How do I love thee, London? Let me count the words.

London, how do I even begin to explain you? I only got a few days there and I definitely was not ready to leave, even though I was leaving for another interesting city. London drew me in with a vibe that's incredibly unique. I've finally marked another city off of my travel bucket list, but I'm adding it to my 'must revisit' list! There's so much to say that I can already tell this is going to be a very long blog post...bear with me.

Even though I only arrived on Saturday, it feels like I've been here a week since so much has been crammed into our schedule. Thankfully, my flight was relatively uneventful. I managed to score an aisle seat and watched British TV and movies in honor of the country I was headed to. Even though I don't sleep well on airplanes, I crashed during Pride and Prejudice right after Darcy's first failed attempt at a proposal and woke up in time to watch an episode of Downton Abbey before we landed. I don't think I've ever appreciated coffee as much as I did when it was handed to me right before the end of a red-eye flight! 

After I landed and made it past Customs and a man in a purple suit (which made me smile), I somehow did not get lost in the massive Heathrow Airport, caught the correct express to a different terminal, and found the Exeter group. I was lucky enough to run into more International Summer School students on the express train over, so I didn't feel quite as intimidated as I probably would have walking up to the group by myself. One of the girls that I met at the station ended up being my roommate, a girl from the University of Kentucky named Lindy. As it turns out, we're both also on the Shakespeare track, which is perfect! 

The fabulous Lindy.

I explored London on my own for the first time after we checked in at the hotel. I was on a mission - find an international cell phone. (Wait, correction - mobile phone. I am in England, after all.) Since the universe let me find my way around the airport successfully, of course when I was actually let loose on the city I got myself turned around. I walked into two or three different shops before I finally found where the hotel clerk had directed me, but that just made me more proud of myself when I was able to find my way back to the hotel after taking the most roundabout way possible of buying a phone. We had dinner at the Strand Palace Hotel that night and I was able to meet everyone else with whom I'll be studying for the next few weeks. I don't think I've ever been at such a geographically diverse dinner table in my life - together, we represented the USA, India, Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, and China! We explored more of downtown London on our own in the evening and eventually headed to bed - way too late, thanks to jet lag. 

The next morning we started our first full day in London, which of course was absolutely PACKED. I had my first real English breakfast, and despite the stereotype that English food is terrible, I've really enjoyed everything I've eaten here. We started off by breaking into small groups of twelve (our group leader is a guy named Adam who seems much older than his 19 years) and going on a walking tour of London. We covered a good portion of central London in about two hours, including The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, and Buckingham Palace. 

Big Ben!

Me and Lindy in front of Buckingham Palace

Lion in Trafalgar Square!

And thanks to our excellent tour guide, we got a great spot for the Changing of the Guard right when it started! 

We saw so much more than just the big ticket items I mentioned, but it would take me all day to list all of the trivia that I learned during those two hours. After the tour, we had a free afternoon until 5 that evening. Lindy and I met up with a girl from India, Anukripa, and checked out the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square to start. The Gallery has enough amazing art that we could have spent the entire afternoon there, but we managed to at least pull ourselves away for lunch…and WiFi. (This may or may not prove that millennials are eternally plugged in. I plead the fact that I wanted to meet up with friends in London and needed to give them my international phone number over Facebook.) After a quick lunch, we saw the British Library and King's Cross Station. The library was incredible and King's Cross was more exciting to nerdy me than I wanted to let on. 

Entrance to the British Library

In front of the King's Library!

Platform 9 3/4

On my way to Hogwarts!

The three of us took the Tube for the first time to get to those two places, and we felt like resourceful travelers figuring it out on our own. Also, the 'look right' or 'look left' signs painted on the road probably saved my life more than once. 

Seriously. Thank you.

Just by walking around we got to see more of London, which I loved. Eventually we made it back to the hotel for a very short break and then left to see Macbeth at the Globe Theater!

The stage!

A blurry picture of Lindy, me, and Anu before the ushers kicked us out of the theatre.

We had standing room tickets, which made watching the play more than a little painful after a day full of walking. I think my feet may have actually cried at one point in time. But the performance more than made up for it - it was absolutely stunning. I was so moved by the actors and was so captivated that I almost forgot the pain in my feet. Almost. Getting to go was completely worth all the pain! Not to mention the fact that the actor who plays Pippin in LOTR played Banquo, which just made the experience even greater. 

Our final day was Monday, which started off with a big announcement - Kate Middleton had gone into labor! Interestingly enough, as I'd find out as the day went by - your average Londoner couldn't have cared less. Americans and the media were much more invested in this than anyone actually in Britain - the general attitude over here has been "Who cares? Someone else is having a baby, that's nothing new." Business as usual progressed in London, completely contrary to all of the media hype.

The Exeter students started our day in the groups of 12 again, this time heading off to the Tower of London to begin. I loved learning about all of the history that happened there and seeing different relics from early time periods. Though I saw White Tower, the Bloody Tower, and the chapel, my favorite would have to be witnessing the Crown Jewels in person. Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed inside, so I had to make do with taking a picture of the sign.

Entrance to the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London!

One of the more impressive towers

Green space at the Tower of London

I'd also like to point out that according to an interactive exhibit, I am a natural born archer. I mean, just saying. 

After the Tower of London, we went on a Thames river cruise, which was a great opportunity for both a breeze on a hot day and some great photography. (They actually weren't kidding about the London heatwave. It's legitimately hot, even coming from New Orleans.) After the cruise we had a short lunch break and I ordered my very first fish and chips. In true tourist fashion, I took a picture.

We visited the British Museum after lunch, which was incredible. I wish I had had more energy to stay and walk through every exhibit, but the building is massive. I teamed up with another American and a girl I'd met from Zimbabwe to tour the museum, and the three of us made the mistake of sitting down. After that, we were toast. I did get to see the Rosetta Stone, however, which was truly the only thing that I would have been upset about missing. 

After a short break at the hotel we went to dinner back at the Strand Palace Hotel, which was delicious once again. After dinner was my favorite, however - I finally got to meet up with my friend Evangeline!

Smile big!

I hadn't seen her since last May when she moved back to London, so it was great to see her and catch up. We had a great time walking around the city and she showed me parts of London on the other side of the Thames that I hadn't gotten to yet, which was great! I loved catching up with an old friend and spending time with her. And catching up on gossip, of course. All the gossip. 

Reunited after more than a year

That pretty much covers my time in London, and it's incredible that two and a half days were able to hold all of that activity. I just arrived in Exeter this afternoon, and I can't wait to find out what my time here will hold!