London

I absolutely loved London! Or maybe what I realized is that it truly isn’t where you are or what you’re doing—it is who you are with! It was really wonderful to see my friends and to relax and let them plan the agenda! I’ve also come to the conclusion that I will avoid flying British Airways at all costs. This was my second bad experience with the airline. I was supposed to fly out Thursday night, arrive in London at 10 p.m., and take the tube to the apartment to meet Lindsay and Ilana. Our flight ended up getting delayed four hours, two of which I spent just sitting on the plane and didn’t get to London until 2 a.m. At this point, the tube had already closed so Lindsay, Rikki and I were forced to split a taxi. The taxi costs 60 pounds total! Ugh. Thank goodness we were able to split it. I was supposed to be able to see the boys from school and Erica that night, but they had all already left for their trips. What a bummer. Still, I was so happy to see Lindsay and Ilana. Re and I had a bit of PT and then we went to bed.

Friday morning we got up early and went to the Borough Market. Jamie met up with us and it was really fun to see her! The Borough Market had a ridiculous amount of samples and I took complete advantage of it. I basically ate a breakfast and lunch of samples. After filling up on these samples, we walked to find a good view of the London Bridge and then we walked across the Millennium Bridge. After, we went to Platform 9 ¾. What a day of Harry Potter! Jamie recommended getting a Ben’s cookie so I got a chocolate chip one and it was divine! Then we went to Harrods. Harrods is crazy big and has the most exquisitely gorgeous clothes I have seen. We grabbed some light food there and sat outside eating it. At this point we were tired, so we went back to rest for a bit before heading out to Chinatown. Oh how I’ve missed Chinese food! After a delicious meal we headed over to The Rocket, one of Lindsay and Ilana’s favorite bars. It was a good time and I realized how much better I like the nightlife in London. I am pretty much over the clubs. They can be fun occasionally, but I prefer when my nights end at around 2-2:30, not begin then.

Saturday morning began with the Changing of the Guards. It was a cool experience but very crowded, which made it difficult to be able to see anything. Too bad my cousin Lee wasn’t with me! Last time I was in London I sat on his shoulders and got the perfect view! Still, we stayed until the end and enjoyed the music before moseying our way over to Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square. We took some great pictures and then headed over to Abbey Road. We tried countless times to get the perfect Abbey Road picture and we ended up getting a pretty great one!

One of the main highlights of my trip was going to High Tea at the Kensington Palace. We were seated in a gorgeous room. I got a fruit scone with clotted cream and jam and tea and it was amazing. I could eat a scone everyday. After tea, we had dinner at a pub called The Volunteer, which is literally right below the boy’s apartment. We met up with Lindsay’s friends and went to a few bars. We had another chill, but great night meeting some interesting British characters. I adore the British accent.

Sunday morning we got up and had a quick breakfast before heading to the airport and flying home. I miss my friends a lot but the trip left me feeling really good. Last night I had dinner with Stephanie from school and we had a great time talking about our study abroad experiences and comparing notes.

This weekend I am going to San Sebastian with CEA and then next Friday Jon comes!!! Woohoo.