After a short stint in Florence packed full of homework, quizzes, long runs, sleeping, scrapbooking, cleaning, and packing I left again for the most anticipated trip of my study abroad voyages: LONDON. For those of you who don’t know, my best friend and cousin Taylor studied abroad in London and I feel in love with it through her blog, pictures, and stories. I also knew i had to visit the land of the Harrys (Harry Potter, Prince Harry, and Harry Styles), the Spice Girls, and Keaton and Riley’s favorite Peppa Pig! It was one of the first trips I booked back in January and the one place I couldn’t leave without visiting.
In the time since spring break I realized that none of my close London friends would be in town this weekend and Lainey opted to spend the weekend in Florence. I initially panicked at the thought of canceling my most exciting trip. However through the encouragement of friends and family I decided to jump into the unknown and travel alone. I am so grateful for their kind words because this weekend was one I will always remember as one of the bravest things I did in Europe.
I flew to London from Pisa so Lainey decided to join me for a trip to the Leaning Tower on the way out. Everyone told us there was really nothing to see in Pisa other than the tower and they were correct. Lainey and I took an hour bus ride to the airport, transferred busses to the city center, walked to the tower, took touristy pics, and returned to the airport in under three hours without hurrying. I’m definitely glad we did it on the way to the airport instead of taking a whole day to go, even if we didn’t get the best weather. While trying to snap the ultimate tourist pic, I made some Italian friends who were kind enough to join me in my picture. After a little prodding they were also kind enough to let me take one alone.
Due to our short trip and flight delay I had about five hours to kill in the tiny Pisa airport. This was the perfect opportunity to finish reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone which I had begun rereading in anticipation for my pilgrimage to his homeland. I finally arrived in London at 12:15 expecting to get right on a shuttle and into bed. WRONG. I quickly experienced the meticulous British while waiting over an hour in the line at customs. I made it on the 2:30 AM shuttle and headed to my friend Holly’s. Despite their travels, Holly and her roommate were kind enough to let me stay in their apartment. Holly left for Dublin at 4:30 AM so we had an hour to catch up and say our goodbyes until next fall in Bloomington (depressing, I know).
Determined to not waste a single moment, Friday morning I was out the door by 11:15. With Starbucks in hand (REAL COFFEE!) I headed out for my first Tube experience. I traveled to see Big Ben because no matter where I spent the day, I wanted to have that breathtaking ‘I’m really here’ experience. Between the Tube, phone booths, accents, and Big Ben, I couldn’t help but grinning like an idiot as I snapped pictures and selfies (the first of many). Then I was off to meet a friend Megan for lunch at Borough Market, the home of some deservingly famous grilled cheese. The market was AWESOME, clean and full of fresh prepared and raw foods. It was much more like a giant farmer’s market than the markets here in Florence. AND everything was labeled in ENGLISH! I didn’t expect to be so shocked to understand signage and be able to have conversations with the sellers’
After leaving Megan and her friends I set out to start the extensive To Do guide Taylor was kind enough do make me. First stop, King’s Cross Station to Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. I didn’t have time to do the full studio tour so I HAD to get the picture running my cart into the wall. In line I met a man who got his Masters in Business at IU and we talked about how great Kelley is, IU basketball, and my experiences abroad. His daughter was about 11 and DECKED OUT in Hufflepuff stuff (at least somebody wants to be a Hufflepuff) and may have been more excited to take her picture than me. Next I went to Kensington to Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, and TAYLOR’S APARTMENT. I also wandered into Jamie Oliver’s (the Food Revolution guy) Cooking School which was pretty cool. I wandered the Palace gardens and took in all the history that took place there and knowing Kate, Will, and their adorable royal family would someday live there. It was big, elegant and beautiful, yet modest so exactly where I would imagine my favorite royals living!
I ended my day visiting Harrods and Piccadilly Circus. Harrods is what everyone says it is and more! I loved wandering the food halls and toy palace but my favorite was the pet shop. I can’t believe the amount of money people will spend on pet accessories! Harrods was even bigger than expected, I was there over an hour and only visited three floors! I followed the map from place to place and still got lost! Before heading back to Holly’s I stopped by Piccadilly Circus to see if there were any last minute musical tickets for sale. No such luck but it was probably better I got sleep anyway. For dinner I stopped by Taylor and Holly recommended, Nando’s a place with a great chicken pita and fries. The waiters were so nice and obviously pitied me for eating alone. This was great because my food was extra fast and I got great advice about what to order!
London Day 2 started early with goals to be in line for the Matilda the Musical Student Rush Tickets by 9:00. After an hour of waiting in the cold, I missed getting tickets by three people… I decided to spend the rest of the morning wondering around Covent Garden where the theatre was located. There were so many cute shops and they were pretty empty so the workers talked to me about my travels and the differences between Italy and London and America. Determined to see a show on the West End, I entered the Book of Mormon ticket lottery at 12. While waiting to find my fate I found Chipotle! I forgot how much I had missed my beloved chicken salad and can’t wait to have it again in two weeks!! After an enthusiastic yet unfortunate loss, I started Taylor’s master waking tour. I started at Big Ben and headed to Westminster Abbey. Then I spent about an hour wandering through St. James Park on the way to Buckingham Palace. The sun was shining and I loved wandering, people watching, and soaking up the beautiful weather. After Buckingham Palace I decided to take a double-decker bus back to Covent Garden to find Neal’s Yard and explore a little more. I got the front seat on top and felt a little motion sick at the end.. Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have these in America…
As you can see, in London I mastered the delicate art of asking strangers to take my picture. Choosing the right person who will 1) not steal your phone 2) not be annoyed 3) take a decent picture can be surprisingly difficult. There were definitely times when I stood in the place I wanted a picture for a good five minutes looking for potential photographers! I digress…
After some more shop exploring I tried the Mormon lottery once more. While i was waiting this time i checked out the M&M Store. It was pretty cute! I didn’t win the lottery took this as a sign I wasn’t supposed to see a show and decided to go shopping instead! London is famous for Topshop and Primark which are their versions of Forever 21 and H&M. Topshop was a little too edgy for my liking but I loved Primark. It is HUGE and overwhelming but fun to dig through clothes, figure out the sizing, and muddle through the insane crowds of people everywhere. Sadly thought my Primark adventures I lost my sweatshirt (and I hadn’t told my mom before this moment…). I spent a half hour retracing my steps and looking everywhere for it but there was literally no hope. Purchases in hand and a little embarrassed I headed back to Nando’s for a late dinner.
I efficiently packed my life back j to my backpack to fit on what could be my last Ryanair flight. In the morning I headed out around 8:30 to catch my airport shuttle. I thought security was tight entering London and it was even tighter leaving. After watching my perfectly packed backpack being completely undone, I had to leave behind my makeup and toothpaste, two things I’ve carried on in 4 countries with no problems. I guess it’s a good thing I’m only going to be here for two more weeks be because I couldn’t go much longer than that without brushing my pearly whites!
The trip back to Florence was exciting and depressing at the same time. I know these last two weeks are going to be a blast but I also know they’ll fly by between trying to finish bucket lists, study for finals, and spend time with my friends. At the same time I am so excited to come home! I can’t wait for the hugs, reunions, wifi, and English! The weather is supposed to be incredible next week! I think it’s Italy’s apology for giving us one of the hardest winters in recorded history. That being said I’ll be spending as much time outside as possible and make no promises about the frequency of my blogging. I’ll try to post once more but if I don’t I’ll fill you all in when I get home on April 23, or maybe the 24th after I’ve slept!
Oh sorry did I say I saw Will and Kate? Oops!
Writing in Pencil 