Downtown London

Western University, where I'm currently studying, is located in a small city called London a couple of hours from Toronto. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Flo and I decided to go on a little adventure around the area and make the most of the weather as the temperature was still around 30 degrees, even at the end of September. 

Although relatively small, we discovered some lovely little nooks and crannies. Very photogenic as well...

We chose the perfect day to venture into downtown as there was a food festival in Victoria Park. We got to try some new Canadian specialties, as well as some dishes from places closer to home. 

I opted for the paella, which was light and deliciously fragranced. 

Flo went for the flame-grilled ribs, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy them...

There was also live music to accompany the food, although the rock and heavy metal wasn't particularly to our tastes.  

Canadians seem to love this genre, but let me not forget the trap music. If you're ever lucky enough to venture into a residence of Western, I'm almost 100% certain that you will hear someone playing it on every floor. You get used to it though, it's kind of unescapable.

After satisfying our hunger (which, for us, is quite a regular occurrence), we wandered further into London and took some pictures of the buildings as we passed.

The city offers an interesting mix of old and new, with aged stone buildings juxtaposed against the striking, glass covered towers. 

We stumbled upon Cousin Vinny's, a pizza place and deli, which has been recommended by many locals. 
Although too full to eat, we did have a lovely chat with the owner who happened to have lived in London, England (the real London) for several years, and promised to return another day.

We much appreciated the aesthetic though, even if we can't offer an opinion on the pizza.

^ In love with the pastel colours and visuals of these buildings. 

London has a few gems to offer when it comes to street art. We discovered this giant underwater scene with beautiful coral shades complemented by a deep blue background.

And couldn't resist getting a few snaps in front of it. Instagram is important, am I right? 

As the sun began to set, we wandered through the back streets towards the centre of downtown, finding more street art as well as some particularly pretty buildings.

^ This is Victoria Park, a lovely spot to sit and relax on a warm day.
Not so sure what it will be like when Winter strikes, however.

Having heard a lot about beavertails since arriving in Canada, we thought we'd try one and see what the fuss was all about. 
The beavertail van at the food festival had a variety of topping flavour options, including the classic cinnamon sugar and reese's peanut butter.

We went for the chocolate hazelnut spread option, to help curb our major Nutella cravings that we've had since leaving England.

As you can see from our faces, we were quite chuffed with our beavertail. It's pretty much a type of fried dough that's crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. 
Kind of like a churro but a different shape, and in my opinion, better.

We called it a day once we'd appeased our sugar cravings, and walked to the bus stop with a beautiful sunset to admire.
I've got lots of posts coming up from my reading week, which I've just spent in Toronto and New York! So lots more exciting adventures.