by Kenneth Ulric “Yuan” Rance

London is a magnificent place; from the streets to the landmarks and to the people. Each place you go to is memorable and I believe that in every second you spend in London, you spend a second in the most mesmerizing place on Earth!

I live in the Philippines and from what I’ve seen, London is a place like no other. If I were to choose a place I could visit every summer, I would DEFINITELY choose London (and not like the US compared to other people). This place is my “heaven on Earth” and if I were to be lost in any place, I’d love to be lost here in London. Let me tell you why.

My family and I wanted to go to out of the country for our annual summer trip, and luckily, my parents were able to get us a trip to London after all their hard work. Now, maybe I already had a small bias for London because before my parents even told me about it, I had already wanted to visit this place. This was mostly due to my huge idolization of Benedict Cumberbatch and his role as Sherlock Holmes in the recently concluded TV show and Steven Moffat for his works in the hit TV show “Doctor Who.” These shows were my favorite for a long time because of the actors, the script, the story… EVERYTHING! They were both just magnificent; and, so when I heard my parents were bringing us to London, I was just in awe.

Starting in London

When we got to London, we rented an Airbnb and it was really worth it. In the apartment we rented, we could cook, do our laundry, and do things we would do in a regular home. The cooking part was really interesting and the most convenient though because since we were in Europe, we couldn’t really find Filipino food and the type of food was really limited. I’m not really a fan of European food because they taste bland to me (except lamb; I love lamb!), so what my dad though of was that he cooks our meals instead! So whenever we felt like eating Filipino food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, he would cook us something delightful to eat. At one point, he cooked us Sinigang na baboy. It was quite unusual because the ingredients made it taste different, but it was close enough!

Another advantage of our apartment was the fact that it felt like our own home. We could leave anytime of the day; we had no concretely planned tours; and, we could move at our own pace meaning we could do whatever we want, whenever wanted. We would sometimes just walk around London and get lost in the atmosphere, the clean air, the cold breeze, the polite people with their stunning accent. My favorite part was when I would be familiar to a place because I would see it a lot in the TV shows I watch.

Plays

One of the most dazzling places, I would say, are the theater houses and its shows. They truly are just magnificent. My family and I couldn’t decide on which shows to watch so we decided to split into two groups, and we’d both watch one show each. Group 1, with my mom, dad and two younger brothers, decided to watch Thriller – a Michael Jackson inspired theatrical music show… and they said they loved it; all the way down from the script, acting, songs and music. They were all just great they said. In the other hand, my older brother and I watched the famous Les Miserables, and it was fantastic! The music and everything with all the elements just blended and combined to make one jampacked show. It’s a bit too hard to explain and all I can really say is that: before you move on to the after life, you HAVE TO watch Les Miserables.

So much more…

London at night is beautiful. All the city lights and cars and yet, not much pollution. It’s just so different from where my family and I live. It’s lively and yet peaceful; calming and yet full of life.

My family and I mostly just walked around, and went shopping. To enjoy London, I honestly don’t think you need a concrete plan. All you have to know are which places to go to and to make sure that you’ll have enough time for all of them. London was one of the first times my family and I didn’t go to a country with no theme park, but in spite of that, my whole family including my little family enjoyed the whole thing.

London is really really really beautiful. My plan in the future is that WHEN I have enough money, I would take my loved ones with me to London for a week or two just to be able to watch a different play a night. I think that the biggest impact London has given me is enlightening me with the beauty of music, and for that, I am grateful.0