Wanderlust | A Weekend of Exploration

"An ocean might separate us, but we are bonded under the same sky."- Unknown

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When I went to Spain four years ago, I felt unsettled. My group wasn't the best, and I was constantly worrying and longing to be home. Looking back I wish that I was more appreciative of the opportunity, since I know now that it was once in a lifetime. Now, I am once again given a fantastic opportunity, and I have been waiting all weekend for that familiar sense of dread to creep up inside of me--screaming at me to go home. I don't have it. I feel completely and utterly at peace. I feel at home.

That being said OF COURSE I already miss my wonderful parents, family, dog, friends, sisters..(do I even have to say Ryan? I mean c'mon). If I could bottle them all up and bring them over with me, well, that would be fantastic. However, that is not the case, so I am forced to be stuck within two worlds, of being in my true place yet without my closest people. It also doesn't help that the intranet is not working and I am forced to lay on the ground of my room to text people. So, if you want to contact me, the best way is through FB. But alas!

Now onto my travels!



So, last Wednesday I finally arrived in London, after a long and uncomfortable flight. Of course I was a jumble of nerves when I said goodbye to my parents and boarded the plane alone. However, blessings were abundant as the girl who sat next to me on the plane was also studying abroad at Regent's. She is the sweetest and I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes one of my closest friends. Once the flight landed, I was supposed to meet Andy at the baggage claim--but of course it wasn't that easy! We ended up at different terminals and waiting for each other for an excruciatingly long time (and both unable to communicate) until we both separately gave up and got the Heathrow Express and a cabbie. Once I found him and settled in, Regent's had information sessions that we had to sit through. Andy and I found our colleague, Pamela, to go on a mini scavenger hunt around the Baker Street area.


Baker Street! So many S. Holmes references..I'm constantly geeking out.



The lovely Regent's University!

This hunt had us walk into a coffee shop, where I saw one of my favorite actresses ever, Jenna Louise Coleman. I literally had a meltdown in the middle of the store, pulling on Andy's shirt to get his attention, hissing, "That's Jenna Louise Coleman!!" Of course, not being a Doctor Who fan, he had no idea who she was, but patiently allowed me to approach her and talk to her. I looked like a stereotypical fan girl, but hey, I got to meet her! She is SUCH an angel.
The rest of the day was uneventful (I mean, how could I beat THAT?!), though I got to order my first legal drink, which was pretty exciting.

The next morning was filled with more information sessions, but later we were sent on a bigger scavenger hunt starting in Trafalgar Square. Andy had to go a half hour before me, so I went with him and ventured around the square a little. I stopped into Waterstones, which is my new favorite place, and, of course, purchased Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Then, it was my time to start the hunt. I was split off into a group with the goal of learning bit more of popular London, so that included seeing where the Prime Minister lives, walking past Big Ben, Westminster, and Parliament, and crossing the Thames.




Trafalgar Square!



The Thames...we have yet to have a rainy day



Somerset House

I learned very quickly that my obsession with England made me look a total know-it-all, so eventually I grew quiet instead of pointing out--what I thought were pretty obvious--landmarks. The hunt ended at a pub, so Andy and I met up there and walked around ourselves. We toured Covent Gardens, Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus. We found our own pub by Covent Gardens, and both treated ourselves to fish and chips and sangria. We eventually returned to school and hung out the rest of the night.

That brings us to Friday. The school gave us some welcome tea in the morning, which was lovely. Then Pamela, Andy, and I set off to Trafalgar. I had accidentally burned part of my laptop from having it too close to the light the night before, so I quickly bought a sticker to cover it up and some postcards at a tourist shop. We once again walked around Leicester Square and up into Soho and Bloomsbury. We then hopped on the Tube to Westminster and walked the rest of the way to Green Park. We decided to go on a London Night Bus Tour (and yes I just refrained from typing 'Knight'), and it was an absolute delight, for as I had ridden a tour bus before, London transforms when the sun goes down. We had an absolute blast and I totally recommend it. After, with the goal in mind to make British friends, we went to The Volunteer, which is an absolutely fantastic pub and quite conveniently located. However, there weren't many people willing to chat us up, so we went to The Globe, which was just down the street and was a pub we had visited before. What an experience! We started immediately chatting it up with a local while waiting at the bar, and he soon offered to buy us a round of shots. However, when he went to pay, his card didn't work, so he ran off on the phone just as the bar stopped serving drinks. Unsure of what to do, the three of us lingered at the bar and waited for him to return. Consequently, we ended up chatting and becoming friends with a few of the bartenders, who gave us a discount when we finally decided to pay. The poor chum did eventually return with cash, so at least we weren't scammed, but becoming friends with the bartenders was worth the hassle!


My two buddies!



Statue of Prince Albert on the bus tour



I spared you all the 1,000 pics of 221B Baker Street, but this was after a few drinks and I felt the complete need to get myself in a picture with Sherlock Holmes' house.

On Saturday, after nursing some hangovers, the three of us trucked it over to the British Museum. I absolutely love museums, though I am one of those people who feels unsatisfied when I can't read every single plaque. SO, needless to say, I shall be making many trips to the BM, for in the two hours that we were there I could do nothing else except hit the big-ticket items (Rosetta Stone, Easter Island statue, Lewis Chessmen) and stroll through the upper floor rooms. I also grabbed a cup of English Breakfast and a scone from the café, which was quite good. After that, we took the tube back home and joined a school trip to the Camden Markets. I have to admit, even though I absolutely loved the atmosphere, it got a bit sketchy in the evening. Unfortunately we arrived about twenty minutes before all of the shops closed, so many people that were in the area left and the ones who stayed were headed to clubs. We did have enough time to grab some food and walk around the Stables Markets, which I will definitely be returning to during the day. I don't really know what I had--it was some sort of teriyaki chicken with cabbage...but that's the beauty of travel, isn't it? I had an absolutely delicious meal even though I had no idea what it was. You gotta be daring in different countries! So, with two hours until the group met up to go home, the three of us decided to walk home ourselves. However, we had arrived via the canal, which was also kind of creepy, so we didn't want to go home that way, but the nearest tube station was under reconstruction. After a half hour of walking through probably the roughest part of London I've been in, we finally found a bus station to take us back to Regent's. Would I recommend it? Totally. Will I go back in the evening? Probably not, unless I want to party there....which isn't likely.


Stables Market



SO DELICIOUS

Sunday, I had the AMAZING opportunity to meet up with my longtime-but-never-met friend, Emma. Long story short, Emma was a friend of Kate when she lived in England, and when Kate moved back to the States and befriended me, our mutual obsession with HP and England led me to start emailing and eventually facebooking Emma. Now I finally met her! She is an absolute sweetheart and led me all around her favorite parts of London, including taking me to her church and allowing me to experience a pub during a football game (I don't think I'm allowed to ever route for Arsenal, ha). I am so grateful that through her I found a church that is similar to mine and that I feel comfortable traveling to. I'm also glad that she doesn't leave for uni for another few weeks so that we can meet up again (and actually take a picture this time)! After saying goodbye to her I came home and walked around with Andy to find our classrooms like the good students that we are.

And today, I had my first classes (or modules, as they call them)!!! But that's a post for later in the week :)

All in all, I absolutely love London, which is probably a surprise to no one. I love the Tube, the people, the food, the buildings, even Primark (though I felt quite claustrophobic at some points...it's like Walmart on Black Friday!). I am happy that I finally started school, for I don't think I need to spend one more cent this week, ha. Of course I am missing everyone at home--it is especially hard that I receive all of the Lyco emails still, so I know EVERYTHING that is going on without me, but I'd rather be in the loop than out of it, I suppose. If any of you are reading this then I miss you loads and hopefully I can talk to you soon!!---though the wifi sucks so that remains to be seen :P

Cheers! xo