Third time out of the country.
Second country I've ever visited.
First time abroad.
If I had a nickel for every time I had to count for every place I've visited, I assume it would be over 52. But you're not here for a list like that, you're here for me to tell you about my first week in London. So, alright... I'll give you the recap.
Day 1: Exhausted and Whelmed
It's 10:45am in London, I had no sleep over the plane, and I had to stay awake for another ten hours. Sounds lovely, right? Well... it doesn't get much better from there. We had to stay awake the whole day because at 5pm, we had an orientation recap we already had prior to this trip, and we didn't get into the hotel until 2pm. I was not thrilled. After struggling to get by, it was finally over. I made my way to grab a quick bite to eat and made McDonalds my first meal in London because well... it was the closest thing, and I did not feel like traveling beyond any further than where I've already been.
That evening I went to a pub and it was actually kind of fun.
Day 2: Heatblasted
What do I mean by getting "Heatblasted?" Well, it was over a hundred degrees outside and my class and I had to walk around for a good chunk of the day. Now, if you're me, and you lived in the humid conditions of Nashville, this would be absolute hell. But, since it's London and the climate is a lot cooler over here, it's like walking in 80 degrees in Colorado. I would know.
Moving on to the actual day, we went over to Buckingham Palace to watch the guards march and change shifts? At least, that's what I remember. I found it rather uneventful with the time sort of dragging, but I noticed the hype around it, but that's just not for me.
We walked over to Green Park where I found it more enjoyable. Despite the heatblasting conditions, it reminded me of my park back home in Hendersonville, "Moss Wright Park." I like seclusions, nature, and seeing animals... technically pigeons walking about. The only thing I did despise however was trying to find my way back to the hotel, because I was about done.
If I had to be honest, the best part of that day was Pizza Express. I only say that because I finally got to sit and cool down while enjoying my favorite food. I don't remember afterwards, because my mind is still a bit foggy. But I went back to the pub for a much needed pint.
Day 3: You're A Wizard, Harry
Why, the title? I'll explain later.
First let's talk... museums! We went to the British and the London Museum. I was more fascinated by the British Museum than the London Museum. But the British Museum had more exhibits I was excited over than the various aesthetics that London provided. Like China had a section for these "blue dragons", and I love the history behind Japan including some of its aesthetics, including the swords, and samurai armor. Meanwhile, London's Museum had some exhibits that were very interactive, but I found it to be not my kind of museum. The only thing I enjoyed about London's Museum was monologuing over the "Black Plague", and seeing the FLCL-looking motorcycle and the guitar.
Once we were finally done for the day, most of the class and I went to the Harry Potter bridge, even though after I learned it was only part of one of the film's for about a brief "blink and miss it" segment, which was disappointing, but it was still nice.
Now let's talk about more Harry Potter!
Lastly, I went out with some of the class to Kings Cross Station. AKA: The Harry Potter station. I don't need to say much else. But it was very fun, got to see live music, had ice cream at Creams. It was nice to explore a part of London that wasn't on the list and get my Harry Potter fan-side out of the way.
Day 4: World Market, Literally
It's Day 4, we toured across various locations the past two days, and now it was time to get into business, and in my kind of environment might I add. I usually do my content creation work at Starbucks, so to do my school work over there instead of a hot and humid area, or worst case, somewhere in the hotel lobbies, that was when we finally got through part of our classwork, then called it a day.
I also tried this cool ramen shop nearby and found it to be pretty good. Though a green Chick Fil A sign is not what I expected.
That night, half the class and I went to Camden Town, a shopping center filled with various cultures and universal stores that displayed everything throughout America, Europe and Asia. These various markets included shops that sold paintings, cartoons/anime posters (but no Ben 10 :( ), necklaces, and I found a little shop where I got a "good luck charm" (which has not proven to do so yet), and a totem reading. She told me everything I needed to hear, which I won't elaborate on, but I found this market to be one of my favorites so far, despite some areas being very overcrowded to my liking.
Day 5: 8 Bit World
To start off the day we found a Harry Potter store where ironically enough, I didn't buy anything related to Harry Potter, but instead a My Hero Academia cap. Plus Ultra!
Afterwards we went to the National Gallery which I found to be the worst museum of London so far. It was very colorful in some areas, but the paintings weren't that intriguing to look at.
The class and I split into going two separate Pret a Mangers, which funny enough some of us got lost on the way, but it's basically a grab and go Subway.
Afterwards, we had class, and I don't need to explain that.
But after the museum trip and another day of work, we went to a bar I had visited prior to celebrate a classmate's birthday. It was fun, but what I really loved was the toast to my dog who had passed between graduation and the trip. The toast was due to me telling the Utah story which I won't elaborate on, but he stayed by my side through a "very interesting" experience. Cheers to you, Teddy.
Later that night we visited another bar that is supposed to contain various arcade machines and video games, and what do you know... it did. The walls even had my aesthetic with the Ben 10-looking green morphing backgrounds with space skies surrounding it. It was my kind of bar, probably the best or second best one on the trip so far. I played Mario Kart, Guitar Hero (failed miserably), a racing game, and Donkey Kong.
Day 6: Sticks and Stones
Now for the one part of the trip I almost regret... the field trip! Now, I was told the Stonehenge was going to be hype. But the 2 hour bus ride back and forth and lack of time really brought the trip down. The Stonehenge exhibit was nice, but it was overcrowded. We only had about 40 minutes to really see it, and while I'm a huge nature buff, the amount of people and cars surrounding the place really ruined what could've been a nice experience. But that's tourist attractions for ya.
The classmates who went, and I, went to a pizza and pasta place. The restaurant and atmosphere was nice, and though we were all worried we had to rush, luckily that wasn't the case. I was hoping to explore more of the village, but again... time constraints...
Ironically, I was the only one who got pizza, but if you know me better by now, pizza will always be my number one choice. Which if you're wondering, the lunch is the only part I didn't regret.
Afterwards, we went to the Cathedral, which I didn't realize was part of the trip, and while that was nice, we didn't have enough time to really explore it so I found the visit quite underwhelming. Overall, the whole field trip experience was very underwhelming, and if the bus driver wasn't driving like a maniac, I probably could've had a nice nap on the way to and back, but ah well.
Overall, the first week has been pretty okay. Day 7 is still happening so I can't explain that much further than getting some actual work done.
Other than that, this week gets a 7.5/10
"Ride On Shooting Star."
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