London's Calling (and has been for 12 years)

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to go to London. I used to only read books that took place in London, and at one point when I was 13 I had researched boarding schools. I announced to my mother, "I am leaving" with a dramatic arm wave to announce my plans of going to Europe for high school (that did not go so well).Needless to say I did not go to boarding school in London, and when I started looking at study abroad programs the Dublin program was just more of what I was looking for.

So this past weekend it was finally my moment...I was going! We left on an early evening flight--we actually almost missed our flight. Upon arrival in London, I was speechless. We were staying in a hostel in Kensington, and as we made our way through the streets I noticed a few things. First, front doors. I mean gorgeous front doors that were part of these amazing white stone buildings. Secondly, the architecture of the buildings was simply stunning.

We finally arrived at our hostel, and I felt confident due to my improvement in packing since the Galway trip (I had actually brought my own towel and flip flops). Monica, Hailey, and I were surprised when we found out we had been split up into two different rooms. I was only there for one night so I knew I would survive, but that did not keep me from being a little nervous. We walked up the 6 flight of stairs, and we agreed to put our stuff down and then get out of there.

Taking a deep breath...I swiped my card and opened the door to the room. I was greeted only by darkness so I had to switch on the flashlight on my phone. I knew there was at least one person sleeping in the room due to the sound of heavy breathing. As I made my way to the end bed (my bed) my flashlight shown right on one of the bunk beds and I gasped.

The person in the bed, with the glow of my flashlight resembled Voldemort. I will admit it was a dramatic reaction, but that was my first thought. Luckily, he did not wake up. However, I did wake up the other guy in the room, but he was actually able to help me with the lock so no complaints there.

As I went to go meet Hailey and Monica in the hallway I thought, "Great, it is me and two 30 year old men". Monica and Hailey were not doing so well either since they were greeted by 3 guys sitting around in their boxers.

We headed out to meet our friend John who is studying abroad in London. We were desperate to find food, but all the kitchens had closed so we spent our first meal in London at Burger King.

Monica and I were determined to stay out as late as possible because really, would anyone rush back to our rooms in the hostel?

After our night out, we woke up early and headed off to all of the touristy sights and scenes that London has to offer.

We used the tube to get to Westminster Abbey and were able to walk around that area to see some of the main sights. The tube was definitely an adjustment to Dublin since Dublin only has buses.

Of course when I go to take the iconic phone booth picture I get photo bombed, which only makes this photo even better.

 



 

We did go to the Tower of London and that was probably my favorite spot from this weekend. The Crown Jewels are beautiful and be prepared to see a lot of salt holders--I guess the Kings and Queens really loved their salt.

 



At this point we were exhausted, and headed back to the hostel and I went to go meet my friend Rachel who I would be staying with for the rest of the weekend. That night we went to an Italian restaurant and then this place called The Alchemist and if you are into cocktails then this is the place for you. They make these amazing specialty cocktails and has a trendy and modern feel.


That's all for now, but I will share more about my trip to London in my next post.

Until tomorrow's adventure,
Hannah