to love climbing trees because I could see more from up high. This was better than tree-climbing.




The day after that we took a stroll around the park near Buckingham Palace. We ate snacks under big trees. After, we stood in front of the palace and watched as the Queen puled up in a shiny black car, big horses escorting her.




Sometime during that visit, I can't really remember on which day, we went to Wembley Stadium. My brother and both my parents were freaking out.




That's all I can remember about this visit. We visited more stadiums, more museums (including the Sherlock Homes museum), more famous landmarks (including the Big Ben), and bought a whole load of souvenirs, seeing as this was our last time in London.

Someday, I'd like to be able come back to the UK and and take my own kids with me. When they see how amazing London is, I'm sure they'll fall in love with it, just like me, just like everyone who has visited. London is a city destined to be loved by many.