My traveling adventure of a lifetime began Saturday afternoon, 19 February.I apologize in advance for the long posts that will follow- there is just so much to fit in in such a short amount of time. Mary and I headed to the airport in the midst of the rain and cold that was Bordeaux only to arrive in London to more rain and cold! Mary and I left Bordeaux in the mid afternoon and arrived in London only 40 minutes later, according to the ticket. Jemma and Mary were pleased to learn Bordeaux was so close to London… they just left out the fact that there was an hour time change… so an hour and 40 minutes later Mary and I arrived in London. The Gatwick express, SUBWAY- yes, that’s right Subway (London was my little taste of America) and a train later, which thankfully was written in English because it was so confusing, all in all it took about an hour and half including customs, we arrived at the Pembridge Palace Hotel in London. It was not necessarily a palace, but it was a step up from a hostel, and the location was perfect.
Mary and I started to settle in and then wanted to check in with Jemma, who took the train to Paris and then flew from there to London. We had been in constant communication throughout the day, but for the last couple of hours we hadn’t heard anything- we were getting a little worried. She finally gave us a call from a payphone only to tell us that her phone had died- shocking- it seems to happen to us all the time. We set up plans to meet her at Bayswater station, right near our hotel.
In the middle of this, I met up with my friends from UT, Katie, Ben, and Katie’s friend Casi. There is nothing like seeing familiar, friendly faces in a place where everything is so foreign. I got to hear all about their experiences, Katie and Casi in Switzerland and Ben in Rome, and we swapped study abroad stories. We decided to get Mexican, after purchasing a train ticket and changing our minds- 4 pounds down the drain, but as Annie always says money could fix it so Mary and I had to let it go. The Mexican was the perfect choice though, and it hit the spot. I even got some salsa- not quite the refillable bowl we are accustomed to in the states, but it was good enough. While at the restaurant, Mary and I were watching the time, and we left to go meet Jemma. Of course, it is me and nothing can go perfectly. We get to Bayswater only to find out that Jemma’s train was stopped on the track and had probably been redirected to another station! Mary and I were freaking out, just worried about Jemma and wanting us all to be together. Mary had the sense to say that we should wait at the station no matter what because that was our arranged meeting point. Sure enough, after about 45 minutes of worry, Jemma walked through the turn stiles. I was so happy I reached overt the gate just to hug and kiss her and make sure she was actually real.
The next day, Sunday, we were early to rise and head to Buckingham Palace with Ben and Doug, Mary’s friend from home. Doug is studying abroad in London, so he was our valiant tour guide during our stay- I am so thankful for him. So, we saw the Queen’s palace, William and Kate’s home (everything was about Will and Kate in London- I loved it), Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. In the midst of walking around, we purchased theatre tickets for Les Miserables and film tickets for Harry Potter. We paused for lunch at Pret a Manger- I got a hummus sandwich which I have been deprived of in Bordeaux, dropped Ben off to meet his friend, and then headed to the football stadium for a premier league game, courtesy of Doug. It was Fulham versus Bolton, and I was in all of my glory- I could not stop thinking of Dad, though, and how much he would have loved this. Fulham lost, and I think mine and Jemma’s toes froze off, but we were oh so happy. Afterwards, we reconvened with Ben in the famous Piccadilly Circus- London’s version of Times Square-, had a delicious hamburger in a resraurant/ night club- my first since being in Europe, London really was my America fix-, and then went to see Harry Potter. It was incredible, and there is something to be said for seeing the movie, which was filmed in London, in London. It was home and then bed to prepare for another full day.
Monday we rose again, a little later than Sunday, and got going. We went to the Lodon Tower, saw the Tower Bridge, which is actually the one that is more beautiful and featured more often- so, we thought it was the London Bridge, the actual London Bridge, the Freedom Bridge that collapses in Harry Potter, the bank doors used for Gringots in Harry Potter, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and then went on a mad hunt for fish and chips at what we thought was called Bell’s Pub- Mary’s dad knows London very well, so he gave us a great outline of the city. After about a half hour of searching we came up empty and settled for a different pub; the fish and chips were delicious. Can you guess what happened next? - we continued walking down the street only to pass Bell’s Tavern, which was what we had been searching for, so typical. After lunch, the five of us walked to the British Museum so I could meet Christina! On the way, we passed IES, Quinten’s school last year and Hummus Bros! I felt like a piece of Quinten was with me, and it was so unexpected to be able to see where he was/ how he lived last year. I was so excited to see her and just speak with her for a couple of minutes. She is doing so wonderfully, as expected, and she showed me her apartment in the city. I even got to see Lane and Fred, the advisors for my business program, along with the other students participating in the program. The meeting was brief because we had to go back to the hotel in order to change for Les Miserables! Mary was so thrilled she cried during the performance, and I could not wipe the grin from my face. The musical was spectacular, and I could not help remembering my childhood in the little red car listening to the Les Mis soundtrack. After the beauty that was Les Mis, we all went back to the hotel room, stopping at Subway and the grocery store for some late night treats. Ben had to leave for the airport at 12:45 that morning, so we all stayed up together, and then Doug just decided to crash at the luxurious hotel, hahah, with us so he did not have to travel home alone so late at night.
Tuesday morning, our farewell to London, Doug took us to the part of the city where he lives. We ate omelets at this cute, eclectic Polish restaurant, stopped at the book store so Mary and Jemma could brush up on their Italian phrases, and then set off for the airport. We parted ways, me on to Barcelona, and then two of them to Rome. London was extremely different from France- much more Americanized. It was a nice taste of home and of English, and I am so glad I was able to experience it. Bye London, Hola Barcelona!