My first week in London has been incredible. It's taken some getting used to being away from my boyfriend and my family, sharing a small space with another person, and becoming accustomed to the cultural etiquette, but it is so worth this experience. Here's a run-down of the events of my first week here.
Sunday/Monday: The getting there.
SUCKED. Longest, most uncomfortable plane ride in my entire life. I was in the middle seat of the middle row when I had requested a window seat. For eight hours it was an internal conflict of me not knowing how to situate my legs. To try and distract my mind, I turned on Spotify and put in my headphones only to find that I didn't have any songs downloaded so I couldn't listen to anything. Nice. So, I watched Call Me by Your Name on the screen in front of me. Timothee Chalamet is so hot and so is Armie Hammer, but he has a weird fetish for eating people so that kind of throws me off. I probably slept thirty minutes. Then, after landing and going through that oddly dream-like airport, we got to St. Giles by a bus and waited in line to get our room key and roommate and everything. Of course, they couldn't find my name anywhere in the paperwork to give me my key, and I had to stand aside and wait for EVERYONE to go inside. I was so annoyed and tired. I finally got my room, then we had to go back downstairs to walk around the area for a bit, then had to go to a CCSA orientation. It was boring and I was mad. Sol and I SLUMPED at 7:30 that night.
Tuesday: The day of the balls.
Sol and I woke up at 5:30am. We went to Sainsbury to get some snacks and water. We had to prepare for the hottest day of the year. Then I ate my first English breakfast. Baked beans, “bacon” (literally ham), a hashbrown shaped like a triangle, scrambled eggs, and sausage. I decided that I was probably better off to never eat an English breakfast again. Then we went to Buckingham Palace, and I had to pee so bad, so Sol and I went into a nice restaurant called Harry’s. Then we met back up with the gang and went to look at Westminster Abbey and then me and some of the gals went to Munchkin’s and had fish and chips. Then later we went to this ball pit bar called Ballie Ballerson’s and it was SO FUN!!! They had BOGOF cocktails with skittles, foam, they lit up, etc.
Wednesday: The museums.
We started at the British museum. I did the museum by myself which was nice- I just put my headphones in and wasn’t bothered by anyone and was able to take in all the works on my own. A lot of artifacts. I saw Cleopatra’s mummy, an Easter Island statue, statues of Greek gods, the Rosetta Stone, and a lot of cool Japanese art. I could have stayed there all day, but we had to go to the London Museum next. That museum was interesting, it was a lot about the history behind London and I got to see items of the 1960’s psychedelic movement. It was a cool and more interactive museum, but I thought the British Museum was more interesting and diverse. Next, we went to the Millennial Bridge and saw St. Paul’s Cathedral before we headed back to get ready for dinner. We went to a place called Punjab’s and I ate chicken tikka masala. It was iconic.
The flavor was immaculate.
Thursday: My favorite place so far.
Thursday we just met for class, no museums or tourist attractions. It was nice not having to walk around all day, but we had to walk more than expected because we tried to sit down and do class in the dining area of St. Giles, but the asshole manager was rudely telling Natalie we had to get out. That’s what I hate about men—they have no problem telling women when they can’t do something. I was looking at him with the stankest face. So we left and went to Starbucks. Later that day, Kara told me I would really enjoy Cambridge Street. She knows me so well! There was graffiti, punks, vintage and record stores, art, wire wrappers, and a huge artisan flea market. Right up my alley. I made so many friends and I just wanted to talk to everybody. I plan on going back for sure.
Friday: The most disappointing day in my life.
We went to the National Gallery. I had no idea what to expect. We got there and I walked into a room full of Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, and more Renaissance painters. It was so amazing. There was so much history behind each one and I needed to see and read them all but reading them took forever and that was my downfall. I had been looking around on one half of the museum for over two hours before I realized there was a whole other half I hadn’t gotten to explore yet. By the time I got to the other half, I had 15 minutes before I had to leave. That other half was where I would have gotten to see Van Gogh, Picasso, Michelangelo, and Monet. I cried after I found out I had missed all those artists that I love and the missed opportunities to take pictures for my classes. I’m still mad. But then we went to a pub and arcade bar later to celebrate Kyndall’s birthday.
Saturday: Stonehenge
Woke up at 7:45 (don’t know how) and was off to Stonehenge and Salisbury. Stonehenge was amazing—I felt a very prehistoric and ancient energy when I was there that is hard to comprehend. I was in awe that that is where people over 100,000 years ago had walked around. After that we went and ate at an Italian restaurant called Prezzo and went into the Salisbury Cathedral. My god. It was so grand and gothic and pretty and ancient and medieval. It was hard not to say "holy shit" on holy property but it was so beautiful. I digggg the Gothic architecture. After getting home from that, all the students went bar hopping and that was very fun. We didn’t get home until around 1am.
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