Rich Nollen is one of the most respected healthcare business development professionals in the US and a global thinker, known for creating strategies that drive growth. As founder and CEO of Innovare HP, he specializes in demand capture and pipeline acceleration, helping healthcare brands forge meaningful connections and create lasting impact.
London. It’s not just a city; it’s an entity, an old, snarling beast that has been around longer than most and carries its scars with pride. Step onto its streets, and you feel the weight of history pressing down, mixing with the aroma of street food, exhaust fumes, and ambition. This wasn’t just a visit. It was an experience, grimy, indulgent, and unapologetically real.
Tower Bridge
You can see the pictures, but nothing prepares you for the sheer presence of Tower Bridge. Standing by the Thames, its blue and white ironwork looming over you, it is easy to forget that this isn’t just a pretty landmark. It is a living, working piece of Victorian ingenuity. When the bascules lift, there is a brief moment where time seems to pause, the water churning below, boats gliding through like ghosts of old London. History, alive and well.
The Shard
Reconnecting with an old friend at The Shard felt like a metaphor, looking back while perched atop London’s striking glass spire. The city sprawled below us, a messy, magnificent tangle of old and new, timeless and transient. The wine flowed, and so did the stories. This is London at its best, where memories are made 72 stories up, and the past always has a seat at the table.
West End, Sondheim Theatre (Formerly Queen's Theatre)
You haven’t really been to London until you have seen a West End show. Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre was a gut punch in the best possible way. The kind of experience that pulls you in, holds you tight, and spits you back out into the night feeling raw and alive. Sharing it with my person only made it better. The magic of theatre isn’t just in the performance. It is in the people you experience it with.
Borough Market
This is where the city eats. Borough Market is chaos in the most beautiful form, sizzling grills, the sharp scent of fresh produce, the rhythm of a hundred conversations overlapping. You don’t come here to grab a bite. You come here to feast. Strawberries so fresh they taste like summer, lavender lemonade that should be bottled and sold as salvation, and the legendary Bomba Paella, a dish so rich and flavorful it makes you question every mediocre meal you have ever had. Food should be an experience, and here, it is.
Leicester Square
Walking through Leicester Square is like flipping through London’s greatest hits album. It is bright, it is loud, it is utterly ridiculous, and I love it. One minute, you are elbow-deep in crispy, golden Jollibee Chickenjoy. The next, you are staring at the towering majesty of Big Ben. The city moves, and you move with it, like an unchoreographed dance that somehow works.
Big Ben
Some things don’t need an introduction. Big Ben, or more accurately, the Great Bell inside the Elizabeth Tower, is one of them. It doesn’t matter how many times you have seen it on postcards, movies, or fridge magnets. Standing beneath it, hearing those chimes ring out, you get it. This isn’t just a landmark. It is a timekeeper for the world.
London Eye, South Bank
Touristy? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely. There is something surreal about watching London unfold beneath you from the slow, deliberate rotation of the Eye. Below, street performers work the crowds, their music blending with the murmur of the Thames. It is a reminder that in London, the best experiences aren’t always planned. They just happen.
Bob W Tower Hill, Magdalen Passage
Finding the right place to stay is half the battle in a city like this. Bob W Tower Hill was the perfect home base, close enough to the action but just tucked away enough to breathe. Then there was Cirilo Filipino Kainan, a hole in the wall that felt like home. The food, the warmth, the sense of belonging, it reminded me that the best meals aren’t just about the flavors. They are about the people who serve them and the stories they share.
Charing Cross Tube, Ippudo London
Late-night hunger in London has a life of its own. After a long day of exploring, stepping off the Charing Cross Tube and into Ippudo London felt like a pilgrimage. A steaming bowl of ramen, rich, deep, and soul-warming, was exactly what I needed. Because in the end, food isn’t just sustenance. It is comfort, it is culture, it is a story in every bite.
London doesn’t care if you love it or hate it. It just is. A city that doesn’t ask for permission, that thrives in its contradictions. But if you let it, if you wander without a plan, if you say yes instead of no, you will find something unforgettable at every turn.
So go. And when you do, don’t just see London. Experience it.
Read more from Rich Nollen, BSN, RN
Rich Nollen, BSN, RN, Healthcare Marketing and Strategic Growth
Rich Nollen is a nurse turned entrepreneur and the driving force behind Innovare HP, a healthcare marketing agency that's transforming how providers connect with communities. After transitioning from bedside to boardroom, Rich’s journey has been nothing short of wild, fueled by a passion to spark ideas, share stories, and empower others. With a growing presence across multiple states—including Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and California—Innovare HP is committed to making healthcare more accessible and impactful. Rich’s message: If a nurse can dream big and invest in change, so can you.
