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| BIG BEN! |
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| Throwin' Diamonds by Parliament on the Thames! |
3 weeks ago, I left Italy for the first time all semester. I find this somewhat funny, actually. I know so many people traveling all throughout Europe while studying abroad, seeing at least 5 different countries, and here I am, heading to London, my first non-Italian adventure. In the beginning, I had all the intentions to visit about 7 different countries, but then I realized that there is SO MUCH to see in Italy, and since I’m here studying Italian, I should put that to good use too. And honestly, by the end of this semester come May, I still will not have even seen all of Italy that I want to see! Fun fact: Italy has the most UNESCO world heritage sites for one single country – just under 50. So hey, I have no regrets. I’m doing this semester Italian style and I’m going to go all out, or at least to the best of my ability. I still relish in the comments I sometimes receive when people think I am NOT American – I love being American, but a European calling you out as American isn’t exactly a compliment. Grant it, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I just can’t pass for an Italian, (one man said I could never be because my nose is just too small – I guess this is nothing to complain about) despite how hard I’ve tried – I’m talking my hair, clothes, shoes, etc., but I’ll accept a resemblance to the French, English, or just Eastern European when suggested.
So here I am, on my first flight on RyanAir headed to London! (don’t get me started on how much I HATE RyanAir. Yes it’s cheap. But, yes it sucks, and I’m talking more than the whore on the block). I fly into London-Stansted, about an hour outside the city, then navigate my way along the Underground (already felt like a pro-metro-er from Milan) and finally meet up with my sorority sister in Kensington, Emma, who is studying in London this semester. I have no idea how I am not tired, but I proceed to hit up the Thursday night London bar scene with Emma and her friends. After Italian all day, every day, I am relieved to finally only need to speak English, but of course, low and behold, I find myself chatting it up in Italian with the coat check girl from Milan – I accidentally said
grazie out of habit and she was like OMG, blah blah, 5 minute conversation in Italian and it’s my first night in London (I found myself frequently saying Italian phrases out of habit throughout the weekend). Probably around 3 am, I have my first European McDonald’s experience, which is wayyyy better than the states, but I’m sure it being 3 am and the only restaurant open contributes to the deliciousness.
Emma lives in a really awesome location in the city in Kensington, and we proceed to snuggle the rest of the night, or, er, morning in her twin bed =) wouldn’t want to be snuggling with anyone else in a twin sized bed heehee.
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| Waterloo Chillin |
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| 80's club! |
After sleeping in, we chill and eventually head out to sightsee in London on an unbelievably GORGEOUS day – I was quite surprised not to see a drop of rain all weekend. We spend the better part of the afternoon with Emma’s friends Gracie, Katie, Ben, Bo, and Joe, walking alongside the Thames at Waterloo, eating some awesome English pub food (I’m OBSESSED with the cider), checking out St. Paul's Cathedral, and enjoying some amazing happy hour drinks. Emma and I have our own dinner date at this restaurant The Old Dutch House and their crepes are INCREDIBLE – mine had spinach, cheese, bacon and tomatoes on it, not to mention it was HUMONGOUS! We then spend our night dancing in this awesome 80’s club. They even played all the 80’s music videos to go along.
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| OBSESSED WITH CIDER! |
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| Borough Market |
On Saturday, we all check out the Borough Market, this giant market with all sorts of food, produce, desserts, and more. The line for the melted cheese sandwiches was long, but SO worth it. Other delicious purchases included fresh fruit smoothie (I asked the lady to just make me her favorite combination - best decision ever) and chocolate raspberry cake. Emma, Gracie, and I finish off the pleasant afternoon walking around central London, seeing Buckingham Palace (the queen was in! I didn’t see her, but the flag was up), Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, and probably other things I can’t remember the names of.
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| Mango, Passion Fruit, Apple, and Pear, a very surprisingly delicious combo |
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| the making of the cheese sandwiches! |
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| mouthwatering |
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| where we ate our sandwiches |
Although fully enjoying my time with Emma and her friends, we part ways for the evening because I have tickets to Singing in the Rain!!! I meet 5 of my friends from my program in Siena (10 of us traveled to London for the weekend) for dinner, mine consisting of a salad and brownie sundae. I know this is a strange combination, but I was craving both a salad and a sundae and couldn’t decide on just one. Don’t judge.
But oh. My. Goodness. Singing in the Rain is one of my new favorites. The show was absolutely INCREDIBLE! It even rained all over the stage! It was so legit. And I love how there wasn’t just awesome dancing, but ALL the characters did legit, awesome dancing, even the leads. Spectacular.
I spend the rest of the evening snuggling and chillin with Emma, watching some Lion King, before leaving at 3 am for my 6:30 am flight…..
Remind me to not book flights before 7 am, especially when the airport is at least an hour away…. Oh yeah, and not during daylight savings either…
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| Starbucks, how I missed you |
All in all, I had an absolute BLAST in London, and a big thanks to Emma for hosting me and showing me around. (Check out her blog
here) I honestly think I had even more fun being with Emma than just sightseeing on my own. Plus it was soooo nice to catch up and have a piece of home for a little bit. Speaking English, having Starbucks, and being with a good friend from VT cured any bits of homesickness I was feeling. Also, it was nice for once not to have to plan plan plan like crazy. Although I could never see myself living in London, I DEFINITELY want to go back – London is an awesome city with SO much to do and not having a language barrier always eases everything. I probably only did a fraction of the typical “tourist” attractions, but all the more reason to go back.
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| walking through the park, looking at the London Eye |
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| Westminster Abbey |
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| Buckingham Palace |
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St. Paul's Cathedral
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Millenium Bridge
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So here I am, on my first flight on RyanAir headed to London! (don’t get me started on how much I HATE RyanAir. Yes it’s cheap. But, yes it sucks, and I’m talking more than the whore on the block). I fly into London-Stansted, about an hour outside the city, then navigate my way along the Underground (already felt like a pro-metro-er from Milan) and finally meet up with my sorority sister in Kensington, Emma, who is studying in London this semester. I have no idea how I am not tired, but I proceed to hit up the Thursday night London bar scene with Emma and her friends. After Italian all day, every day, I am relieved to finally only need to speak English, but of course, low and behold, I find myself chatting it up in Italian with the coat check girl from Milan – I accidentally said grazie out of habit and she was like OMG, blah blah, 5 minute conversation in Italian and it’s my first night in London (I found myself frequently saying Italian phrases out of habit throughout the weekend). Probably around 3 am, I have my first European McDonald’s experience, which is wayyyy better than the states, but I’m sure it being 3 am and the only restaurant open contributes to the deliciousness. 
But oh. My. Goodness. Singing in the Rain is one of my new favorites. The show was absolutely INCREDIBLE! It even rained all over the stage! It was so legit. And I love how there wasn’t just awesome dancing, but ALL the characters did legit, awesome dancing, even the leads. Spectacular. 
